The first batch of proposals funded by CAFNR’s Joy of Discovery Seed Grant Program has been announced. The Joy of Discovery Seed Grant Program supports nascent, collaborative, multi transdisciplinary research with the goal of developing a competitive proposal for federal funding. The following proposals were selected (listed by the PI, Co-PI/s and title of the project):

• Antje Heese, David Mendoza-Cozatl and Scott Peck, Towards understanding how protein trafficking modulates iron (Fe) uptake and allocation in model and crop plants 
• Jacqueline Limberg, Jaume Padilla, Sex differences in insulin-mediated increases in sympathetic nervous system activity, peripheral vasoconstriction and impact of obesity
• Syon Park, Characterize host defense systems to identify parasite resistance mechanisms
• Rocio Melissa Rivera, Dissecting the molecular pathways involved in loss-of-imprinting as a result of mammalian embryo manipulation
• Robin Rotman, Charlie Nilon and Sonja Wilhelm Stanis, Policy approaches to reduce the mental health impacts of repeated exposure to inland flooding
• Gary Stacey, Jae hyo Song, Development of a novel soybean root hair transformation method
• Peter Sutovsky, Sperm cell as an unconventional model for the study of Huntington’s disease
• Victoria Vieira-Potter, Dennis Lubahn and Camilla Manrique, Role of estrogen receptor Beta (ERb) in regulating adipocyte mitochondrial activity: Implications for improving metabolic dysfunction via synergism with Beta 3 Adrenergic Receptor (B3AR) ligands
• Jianfeng Zhou, Kevin Rice and Prasad Calyam, Develop an insect pest monitoring network using smart sensing technologies