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New Prague, Minn. (May 19, 2025) – The Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC) selected Ana Laplacette, a PhD candidate at Cornell University, as the 2025 DCRC Scholar. As the award recipient, Laplacette won an expense-paid trip to attend the 2025 DCRC Annual Meeting, Nov. 11-13, in Middleton, Wis.
Laplacette received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Buenos Aires. In 2023, she earned a master’s degree in animal science from Cornell University. Laplacette’s master’s thesis addressed “Optimizing reproductive management and performance of dairy cattle through promotion of estrous expression and automated detection of estrus.”
With guidance from her PhD advisor, Julio Giordano, Cornell University professor of dairy cattle biology and management, Laplacette’s research focuses on developing data-driven, targeted management programs for improving reproductive management practices and performance in dairy herds. A key step in this process is grouping cows with similar reproductive potential using multiple predictors. Thus, one of her projects focused on evaluating the associations among multiple cow biological, behavioral and performance features with first service outcomes. Additionally, Laplacette’s research contributed to developing and implementing programs that optimize first service management and first service fertility through the combination of automated estrous alerts and synchronization of ovulation protocol.
Furthermore, Laplacette created and evaluated tools that use machine learning and non-machine learning models to identify subgroups of cows with differences in reproductive potential. “We are especially interested in developing tools to identify cows with low reproductive potential early in lactation to allow implementation of interventions that improve key reproductive outcomes, such as pregnancies per artificial insemination and pregnancy rates of low fertility cows,” she explained.
Laplacette’s career goals include becoming a researcher in the field of bovine reproduction, contributing to dairy systems through the study of reproductive biology, and developing practical management strategies tailored to different herd types and production systems. Also, she plans to train and support stakeholders within the dairy industry to help ensure improved reproductive performance.
The DCRC Scholars program recognizes an outstanding graduate student studying dairy, animal or veterinary science, microbiology or a related program, with an area of interest that includes dairy cattle reproduction and fertility. Applicants submitted an essay that detailed their interest in dairy cattle reproduction, career goals and research project(s), and their academic advisor provided a letter of recommendation.
The Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council is focused on bringing together all sectors of the dairy industry – producers, consultants, academia and allied industry professionals – for improved reproductive performance. DCRC provides an unprecedented opportunity for all groups to work together to take dairy cattle reproduction to the next level.
