As we begin the spring semester, we are excited to welcome the new faculty members in our college who have joined us. The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri is proud to introduce four new faculty members this spring who are ready to advance our core missions of research, teaching and Extension. They each…
Faculty Achievement ⋅ Page 2
Expanding the Reach of Urban Agriculture
Cabrera-Garcia now serves as director for Center for Urban Horticulture Engineering at UMKC's Missouri Institute for Defense and Energy
Juan Carlos Cabrera-Garcia is the new horticulture state specialist for the University of Missouri Extension. Juan is also tasked with developing and directing a new Center for Urban Horticulture Engineering at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Missouri Institute for Defense and Energy (MIDE). His dual appointment is a new collaborative arrangement between MU Extension and UMKC-MIDE. Juan’s research and Extension…
University of Missouri and University of Georgia Receive NSF-NIFA Award to Help Fight the Soybean Cyst Nematode
MU's Lesa Beamer and UGA's Melissa Mitchum will co-direct the 4-year award, which totals $1.2 million
The National Science Foundation (NSF) – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Plant-Biotic Interactions Program has jointly funded an award to researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) and the University of Georgia (UGA) to help combat a devastating soybean pathogen, soybean cyst nematode (SCN). University of Missouri’s (MU) Lesa Beamer, professor in biochemistry, and University of Georgia (UGA),…
Expanding Forestry Efforts
CAFNR announces gift to create landowner engagement position in forestry
Barrels made from Missouri white oak truly represent a 100 percent value-added product from the Show-Me State. From landowners’ woodlands, to master loggers harvesting mature trees, to the manufacturing plants assembling the barrels, white oak woodlands help sustain rural communities across Missouri. And not just white oak but red oak, too, ensures Missouri’s $10 billion forest products economic engine keeps…
Ahmed Balboula Receives Outstanding Investigator Award
Ahmed Balboula receives grant through the National Institute of General Medicine
Ahmed Balboula, assistant professor in animal sciences, is working to understand how chromosome segregation is regulated in female gametes (oocytes). During the early stages of pregnancy, chromosome mis-segregation can result in aneuploidy (abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell), the leading genetic cause of miscarriages and congenital abnormalities. His work has implications for both animal and human health. Balboula recently…
A Blooming Passion for Teaching
Lesleighan Cravens earns CAFNR Golden Apple Award
After graduating with a degree in agricultural education, with an emphasis in plant sciences and agricultural economics, from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) in 2013, Lesleighan Cravens soon joined the CAFNR faculty as an instructor of floral design in the Division of Plant Science and Technology. Cravens is still instructing MU students –…
National Science Foundation Taps Danforth Center to Lead New Institute to Advance the Restoration of Natural and Agricultural Ecosystems
The $12.5 million collaborative program includes 26 scientists and educators from eight institutions, including the University of Missouri
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center today announced a $12.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish the New Roots for Restoration Biology Integration Institute (NRR-BII). Allison Miller, Ph.D., a member of the Danforth Center and professor of biology at Saint Louis University, will serve as the director of the NRR-BII, a collaboration between eight organizations, involving…
Building Missouri’s Economic Impact
Thompson's feedlot allows specialists the opportunity to feed and keep cattle in the state
Beef cattle research was introduced at the Thompson Research Center, located in Spickard, Mo., in 1963, and since that time the site has served as an important research location that emphasizes premium cattle genetics. Thompson, part of the University of Missouri (MU) College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Agricultural Experiment Station, is continuing to build on that prestigious…
A Humbling Opportunity
Bryon Wiegand named director of the Division of Animal Sciences
As an alum of the University of Missouri, Bryon Wiegand has worked at his alma mater since 2007, in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Division of Animal Sciences. Wiegand first joined Mizzou as an associate professor and has served as a professor in the division since 2015, with assignments in teaching, research and Extension. He was…
Enhancing Animal Reproduction
Division of Animal Sciences receives more than $1 million in USDA NIFA funding
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded nearly $11 million in funding for grants related to enhancing animal reproduction, and improving the welfare and well-being of agriculture animals. Researchers in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Division of Animal Sciences earned three of the 15 grants…