MAES News
October 1, 2009
- Project Aids Environmental Decisions in the Face of Complicated Trade-offs
- Potato Genome Will Help Improve World's Top Vegetable Crop, Says MAES Scientist
- 'Write Winning Grants' Workshop Offered Again by Popular Demand
- Oct. 9 Deadline for Submitting Animal Agriculture Initiative Preproposals
- MSU Unveils First Large-animal, Open-bore MRI at a U.S. Academic Institution
- Director Named for School of Packaging
- CARRS Chairperson Named
Energy shortages, climate change, pollution -- some of the world's most pressing problems weigh on the shoulders of some of the world's most hard-pressed people. Michigan State University researchers aim to help them sort out such complex problems.
International development programs have long sought to improve quality of life for people living in developing regions of the world, said MAES scientist Joe Arvai, a faculty member in the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies (CARRS). Development agencies now recognize the need to include environmental sustainability as part of their missions, he said, but difficult trade-offs often are involved, and they’re typically weighed by individuals and groups with differing needs and preferences.
Should developing nations clear forests for fuel or to plant crops? Apply more fertilizer and pesticide to boost yields? Develop large or small plantations? If minority or otherwise marginalized farmers are even asked their opinions, will they matter?
"What I'm really interested in is people when they're making decisions, how they confront trade-offs across objectives," Arvai explained. "People find it difficult to confront a number of objectives at a time."
Many considerations tend to fall by the wayside, he said, and emotional responses to fundamental concerns usually dominate decision making.
Opinion surveys tend to take the form of multiple-choice polls, but those don't always get to the bottom of people's concerns or help them work through complex issues, Arvai explained. He's interested in testing such methods against a more in-depth and open-ended approach that taps recent insights from the field of behavioral decision research.
"The hope is that whatever choices people end up making are a truer reflection of what really matters to them, as opposed to giving them information and hoping they consider everything," he said, "and taking a leap of faith that researchers and policymakers really have a handle on what people care about."
"This is all in the realm of international development, where, at least historically, it has been sort of expert-driven -- where we want to encourage farmers to behave in this certain way," added project collaborator Robert Richardson, a CARRS colleague of Arvai.
Decisions likely to confront poor farmers might include whether to seek payment for environmental services in an international climate change mitigation program.
"The question is, is the narrow (survey) approach capturing people’s full willingness to make tradeoffs?" Richardson said.
Doctoral student Delanie Kellon is working with the group, doing research field work in Costa Rica in cooperation with EARTH University there. John Kerr, another CARRS faculty member, also is participating and hopes to incorporate similar research conducted recently by some of his doctoral candidate students in Tanzania.
"There is a lot of discussion about the role of people in tropical countries in protecting forests to help limit global warming, since tropical forests store carbon and cutting them releases carbon dioxide," Kerr said. "Many programs exist to reduce tropical deforestation, but it's hard to find success stories. A better understanding of local people's perceptions of tradeoffs could help in the design of programs to reduce deforestation."
The two-year project is funded with a $394,753 grant from the National Science Foundation using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funds.
Potato Genome Will Help Improve World's Top Vegetable Crop, Says MAES Scientist
TIt's been cultivated for nearly 7,000 years and grown on every continent except Antarctica. Now the humble potato has had its genome sequenced.
"The potato is the most important vegetable worldwide," said Robin Buell, MAES plant biology researcher, who was part of the consortium that released the first draft sequence of the potato genome. "This first draft that is being released will help breeders improve yield, quality, disease resistance and nutritional value."
The Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium, a team of 39 scientists from 14 countries, began work on the potato genome project in 2006. The complete sequence is estimated to be 840 million base pairs (about one quarter the size of the human genome). The draft sequence, which covers 95 percent of potato genes, is available at http://www.potatogenome.net and will be updated over the next six months.
