The American Society of Animal Science announced NDSU animal scientist Kimberly Vonnahme is the recipient of the 2013 Western Section Young Scientist Award. Vonnahme, associate professor of animal sciences, will be honored June 20 at the Western Section, American Society of Animal Science meeting in Bozeman, Mont.

Vonnahme joined the NDSU faculty in April 2004. She conducts research into how maternal nutrition impacts the development of the placenta, and she is studying how maternal nutrition impacts vascular function. She also is studying how developmental programming may be directly linked to reproductive and growth parameters in livestock species, particularly cattle and sheep. She has 91 peer-reviewed publication and more than 180 abstracts.

Vonnahme earned her bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, her master’s degree in animal science at Oklahoma State University and her doctorate in reproductive physiology at the University of Wyoming.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.