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NIFA Invests $17.2 Million for Ag Education and Workforce Development
Pennsylvania Ag Connection - 05/06/2021

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced Wednesday an investment of $17.2 million for 37 awards in Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates. This program is funded through NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

"Developing the next generation of research, education and extension professionals in food and agricultural sciences is critical to the growth of the agriculture industry," said NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille. "NIFA programs support colleges, universities and technical education institutions to ensure a steady pipeline of talent to fuel the future workforce."

"Engaging Students from Undergraduate-centric Institutions in Research, Informatics and Experiential Opportunities in Food Microbiology" at Pennsylvania State University is one of the projects to be funded.

This project builds on its successful eight-week summer research program "Bugs in My Food" funded through the USDA-REEU since 2017. The objective of the current REEU is to engage undergraduate students through research, informatics, and experiential learning in food microbiology. The University's premise is that students from undergraduate-centric institutions have few chances to engage in hands-on research and are often unaware of research career opportunities in the agricultural sciences. To address this, the prorgram built strong relationships with faculty at undergraduate-centric institutions across Pennsylvania, and the UPRAg. The summer begins with a 5-day microbiology boot camp with an off-site kick-off retreat on Day 6. During the summer, students are guided through independent food microbiology research projects with a unique bioinformatics component in collaboration with one or more PDs. Weekly seminars run by the PDs train students in experimental design, critical reading of literature, communication, graduate school, and other career opportunities in the agricultural sciences. Students develop computational skills through working with genomics and microbiome data, learning how to draw conclusions from large-scale sequence data. Visits to government agencies including FDA laboratories inform students about such career opportunities. The summer culminates with an afternoon symposium, providing students the opportunity to present their findings, which they also do at the ABASM meeting held each Fall. Pre- and post-program surveys, and formative and summative assessments measure gains in knowledge about scientific method, awareness of opportunities in graduate school and professional careers, and personal growth.

Other project examples from the Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates priority area include: Texas A&M University-Kingsville's project, "The Drone WAVE Factor (drone use for women advancement, visibility and experiences in food and agriculture cyberinformatics and tools oriented to research)," to recruit, train, mentor, and graduate the next generation of women professionals with competitive geospatial sciences and technology skills. University of Hawaii's project, "Empowering Women and Underrepresented Undergraduates with Advanced Technology Research Training in Agriculture and Food Sciences," to develop the local agriculture and food science industry workforce in Hawaii through education and training. Clemson University's project, "Florece!: Future Leaders Obtaining Research & Extension Career Experiences," to prepare 40 undergraduate students to become globally-engaged professionals with world-class research and extension skills that allow them to identify critical factors that impact the sustainability of agricultural systems.

NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and Extension across the nation to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture and applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice. In FY2020, NIFA's total investment was $1.95 billion.


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