Champaign, IL (May 8, 2026)—The American Dairy Science Association® (ADSA) is pleased to announce Ursula Abou-Rjeileh as the 2026 recipient of the ADSA Foundation Graduate Student Literature Review Award: Production (PhD).
The ADSA Foundation Graduate Student Literature Review Award: Production (PhD) was created to recognize graduate students who have composed in-depth and extensive literature reviews in their thesis or dissertation and allow for these papers to be published in the Journal of Dairy Science® as review papers, making them available as references for citations in original research papers. The winner must be a graduate student (or within 6 months of graduation) at the time of the article submission to the Journal of Dairy Science. The article must be no more than 30 double-spaced pages, including references and graphs, have no more than 75 references, and be focused on a topic in dairy science.
Ursula Abou-Rjeileh is a PhD candidate at Michigan State University whose research advances precision nutrition strategies to improve metabolic health in transition dairy cows. Her work focuses on the role of oleic acid in regulating adipose tissue metabolism, mitochondrial function, and redox balance during periods of metabolic stress. Using both an in vivo infusion model and mechanistic in vitro adipocytes, she has demonstrated that oleic acid limits excessive lipolysis, improves insulin sensitivity, promotes lipid storage through PPARĪ± signaling, and enhances mitochondrial efficiency under lipolytic and oxidative challenges. Her integrative approach bridges cellular biology and dairy cow physiology to improve health and lactation performance.
It is with great pleasure that ADSA and the ADSA Foundation present Ursula Abou-Rjeileh with the 2026 ADSA Foundation Graduate Student Literature Review Award: Production (PhD).
About the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA)
The American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) is an international organization of educators, scientists, and industry representatives who are committed to advancing the dairy industry and keenly aware of the vital role the dairy sciences play in fulfilling the economic, nutritive, and health requirements of the world’s population. It provides leadership in scientific and technical support to sustain and grow the global dairy industry through generation, dissemination, and exchange of information and services. Together, ADSA members have discovered new methods and technologies that have revolutionized the dairy industry. www.adsa.org