Sofia Shepherd

Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Arcaro Lab

Sofia Shepherd is a senior undergraduate student studying Animal Science on the Pre-Veterinary track at UMass Amherst. At UMass, Sofia is involved in a number of clubs including the Animal Science and Pre-Veterinary Club, the Wildlife Club, and the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority. Sofia spent her summer working at the UMass Hadley Farm, and in the Arcaro lab. She also works at Landau Veterinary Services in Belchertown as a veterinary assistant, and interns at Diggity Dogs Service Dogs in Greenfield, Mass.

Sofia has a passion for veterinary medicine and livestock animal research. She is currently researching the presence of different types of carotenoids in breast milk with the New Moms Wellness Study. In this study, Sofia Shepherd and Seth Doe are using breast milk from participants at different weeks post-partum to evaluate if a higher fruit and vegetable consumption will increase the presence of carotenoids, and therefore decrease the risk of developing breast cancer. 

Sofia will be attending veterinary school in the Fall of 2025 and graduating with a bachelor of science degree this May, 2025.