Miranda Leibstein

Miranda Leibstein will graduate from UMass in May of 2024 with a BS in Pre-Veterinary Science from the VASCI Department. Originally from Long Island, New York, Miranda committed to UMass as an Animal Science major in the fall of 2021 because of the rigorous and prestigious program that is offered here, the research opportunities offered by faculty, the location of the university, and the high rate of acceptance into veterinary school. Because of the phenomenal support that the department offers, Miranda has been able to cut down her undergraduate from four to three years and maintain a competitive GPA, taking part in clinical research at Umass, shadowing at Tufts, obtaining the Chancellor's Scholarship as well as the Equine Research Endowment Award, all while being able to do things outside of academia like riding her horse and spending time with her peers. 

Miranda found her passion for veterinary medicine through her everyday life with her horses. She had grown up around show horses and had spent many hours looking over the shoulder of a DVM when they came to the farm for routine visits, and she realized the connection between the horse, the medicine, and the science in the classroom that she was learning at school. Through this, she was introduced to clinical research and fell in love with the idea of scientific discovery through clinical medicine. Because of this, she pursued clinical research with Dr. Gradil in her last two years of undergrad (including summer and winter breaks!) studying the in vivo and in vitro impact of copper IUDs in mares. She hopes to continue research in vet school and beyond. Miranda would like to study the connection between the hind-gut microbiome, the endocrine system, and the onset of laminitis in horses. Miranda is currently awaiting interview decisions from a few schools for matriculation in the fall of 2024. 

Miranda spent plenty of time at the Stoneleigh-Burnham School Equestrian Facility with her horse Clarado. She is extremely thankful that she had the opportunity to continue to ride competitively on the A-circuit at shows including HITS Saugerties and Old Salem, obtain a Level One certificate from the British Horse Society, and work as a stablehand here. She is now working towards her Massachusetts Riding Instructor license. She plans to continue to ride at the competitive level while in veterinary school. Additionally, Miranda is a peer advisor for the VASCI department! As if that wasn't enough, she recently adopted a kitten named Finn. 

Miranda thanks her parents, who are her biggest supporters in pursuing her dream of becoming an equine veterinarian as well as the best horsewoman she can be, Sarah and Kay Ward of Stoneleigh-Burnham School for the phenomenal care that they provide for Clarado and being her home-away-from-home, and of course Dr. Katie Beltaire, Dr. Klaus Becker and Dr. Carlos Gradil for the priceless mentorship and support through her undergraduate career.