Laura Ellestad

2025 D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Teaching

Laura Ellestad is an associate professor in the Department of Poultry Science at CAES, where she also serves as director of graduate studies. She received her master’s degree in aquaculture nutrition and a doctorate in molecular and cell biology from the University of Maryland before joining UGA in 2017. While her primary appointment is research, Ellestad is deeply committed to teaching and mentoring students.

Since 2018, she has taught “Avian Surgical Techniques,” one of the nation’s only undergraduate survival surgery courses, which has become the department’s most popular class and a critical tool for student recruitment. She also helped develop a Scotland-based study abroad program in animal health. Ellestad’s dedication has been recognized with a Lilly Teaching Fellowship and the department’s Henry Marks Teaching Award. Her research program engages undergraduates in projects exploring physiological regulators of poultry growth, feed utilization, egg production and skeletal health.