The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program is pleased to announce that its Administrative Council approved 34 Graduate Student Research Grant proposals for funding, totaling $495,917. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Northeast SARE offers competitive grants and education in sustainable agriculture.
The program's Graduate Student Research Grants fund research projects conducted by graduate students enrolled at accredited colleges, universities, and veterinary schools located in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. All proposals undergo a rigorous review process by panels of farmers, agricultural service providers and researchers in the Northeast. Funded projects address a wide range of issues that explore sustainable agriculture themes of good stewardship, profitability, and quality of life for farmers and farming communities.
Graduate student projects recommended to receive funding for the 2019 grant cycle include the following (listed in order by state). More information about the Graduate Student Grant program and other Northeast SARE grants may be found at: www.northeastsare.org.
Connecticut:
Deepa Ashwarya Kuttappan (advisor: Mary Anne Amalaradjou) of the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Use of Lactic Acid Bacteria to Control L. monocytogenes on Apples under Simulated Commercial Conditions.”
Karam Sheban (advisor: Marlyse Duguid) of Yale University in New Haven, CT was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Importance of Environmental Factors on Plantings of Wild-Simulated American Ginseng.”
Delaware:
Shehu Isah (advisor: Gulnihal Ozbay) of Delaware State University in Dover, DE was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Improvements to Quality-related Limitations to Market Growth of Biodiesel and Renewable Hydrocarbon Diesel Produced from Low-value Feedstocks.”
Lauren Mosesso (advisor: Amy Shober) of the University of Delaware in Newark, DE was awarded $14,713 for the Graduate Student project, “Do Soil Health Practices Impact Subsurface “Legacy” Phosphorus Losses from Soils on the Delmarva Peninsula?”
Amanda Rosier (advisor: Harsh Bais) of the University of Delaware in Newark, DE was awarded $12,453 for the Graduate Student project, “Microbial Inoculants for the Improvement of Alfalfa Crop Productivity and Health.”
Grace Savoy-Burke (advisor: Deborah Delaney) of the University of Delaware in Newark, DE was awarded $14,984 for the Graduate Student project, “Soil Microbiome Impacts on Floral Rewards and Implications for Pollinator Nutrition.”
Maine:
Rebecca Champagne (advisor: Eric Gallandt) of the University of Maine in Orono, ME was awarded $14,683 for the Graduate Student project, “Analyzing Early Growth Characteristics and Anchorage Force to Improve Cultivation Tolerance in Carrots.”
Johnny Sanchez (advisor: Eric Gallandt) of the University of Maine in Orono, ME was awarded $14,806 for the Graduate Student project, “Automated Net Return Mapping: Using Inexpensive Technology for Maximizing Profit of Small-Scale Farms.”
Maryland:
Elizabeth de la Reguera (advisor: Katherine Tully) of the University of Maryland in College Park, MD was awarded $14,995 for the Graduate Student project, “Farming in the Face of Climate Change: Planting Alternative Crops in Salt-intruded Fields.”
Kelly Kulhanek (advisor: Dennis van Engelsdorp) of the University of Maryland in College Park, MD was awarded $14,976 for the Graduate Student project, “Novel Application of Existing Beekeeping Equipment to Combat Intercolony Transmission of the Varroa Honey Bee Parasite.”
Xingchen Liu (advisor: Shirley Micallef) of the University of Maryland in College Park, MD was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria to Benefit Kale Production: Resilience to Drought Stress, Salinity and Microbial Food Safety.”
Sara Lupolt (advisor: Keeve Nachman) of the The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Healthy Soils, Healthy Farmers: Assessing Farmers’ Soil Contact Activities and Soil Contamination on Urban and Rural Farms.”
Anthony Nearman (advisor: Dennis van Engelsdorp) of the University of Maryland in College Park, MD was awarded $14,506 for the Graduate Student project, “Honey Bee Pathophysiology as a Predictive Measure of Overwinter Colony Loss.”
Veronica Yurchak (advisor: Cerruti Hooks) of the University of Maryland in College Park, MD was awarded $14,009 for the Graduate Student project, “Effects of Living Mulch and Cover Crop Residues on Natural Enemy Abundance and Efficacy in Sweet Corn.”
