News Stories - Page 13

Vaccines are a proven benefit in the world of animal science. Producers have vaccinated livestock and pet owners have vaccinated dogs and cats for decades. Soon beekeepers may be able to protect their colonies through vaccination. The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Dalan Animal Health have teamed up to advance the world’s first honey bee vaccine.

While the University of Georgia and the University of Florida are longtime rivals on the football field, both land-grant universities share a commitment to growing future leaders in agriculture and natural resources. In fact, there is a lot of “cross-pollination” between UGA and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

The NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance, which engages a growing network of partners to support systemic change in the STEM higher education system, has announced the fourth cohort of 18 fellows in its IAspire Leadership Academy. The academy is designed to support STEM faculty from underrepresented backgrounds to ascend to leadership roles at colleges and universities.

While current medicine can slow down the progression of many diseases, the relatively new field of regenerative biology uses stem cells and advanced therapies to treat or reverse the course of disease and injuries. The Regenerative Bioscience Center at the University of Georgia has become a leader in this field.

Recent data shows that the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences produced the third-most plant-breeding Ph.D. graduates between 2015 and 2020. With over 80% of alumni employed at public or private institutions, the plant breeding, genetics and genomics Ph.D. program also ranked highly for its graduate employment rate.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Georgia and two partner institutions have been awarded a $15.8 million grant over five years from the U.S. Department of Energy to reengineer poplar trees to be used as a sustainable energy source. The researchers will use biotechnology approaches to breed the trees as a multipurpose crop that can be used for bioenergy, biomaterial and bioproduct alternatives to petroleum-based materials.

October is National Farm to School Month, and this year students will learn more about a leafy green that is packed with nutrition through the theme “Spinach to Win It.” Farm to School Month is coordinated by Georgia Organics in partnership with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and other institutions. Together, they focus on a specific crop to help students across the state learn more about agriculture and how food ends up on their plates.

The gardens JoHannah Biang imagined creating when she was an undergraduate student were filled with ornamental flowers and trees, lush and beautiful, nourishing to the soul. Now, as a doctoral student and long-time manager of UGArden, University of Georgia’s student-run farm, Biang is an integral part of creating and sustaining an operation that has put food on the plates of thousands of underserved individuals and families in the greater Athens area.

Animal geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam, a University of California Cooperative Extension biotechnology specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, is the keynote speaker for the 2022 D.W. Brooks Lecture and Awards, to be held Nov. 8 at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.