Madeleine Schoderbek

I am a M.S student working in reproductive physiology in Dr. Michelle Rhoad’s lab. I am originally from Three Bridges, New Jersey, where I grew up showing dairy cattle in 4-H and riding horses. I earned my B.S.A. in Animal and Nutritional Sciences at West Virginia University in 2022. During this time, I performed an internship at the Miner Agriculture Research Institute in Chazy, NY, and worked at a dairy farm to gain experience and knowledge in the industry. After graduating in 2022, I worked for CentralStar in Michigan, a Cooperative of Select Sires, up until August 2025. I started as a Relief Technician covering breeding routes across the state, and after about a year I was promoted to A.I. Specialist and obtained my own breeding route. I was the breeder and reproductive specialist for four dairy farms ranging in herd sizes of 200 – 3,000 cows along with breeding all their heifers. In April of 2025 I was awarded the CentralStar Lifetime Achievement Award for 10,000+ A.I. Services. During my experience as an A.I Specialist for CentralStar, I learned and obtained as much information as I could about bovine reproductive processes, while overseeing and managing aspects of breeding programs and working with many herd management systems. My interest in cattle reproduction grew and led me to want to study and research this field further. My research at VT focuses on initiating and maintaining postpartum cyclicity and preventing anestrus.