Student Highlights: Bridger Sparks
— MEET BRIDGER —
Class: Senior
Major: Animal & Veterinary Science
My name is Bridger Sparks. I am a senior at the University of Wyoming studying Animal & Veterinary Sciences, with a concentration in animal biology and a second degree in physiology. I am originally from Grantsville, Utah, but moved to Laramie from the Denver area after working full time for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for about a year and a half.
I am President of the Wyoming Undergraduate Research Coalition, a member of the Queer Community Coalition, and a USDA National Laboratorian Training Program Fellow. Additionally, I am a member of the Endocrine Society, American Physiological Society, and the Society for the Study of Reproduction, among others.
— BRIDGER’S RESEARCH —
My undergraduate research through the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium looks at how type 1 diabetes influences the reproductive health of swine that are just about to enter puberty (peripubertal). Swine are an excellent biomedical model and can help us understand physiological processes in humans. I am specifically looking at how steroid hormones (Testosterone and Estradiol-17b) and cytokines (“immune proteins” specifically Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha) interact in the type 1 diabetic state to better understand the negative health repercussions diabetes can have on reproduction.
ABOUT STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS
Every year, we award fellowships to graduate and undergraduate students attending the University of Wyoming or Wyoming’s community colleges in order to provide them with funding to engage in real-world research opportunities. Occasionally, we feature one of these students and their research on this blog. For more information about our student fellowships, visit our College Programs page.