2023 CAFNR Joy of Discovery Seed Grant Program Winners Announced

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The second 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):

  • David Braun, Zachary Traylor, Sherry Flint-Garcia and Pavel Somavat; Developing the new “craft whiskey” market: Evaluation of Missouri heritage corn lines
  • Jill Kanaley and Abdelnaby Khalyfa; Sleep Restriction, Exosomes and Insulin Resistance
  • Abraham Khoo; Novel ways to increase biomass oil production
  • Mengshi Lin and Jung Mun (Journey) Yang; Development of additive manufacturing technology for 3D printing of novel value-added food products
  • Mathew Lucy and Joao Moraes (Oklahoma State University); Spatial transcriptomics study of the mechanisms that control the inflation and spacing of uterine glands
  • Henry Nguyen, Sushil S. Chhapekar and Heng Ye; Effects of beneficial microorganisms on nutrient uptake and utilization in soybean for yield improvement
  • Allison Pease, Krista A. Capps (University of Georgia), Gregory Jacobson (Cornell University), Manuel Mendoza-Carranza (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur) and Maria Mercedes Castillo ( El Colegio de la Frontera Sur); Impacts of seal-level rise in growth and performance of migratory fishes in tropical rivers
  • Craig Schenck and Wellington Muchero (Oak Ridge National Labs); Engineering plant metabolic pathways for enhanced crop resilience
  • Peng Tian, Walter Gassman, Leland Cseke, Babu Valliyodan (Lincoln University), Ruth Mayela (The National Institute of Research and Innovation, Costa Rica) and Castro Vasquez (The National Institute of Research and Innovation, Costa Rica); Development of novel molecular diagnostic and biocontrol approaches to address the threat of soilborne diseases in industrial hemp farming
  • Jeffrey Wood and Benjamin Knapp; Exploiting the full potential of plant water potential measurements: In-situ measurements of hydraulic conductance
  • Shaungyu Xu and Sonja Wilhelm Stanis; Examining tourism opportunities, challenges, and impacts associated with the Rock Island Trail development: Community perspectives