Two University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment students were selected as Wallace-Carver Fellows by The World Food Prize Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The students Morgan Hasler and Stone Warfield completed their fellowships this summer.

The fellowship is a prestigious honor that allows the students to work with leading scientists and policymakers at USDA research centers and offices located throughout the United States. This year, only 30 students were chosen from across the nation to receive this honor.

 A graduate of Lexington’s Locust Trace AgriScience Center, Hasler is an incoming freshman and will double major in agricultural economics and animal sciences.

She completed a fellowship at the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Animal Metabolism Unit in Fargo, North Dakota. There, she tested ways to safely and easily detect meloxicam in livestock. Meloxicam is an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat animals but is prohibited in animals used for consumption.

“Working for the USDA this summer has fueled my passion for studying animal sciences and helped me gain confidence that I can be successful in my future career and have a positive impact on the world around me,” she said.

Hasler plans to one day work for a global company to solve food security issues using sustainable agriculture practices.

Lexington native Warfield is a sophomore animal sciences major.

During his fellowship, he conducted research on ways to prevent aflatoxin formation at the Food and Feed Safety Research Unit of the USDA ARS’s Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans. Aflatoxins are toxins produced by mold or fungi found in food.

“Working with the USDA, I have had the opportunity to see and do many things I never thought I would get to experience,” he said. “To be able to have this experience was a great blessing. During my time there, I was able to experience the joys of being a scientist.”

Warfield plans to go to veterinary school after graduation.