Research

2003-04 Seed Grant Funded Project Abstracts

The purpose of this program was to provide the College of Agricultural Sciences faculty and field-based educators with the resources (research, extension and instruction) to develop collaborative teams and/or preliminary information in new or expanding arenas of granting opportunity. These grants were intended to permit faculty to develop the linkages and data to enhance competitiveness for additional external funding. Funding for this program came from research, extension, and teaching sources.

The College received 38 grant proposals, from which 22 projects were funded for a total of $299,128. Successful investigators will submit a report of their project activities at the end of September, and they have also agreed as a condition of these grants to develop a proposal for external funding in 2004.

Cooperative Extension South Central Region

Use of Video Teleconferencing for Instruction in Response to the Declining Number of Extension Family and Consumer Science Educators

Principal Investigator: Sharon McDonald, Blair County Cooperative Extension

Department of Ag and Biological Engineering

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) for Quantum Gains in Efficiency during Thermal Processing of Foods

Principal Investigator: Virendra M. Puri, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Church-based Approaches to Agricultural Injury Prevention
Principal Investigator: Dennis J. Murphy, Agricultural & Biological Engineering

Department of Agricultural and Extension Education

An Impact Evaluation of the Reading Wizards Program

Principal Investigator: Rama B. Radhakrishna, Department of Agricultural and Extension Education
Focus Groups with Middle School Girls on Leadership and Civic Engagement

Principal Investigator: Cathleen T. Love, Ph.D. Department of Agriculture and Extension Education
Youth-to-Youth International Agriculture Initiative
Principal Investigator: Thomas H. Bruening, Department of Agriculture and Extension Education

Department of Ag Economics and Rural Sociology

Economic Factors Influencing the Location and Growth of Pennsylvania's Food Processors

Principal Investigator: Martin Shields, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology

Department of Food Science

Novel Control of the Maillard Reaction: Radical Mechanisms

Principal Investigator: Devin Peterson, Department of Food Science
Opportunities to Re-vision Outreach Extension Curricula: Conducting a Needs Assessment
Principal Investigator: Koushik Seetharaman, Department of Food Science

Department of Plant Pathology

How does Harpin (HrpN) Work?
Principal Investigator: Timothy McNellis, Department of Plant Pathology

School of Forest Resources

Extending Education Capacity Related to Sustainable Landscape Management to Bulgaria
Principal Investigator: James C. Finley, School of Forest Resources
Integrating Aquatic Microbial Ecology into Natural Resource Management: Using State-of -the-Art Technologies to Enhance Research, Education, and Outreach
Principal Investigator: Hunter J. Carrick, School of Forest Resources

Department of Veterinary Science

Activation of apoptotic signaling pathway by paramyxovirus simian virus 5 lacking the conserved C-terminus of the V protein

Principal Investigator: Biao He, Assistant, Department of Veterinary Science
Development of Microarray-based Diagnostic System
Principal Investigator: Chitrita DebRoy, Director, Gastroenteric Disease Center, Department of Veterinary Science
Characterization of A Novel Protein Complex that Catabolizes myo-Inositol

Principal Investigator: K. Sandeep Prabhu, Department of Veterinary Science
Evaluation of novel plant-based Clostridium perfringens vaccine using a mouse model

Principal Investigator: Bhushan Jayarao, Department of Veterinary Science
Molecular Characterization of a Novel Immunosuppressant
Principal Investigator: Avery August, Department of Veterinary Science
RON Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Regulates HIV Transcription

Principal Investigator: Andrew J. Henderson, Department of Veterinary Science