Potatoes are members of the Solanaceae family, as are tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, petunias and tobacco. Buell, along with MAES potato breeder Dave Douches, is leading a $5.4 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to improve the quality, yield, drought tolerance and disease resistance of potatoes and tomatoes. Known as the SolCAP project, the research aims to use emerging DNA sequence data with basic research data to improve tomato and potato varieties.
"The timing of the release of the potato draft sequence is nice for the SolCAP project," Douches said. "We're combining genetics and breeding, so having a draft of the genome will help us find genetic markers for desirable traits in potatoes, which will make breeding more precise."
Buell is determining which genes are expressed in specific potato plant tissue to better understand the tubers’ growth and development.
Buell's potato genome sequencing research was funded by the National Science Foundation and was done in collaboration with Chris Town, of the J. Craig Venter Institute, and Jiming Jiang, of the University of Wisconsin.
A complete list of the scientists who worked on the potato genome is available online.
In 2007, more than 325 million tons of potatoes were produced around the world. China is the top global potato consumer in overall quantity, downing about 47.5 million tons of potatoes in 2005. Per capita, Belarusians are the leaders in savoring spuds, eating nearly 400 pounds of potatoes per year. The United States consumed slight more than 17 million tons of potatoes in 2005, which makes the country the world's fourth largest potato consumer. Each person in the United States eats, on average, more than 119 pounds of potatoes per year.
'Write Winning Grants' Workshop Offered Again by Popular Demand
The MAES Preawards Office is pleased to present the widely acclaimed Write Winning Grants workshop for MSU faculty members on Jan. 6, 2010. Check-in begins at 8 a.m., and the seminar runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The workshop will take place in 1410 Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building. The cost of the workshop is $90. Preregistration is required. Click here for the registration form. The form can be printed and then mailed or faxed to the MAES office.
Workshop registration is open now and will end Oct. 30 (or earlier if room capacity is reached).
Forms are due to Candace Ebbinghaus in the MAES office, 109 Agriculture Hall (fax: 517-353-5406), by Oct. 30, 2009. Participants will receive a confirmation e-mail within a week of submitting their registration. If a confirmation isn't received, call Candace Ebbinghaus at 355-0123, ext. 112, or send an e-mail to candy@anr.msu.edu.
The workshop will comprehensively address both practical and conceptual aspects important to the process of proposal writing. It's designed for faculty members who have had some exposure to writing grant applications, either through training/mentoring or personal experience.
The program is designed to meet the needs of the audience -- i.e., to emphasize the granting agencies that are of greatest interest to its members, including federal, private and institutional sources. Emphasis will be given to such things as idea development, identification of the most appropriate granting agency, how to write for reviewers, and tips and strategies of proven value in presenting an applicant's case to reviewers.
Participants will be taught to organize their presentations into a linear progression of logic that leads reviewers through their applications. The seminar stresses that applicants are writing for two audiences: the assigned reviewers, who have read the application in its entirety, and those who have read little if anything before the review meeting. Strategies designed to develop advocacy and a fundable priority score from both audiences will be presented.
Every participant will receive The Grant Writer's Handbook. Participants also may select only ONE of the workbooks below:
- NIH Workbook: The PHS SF424 application format and electronic submission through Grants.gov are now required for most NIH grant applications. This workbook emphasizes the principles and fundamentals of good proposal writing and includes tips and strategies that kept the authors continuously funded by NIH throughout their research careers. The workbook provides examples, and the reader is asked to make a comparable response in his/her area of research interest.
- NSF Workbook
- Successful Proposals to Any Agency: Most agency grant applications contain the same sections -- only the names of the sections and the order in which they appear in the application are different. In addition, the principles and fundamentals of good proposal writing are the same for all agencies. This ”generic” workbook can be used to write a proposal to any granting agency. It walks the applicant through the preparation of each section. It's meant to be complemented by specific instructions from the targeted agency.
- USDA Workbook: Applicants submitting proposals to the USDA will need the USDA Workbook, which includes a guide for completing sections that need to be uploaded into the new SF424 electronic format.
