USask graduate student receives American bison scholarship
Dr. Maitê de Almeida (DVM), a Master of Science (MSc) student at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), was among eight recipients in North America to receive scholarships offered through the National Bison Association’s Throlson American Bison Foundation and the Rich Zahringer Memorial Scholarship Fund.
By WCVM TodayIn 2025, de Almeida was the only graduate student from a Canadian university to receive one of the awards — a Throlson American Bison Scholarship — that recognizes students who have demonstrated their commitment to advancing the bison industry.
The US$5,000 award is named after Dr. Ken Throlson (DVM), a pioneer of the modern bison business and the foundation’s founder. While previous students studying in Canada have received awards through the foundation, de Almeida is the first Canadian-based scholar to receive one of its scholarships since 2020.
Originally from Brazil, de Almeida completed her veterinary degree at the São Paulo State University in 2022. During her veterinary program’s final year, she was a visiting student researcher at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) where she contributed to swine health, behaviour and bovine cell culture research projects.
In January 2024 de Almeida began her USask master’s program, which is based at the WCVM and the USask Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE). During her time at USask, de Almeida has demonstrated her dedication to improving bison welfare and nutrition in collaboration with her supervisor, Dr. Diego Moya (DVM, PhD), a WCVM assistant professor of food animal behaviour and welfare.
Through her research, de Almeida is evaluating how different levels of starch in the diets of bison can affect the animals’ feed intake and feeding behaviour as well as their development. The project’s field work is based at the LFCE Goodale Farm that’s home to a bison herd as well as research and handling facilities for specialized livestock. Her research efforts are helping to address one of the biggest issues in the livestock sector: optimizing animal nutrition while also ensuring animal welfare and environment sustainability.
The Throlson American Bison Foundation and the Rich Zahringer Memorial Scholarship Fund distributed US$30,000 through eight scholarships in 2025. To read the original news release, visit https://nationalbison.org/2025-scholarships/.
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