Massachusetts:
Benjamin Breger (advisor: Elizabeth Brabec) of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA was awarded $14,932 for the Graduate Student project, “Understanding Agrihoods: An Exploration into the Growing Trend of Farm-to-Table Communities across the United States.”
Alison Fowler (advisor: Lynn Adler) of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA was awarded $14,932 for the Graduate Student project, “Identifying Mechanisms behind Interacting Stressors on Wild Bees to Inform Pollinator-Friendly Agricultural Landscapes.”
New Hampshire:
Liza DeGenring (advisor: Anissa Poleatewich) of the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH was awarded $14,685 for the Graduate Student project, “Improving Biopesticide Efficacy of Apple Diseases through Co-application with Natural Products.”
New Jersey:
Regina O'Brien (advisor: Beverly Tepper) of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Increasing Consumer Acceptance of Baby Leafy Greens Grown in a Controlled Environment.”
New York:
Christine Georgakakos (advisor: Todd Walter) of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY was awarded $11,782 for the Graduate Student project, “Antibiotics in the Dairy Farm Environment: Understanding Antibiotic Transport to Improve Farm Sustainability.”
Ashley Jernigan (advisor: Kyle Wickings) of Cornell University in Geneva, NY was awarded $14,715 for the Graduate Student project, “Elucidating the Role of Microarthropods in Nitrogen Cycling.”
Kristen Loria (advisor: Michael Mazourek) of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY was awarded $14,932 for the Graduate Student project, “Characterization of Diversity in Traditional Northeastern Dry Bean Varieties and Potential for Genetic Improvement.”
Kasey Schalich (advisor: Vimal Selvaraj) of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY was awarded $14,877 for the Graduate Student project, “Maximizing Colostrum’s Benefits and Reducing Antibiotic Use through Physiological Feeding Management of Dairy Calves.”
Martha Sudermann (advisor: Christine Smart) of Cornell University in Geneva, NY was awarded $14,848 for the Graduate Student project, “Identifying Tomato Varieties with Resistance to Current Aggressive Strains of the Leaf Mold Pathogen.”
Pennsylvania:
Debamalya Chatterjee (advisor: Surinder Chopra) of the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Purification and Testing of Corn-based Biopesticide.”
Hanareia Ehau-Taumaunu (advisor: Kevin Hockett) of the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Development of Microbial Communities to Suppress Tomato Foliar Pathogens.”
Longfei Han (advisor: Chad Dechow) of the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Mitigation of Heat Stress in Dairy Cattle by Dietary Supplementation of Octanoic Acid.”
Allyson Ray (advisor: Christina Grozinger) of the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA was awarded $14,998 for the Graduate Student project, “Defining Mechanisms Underlying Mite Tolerance and Honey Bee Survival.”
Maria Laura Rolon (advisor: Jasna Kovac) of the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA was awarded $14,940 for the Graduate Student project, “Using Protective Cultures to Control Listeria monocytogenes in Microbiomes from Small-Scale Dairy Production Facilities.”
Ginamaria Roman Echevarria (advisor: Margarita Lopez-Uribe) of the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA was awarded $11,435 for the Graduate Student project, “Assessing the Effects of Neonicotinoid Treatments on Pumpkin on Bee Visitation and Pathogen Transmission.”
Hannah Stewart (advisor: Rudolf Schilder) of the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA was awarded $13,931 for the Graduate Student project, “Optimization of Greenhouse Crop Pollination through Artificial Homeostatic Control of Bumblebee Hive Temperature.”
Azlan Zahid (advisor: Long He) of the Pennsylvania State University in Biglerville, PA was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Development of a Robotic Pruning System for Sustainable Apple Production.”
Rhode Island:
Julie Bosland (advisor: Becky Sartini) of the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI was awarded $14,901 for the Graduate Student project, “Best Management Practices for Small-scale Egg Producers.”
Vermont:
Eva Kinnebrew (advisor: Gillian Galford) of the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT was awarded $15,000 for the Graduate Student project, “Impacts of Silage Tarps on Soil Arthropods, Soil Properties and Crop Yields.”
West Virginia:
Jaelyn Current (advisor: Jianbo Yao) of West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV was awarded $14,884 for the Graduate Student project, “Characterization of Novel Long Non-coding RNAs and Their Roles as Indicators of Oocyte Quality in Cattle.”