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K-State Today

May 31, 2024

Global Food Systems Seed Grant awardees announced

Submitted by the Office of the Vice President for Research

The Office of the Vice President for Research announces the recipients of the 2024 Global Food Systems Seed Grant Program.

The funding supports innovative research in all aspects of global food systems, especially projects that promote job creation and economic development in the state of Kansas, are interdisciplinary, engage graduate or undergraduate students, and partner with Kansas-based industry.

Awardees and their project titles:

  • Michael Chao, animal sciences and industry; Yoonseong Park, entomology; and Priscilla Brenes, food, nutrition, dietetics and health, "Cultivating Awareness and Resilience Against Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS) in Rural Kansas," $199,968.
  • Nicholas Dias, animal sciences and industry; Shih-Kang Fan, mechanical and nuclear engineering; and Adam Bassett, clinical sciences, "Improving Beef Cattle Reproduction by Enhancing Post-thaw Sperm Quality and Fertility with Microfluidic Sorting of Fresh Bovine Ejaculate," $200,000.
  • Allan Fritz, agronomy, and Daniel O'Brien, agricultural economics, "Increasing wheat protein/gluten extraction: Building the foundation for long-term success of a Kansas-based industry," $200,000.
  • Nellie Hill-Sullins, communications and ag education; Cheryl Boyer, horticulture and natural resources; and Rachel Mui, management, "Encouraging Agritourism Business Expansion in Kansas," $192,697.
  • Gaurav Jha, agronomy; Ignacio Ciampitti, agronomy; and Susan Metzger, Kansas Water Institute, "Advancing Kansas On-Farm Water Stewardship by AI-Driven Precision Irrigation Technologies," $199,530.
  • Mithila Jugulam, agronomy; Terry Felderhoff, agronomy; and Sarah Sexton-Bowser, agronomy, "Genotypic Characterization and Introgression of Triketone Herbicide-Tolerant Trait in Grain Sorghum," $199,740.
  • Phillip Lancaster, clinical sciences; and Billy Brown, animal sciences and industry, "Enhancing dairy production economics and beef sustainability by improving gut health of beef-dairy cross calves," $199,888.
  • Davood Pourkargar, chemical engineering; and Sajid Alavi, grain science and industry, "A Physics-Informed Machine Learning-Based Predictive Modeling Framework to Enhance Efficiency, Sustainability, and Resilience for Global Food Systems," $199,739.
  • Yong-Cheng Shi, grain science and industry; Hulya Dogan, grain science and industry; and Weiqun Wang, food, nutrition, dietetics and health, "Developing Healthy Foods with High Dietary Fiber and Resistant Starch," $198,300.
  • Teng Yang, applied and interdisciplinary studies; Manreet Bhullar, horticulture and natural resources; and Eleni Pliakoni, horticulture and natural resources, "Repurposing Food Waste for Sustainable Hydroponic Vegetable Production in Kansas," $199,112.