Jennifer Cain's research focuses on characterizing the microbiome of the equine roundworm. | Photo: Courtesy University of Kentucky

• BS in Biology, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah
• MS in Biology, University of Nebraska, Kearney

Jennifer Cain, MS, chose to pursue her PhD in Veterinary Science at the University of Kentucky (UK) and study under the direction of Martin Nielsen, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVM, associate professor and Schlaikjer Professor of Equine Infectious Disease at the Gluck Center, because it allowed her to combine her love of horses with her interest in biology.

“I’ve been in love with horses my entire life,” she said. “I started riding when I was 8 years old. Biology was always my favorite topic in school. I took every biology class my high school offered, and had the most awesome biology teacher I could ever ask for (shout-out to Jason Drake at Maplewood High School). The combination of those two passions just naturally led to equine research.”

For her master’s research, Cain studied Strongylus vulgaris (the bloodworm) prevalence in the feral horses living at Fort Polk in Louisiana