Direct questions to Candace Ebbinghaus at 517-355-0123, ext. 112, or candy@msu.edu.
Oct. 9 Deadline for Submitting Animal Agriculture Initiative Preproposals
Michigan's animal agriculture industry continues to confront numerous challenges on various fronts while simultaneously seeking out potential opportunities. From maximizing environmental health and farm profitability to harnessing energy from animal wastes to measuring and monitoring consumer attitudes and perceptions to minimizing the risk of spreading animal disease, industry research and outreach priorities facing modern-day agriculture are plentiful.
With that in mind, the Animal Agriculture Initiative (AAI), Michigan's animal agriculture research, teaching and Extension initiative based at MSU, invites MSU faculty members and MSU Extension staff members to submit preproposals for the 2010–2011 funding year (July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011) by Oct. 9. These preliminary project proposals should focus on developing solutions to problems defined by one of the five broad research categories identified as high priority by the state's animal industry groups: environment, health, imminent or emerging issues, profitability and welfare.
All preliminary proposals will be reviewed by the AAI Coalition, the governing board of the AAI. The coalition is made up of representatives from the MSU departments of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics; Animal Science; Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering; Crop and Soil Sciences; Food Science and Human Nutrition; and Large Animal Clinical Sciences (College of Veterinary Medicine); and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and MSU Extension. The group provides program direction to research and Extension projects involving the state's beef, dairy, equine, poultry, sheep and swine industries, and works with various industry advisory committees to help establish research priorities for improving Michigan animal agriculture.
The AAI Coalition will select proposals to move on to the full proposal round. Final selections will take place in November. In 2009–2010, the AAI awarded $350,000 in funding split between eight research projects selected from among a pool of 20 preproposals.
Established in 1996 as part of the grass-roots-driven Revitalization of Animal Agriculture in Michigan Initiative, AAI is a partnership between MSU, livestock producers, industry organizations and the Michigan Department of Agriculture. With its mission centered squarely on finding solutions to problems facing the state’s animal-based agriculture industries through research and Extension projects, the AAI has funded more than 190 research projects since it began.
The Michigan Animal Agriculture Initiative at MSU is vital to the health of the state's economy. A survey commissioned by the AAI in 2007 revealed that nearly $22.9 million in annual economic activity can be linked back to the initiative. AAI-funded research adds $11.5 million annually to the state's economy, and for every state tax dollar invested in the AAI, the initiative returns $3.40 in gross state product.
Questions about the AAI proposal submission process should be directed to Faye Watson. Call 517-353-3174 or e-mail cotton@msu.edu.
MSU Unveils First Large-animal, Open-bore MRI at a U.S. Academic Institution
The MSU College of Veterinary Medicine is now equipped with the first large-animal, open-bore MRI at an academic institution. The acquisition will allow veterinarians to tackle a variety of research questions and greatly influence both animal and human health.
The magnetic resonance imaging machine, which recently became fully operational, has a 70-centimeter opening (nearly 50 percent larger than the standard MRI), which will allow doctors and researchers at the college to analyze animals such as horses and cows. Just as important, said diagnostic imaging section chief Anthony Pease, will be the ability to study and interpret the images they receive.
"MSU's new MRI is one of only three in the country and the first at an academic institution," Pease said. "We will be able to look critically for the first time at many animal processes."
The new machine, Pease said, will give veterinarians new insight into how illnesses and injuries affect animals.
"The main benefit is to look at the spinal cord and brain better than we ever have before," he said. "CT imaging has been able to provide information about bone, but now we can image muscle, brain and spinal cord without invasive procedures. Also, we will be able to look at how the animal brain works, how animals sense pain and how their minds work when they sleep."
An example of a specific ailment to be focused on is arthritis. Pease said that, for the first time, veterinarians will be able to see articular cartilage in animals to look for early signs of the crippling disease. He added that the MRI will continue to give veterinarians valuable insight into treating human ailments as well.
