The Association of American Feed Control Officials is putting graduate students in the spotlight at its 2026 Annual Meeting with the organization’s first-ever Graduate Student Poster Presentation Contest.
Nine finalists from universities across the country will display their research posters throughout the Aug. 26-28 meeting in San Diego. The top three presenters will give live 30-minute presentations and receive scholarship prizes ranging from $500 to $1,000.
Graduate and doctoral students submitted original research abstracts addressing real-world challenges facing regulators and the animal food industry. AAFCO members and Kansas State University Olathe faculty reviewed entries based on research relevance, quality, and practical application.
The nine finalists represent a range of topics that matter to feed manufacturers and regulators. Research areas include ingredient variability, novel analytical methods, food safety validation, microbiome science, cattle nutrition, and international regulatory comparison.
Sierra Collier from Kansas State University surveyed the composition and variability of soybean meal across U.S. soybean processing plants. Paula Ruiz Gonzalez, also from Kansas State, quantified fecal starch variation in commercial feedyards to inform sample size requirements for pen-level assessment.
Other nutrition-focused research includes Tatiana Jones’ evaluation of grain sorghum as a sustainable energy source for cattle and Nicolás Mejía-Abaunza’s work on blended feeding for broiler performance and economic efficiency. Udith Wijemanna from Iowa State University studied dairy cow responses to feces-contaminated drinking water and chlorine dioxide treatment.
Hannah Shinnerl from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developed an analytical method for chitin in insect-sourced materials. Food safety research includes Vannith Hay’s assessment of non-pathogenic bacteria as surrogates for Salmonella in raw pet food validation studies and Shreeya Sharma’s work on chickpea-derived prebiotics reducing Campylobacter in broiler chickens.
Maria Christina de Souza Silva from the University of Lavras in Brazil compared pet food regulatory frameworks between Brazil and the United States.
All nine posters will be displayed in the Paradise Foyer throughout the meeting. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 26.
AAFCO board president Dan King and president-elect Bailey Whitten led the effort to increase student involvement in the association. Travel stipends and scholarships for finalists come from presidential charitable giving.
