Haylee H Webster

Haylee Hanling is a post-doctoral fellow in the Animal and Dairy Sciences Department working under Dr. Laura Hernandez. Haylee was raised in Charleston, SC. She received her bachelor’s degree in Animal and Veterinary Sciences from Clemson University in 2017. She then earned her PhD in Dairy Science from Virginia Tech in 2022. Her graduate research involved dairy lactation physiology and increased milking frequency in early lactation. In graduate school, Haylee took many courses to prepare her to become a teacher in higher education. She was involved in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Graduate Teaching Scholars program and obtained the Future Professoriate Certificate from Virginia Tech.

Her current research involves the interaction of serotonin and early lactation hypocalcemia on the mammary biology of dairy cattle. Hypocalcemia is a prevalent disease in the dairy industry that can lead to cow death if not treated quickly. Although cows can recover from the disease, their milk production performance is reduced during that lactation. Haylee’s experiment involved inducing hypocalcemia prepartum to prevent the disease postpartum. Haylee’s research is funded by the Dairy Innovation Hub.

Haylee spends her free time with her fiancée and menagerie of pets including a greyhound, 3 cats, and a tortoise. Her hobbies include hiking, playing videogames, and reading fantasy books. Haylee aspires to teach undergraduates introductory animal science courses and lactation physiology. Her dream is also become a beef and bison hobby farmer.