"Everything we learn about animals we will compare to what is known about people with the hope to treat both humans and animals with similar diseases," he said.
Director Named for School of Packaging
Joseph H. Hotchkiss, former chairperson of the Cornell University Department of Food Science, has been named director of the MSU School
of Packaging in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) and the inaugural director of the planned Center for Packaging Innovation and Sustainability. His appointment was approved by the MSU Board of Trustees at its Sept. 11 meeting and becomes effective Oct. 1.
Hotchkiss succeeds Sue Selke, who had served as acting director of the school since July 2007; Mark Uebersax, who served as transition director from January to July 2007; and Sara Risch, who served as director from 2004 to 2006.
"I am excited to have Joe Hotchkiss join our faculty to provide vision and direction to our packaging programs," said Jeffrey D. Armstrong, CANR dean. "Under his leadership, we will build upon the School of Packaging's long-standing preeminence within the industry and develop the new Center for Packaging Innovation and Sustainability to provide a platform for collaboration between industry partners and university scientists addressing sustainable packaging practices."
Hotchkiss joined the Cornell faculty in the Department of Food Science in 1980, taught a broad range of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and was faculty thesis adviser to more than 45 graduate students. He participated in a variety of Extension outreach activities, and he has an extensive research portfolio focused on the safety, nutrition and packaging of food. He holds five patents related to his research. Hotchkiss also served as chair of the department and director of the Cornell Institute of Food Science (2002–07), and he was a science adviser for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (1999–2003).
He has been a consultant to a wide variety of food products, packaging and consumer goods corporations as well as the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He has also served on committees within many local, state and federal governmental agencies and industry organizations, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Food Technologists and the American Council on Science and Health.
During his nearly 30-year career at Cornell, Hotchkiss was published in more than 150 peer-reviewed journals. He served on the editorial boards of six scientific periodicals and was an editor of two editions of Food and Packaging Interactions, for which he received both the "700 Club" and Platinum book awards from the American Chemical Society. He also co-authored the textbook Food Science (fifth edition). He has been an invited speaker at numerous seminars and symposia in the United States and abroad.
He is a fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists and a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Society of Toxicology. He serves on the Culinary Institute of America Research Advisory Council, the International Life Sciences Institute Advisory Council and the board of scientific advisers for the American Council on Science and Health, and he is a member of the leadership council and a scientific adviser to the International Life Science Institute-North America.
Hotchkiss received both a doctorate in food chemistry and toxicology and a master's degree in food chemistry and organic chemistry from Oregon State University in 1979 and 1977, respectively. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Northern Colorado in 1971.
CARRS Chairperson Named
David Wright has been named chairperson of the MSU Department
of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies (CARRS). His three-year appointment became effective Aug. 15.
Wright had been the acting CARRS chair since September 2007, when previous chair Scott Witter stepped down to become chair of the MSU School of Planning, Design and Construction. Witter was the first chairperson for the CARRS Department.
"David Wright has shown tremendous leadership as acting chair of CARRS for the past two years," said Jeffrey D. Armstrong, dean of the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. "I look forward to continuing our work together as he and his faculty provide leadership to issues affecting the development and revitalization of sustainable communities."
In addition to his role as chair, Wright is a professor of history of American science and technology and research ethics in the department, and he has been an expert consultant with the Office of Research Integrity for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services since 2001. He has served as a consultant for research integrity, regulatory compliance, accreditation and related issues for more than 20 higher education and research institutions in the past 10 years.
From 1993 to 2004, Wright was university intellectual integrity officer in the MSU Office of the President and assistant vice president for research ethics and standards. He has served in numerous administrative capacities at MSU, was a professor in the Lyman Briggs School and served briefly as a program officer with the National Endowment for the Humanities and National Science Foundation.
Wright received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1967 and his doctoral degree in American studies from MSU in 1976.
