Interdisciplinary team uses Joy of Discovery seed grant to launch NSF project

Bing Yang recognized for contributions in plant genomics

Show Me Research Week, April 17-21, is a celebration of student accomplishments and a showcase for all community stakeholders to see their investments come to fruition. This week was born from a collaboration between the Bond Life Sciences Center and the Office of Undergraduate Research. Prior to the pandemic, both organizations held long-standing research weeks to celebrate their respective annual accomplishments. In reimagining a new event for a new era, it was decided they wanted a campus wide showcase for the entire research community.

Registration is now open for presentations and judges. We hope to see a lot of CAFNR representation!

The CAFNR Research Council is continuing its online webinar series for the spring semester. Registration is not required. Upcoming events include:

• Today, Feb. 9, at 3:30 p.m.: Zipei Zhang, assistant professor, Division of Food, Nutrition & Exercise, will present “Broaden the Application of Phytochemicals in Food and Pharmaceutical Areas.” Join on Zoom.
• March 9, at 3:30 p.m.: Brad Schrag, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Director and Policy Liaison, will present “Lab-to-Market Programs at the National Science Foundation.” Join on Zoom.

CAFNR Office of Research is pleased to offer the CAFNR Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (C-DRIG) to support dissertation research projects proposed by doctoral students in the College. This is the third year of this program. Eligible students will have completed their coursework and have advanced to candidacy or will advance to candidacy within six months of the C-DRIG awards.

Proposals will be evaluated by the CAFNR Research Council, an advisory body that advises CAFNR Office of Research and is made up of representatives from each Division in the College.

Awards have a duration of one year, beginning 1 May and expiring on 30 April of the following year. Pre-award costs may be incurred for expenditures up to 90 days prior to the award start date with approval from the Associate Dean for Research; however, no-cost extensions will not be granted, and any remaining funds will be reclaimed.

Application Deadline: March 15, 2023

Estimated Number of Awards: 5

Anticipated Funding Amount per Award: $2,000

Interested parties may contact Rhonda Turner at TurnerRH@missouri.edu in the CAFNR Office of Research.

Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) would like to call your attention to NSF’s requirement for Safe and Inclusive Working Environments for off-campus research, which is effective for research proposals submitted on or after Jan. 30, 2023.

At the time of proposal submission, principal investigators must have a plan in place for creating and maintaining a safe environment for the project being proposed, which is retained by the CAFNR Grants Office unless the guidelines require it to be submitted with the proposal.

A template is available for use to ensure all the required elements are being addressed.

Three CAFNR researchers — Haylee Schreier, senior research associate; Mandy Bish, extension specialist; and Kevin Bradley, professor — were recently honored by the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) for their outstanding contributions to the field of weed science. The trio was presented with the Outstanding Paper award during the organization’s 2023 annual meeting. The award-winning paper is The Impact of Electrocution Treatments on Weed Control and Weed Seed Viability in Soybean. It was published in Weed Technology in July.

CAFNR faculty members have received the following recent grants (listed by Principal Investigator):

Andrew Thomas, Developing an Understanding of the Virus Situation with Missouri Elderberry, Missouri Department of Agriculture, 1/1/23-12/31/24, $49,804

Tim Reinbott, Fingerling Potato Production in Moveable High Tunnels to Expand Missouri’s Vegetable Market, Missouri Department of Agriculture, 11/1/22-10/31/24, $28,080

Kelly Nelson, Field Evaluation of PhotoSeed™ and SunZoil™ Traits, ZeaKal, Inc., 5/31/22-5/30/25, $665,518

Tim Reinbott, MU HARC Conference Center to augment Rural Business Development of the Region, USDA, 3/1/22-2/28/23, $87,000

Reid Smeda, Reducing Risk in Soybean Production by Building Sustainability in the Best Management Practices for Herbicide-Resistant Weeds (FY23), Purdue University, 10/1/22-9/30/23, $8,000

Lisa Webb, Linking wetland inundation and habitat selection to Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) survival throughout the full annual cycle, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, 1/1/23-7/1/24, $85,035

Grover Shannon, Increasing the Value of U.S. Soybean by Combining High Meal Protein, High Yield and Other Valuable Traits Utilizing Genetic Diversity, Breeding, and Genomic Tools, Agricultural Research Service, 10/1/22-9/30/23, $92,000

Grover Shannon, Yield Limitations of Soybean Varieties Under Drought: Identifying and Overcoming Weaknesses by Team Drought via Breeding, Genomics, Phenomics and Physiology, Agricultural Research Service, 10/1/22-9/30/23, $49,497

Bradley Wilson, Evaluation of Foliar Nutrient and Fungicide Products on Stressed Cotton Seedlings in Adverse Environmental Conditions, Cotton, Inc., $13,000

Jacob Westhoff, Inventory of Freshwater Mussels at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, National Park Service, 9/16/22-8/23/24, $108,409.56

Bongkosh Vardhanabhuti, Building Infrastructure and Connectivity for Small and Medium Scale Processing of Soy-Based Value Added Products: A Multistate Approach, Purdue University, 10/1/22-9/30/23,  $220,000

Grover Shannon, Determining the Causes of Declining Test Weight of Soybean and Utilizing Breeding to Increase Test Weight, Agricultural Research Service, 10/1/22-9/30/23, $29,986

Austin Landini, Pushed, Pulled and Stuck: The Growth of Nonemployer Businesses for People of Color, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 8/8/22-9/30/24, $7,475

Grover Shannon, Developing the Perfect Molecular Markers and New Germplasm for Rapid Incorporation of Resistance to Soil Borne Pathogens of Soybean, Ohio State University,  1/1/23-12/31/23, $75,174

Bradley Wilson, Determining Impacts of Root Knot Nematode Resistant Cultivars Compared to Chemical Management of Nematodes in Missouri Soils, Cotton, Inc., 1/1/23-12/31/23, $16,000

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