Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Myriad career opportunities at the human-food interface require a transdisciplinary approach, however, many students in undergraduate-centric and non-land grant institutions often lack opportunities to conduct research in this area; further, demand for such interdisciplinary trained individuals exceed supply.For 5 years each summer, our 8-week program at Penn State will facilitate experiential research, career exploration, and professional development for 10 students from undergraduate-centric institutions across the USA (CA, GA, MD, MS, NJ, PA, TN, TX). Focusing on AFRI farm bill priority Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health, 7 faculty mentors and 10 graduate student mentors will provide layered and closed-tiered mentoring of fellows (1.7 mentor-to-mentee ratio) in areas of human nutrition and food science, including sensory & consumer science, food analysis, food metabolomics, food toxicology and biochemistry, and human ingestive behavior.Pre-arrival training paired with a research bootcamp, independent student-led research, weekly seminars and professional development workshops, company visits, and a final research expo will develop fellows' research and professional skills and encourage career exploration in the topic area. Our evaluation and assessment plan measures fellows' gains in research skills and provides program feedback, allowing for continuous improvement of programming each year.We anticipate that fellows will make gains in all 7 areas of measured research skills, have an overall positive experience of the program, co-author publications and research presentations, and that fellows will pursue careers at the human-food interface, entering the professional workforce and/or enrolling in graduate degrees in food science and human nutrition.
Animal Health Component
70%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
70%
Developmental
10%
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this program is to engage REEU fellows through research, professional skills development, and career prospecting and networking activities to consider future careers at the human-food interface.The objective of this REEU proposal is to engage undergraduate students (10 each year) from undergraduate-centric institutions across the USA (CA, GA, MD, MS, NJ, PA, TN, TX) in experiential learning opportunities at the human-food interface. REEU students will work for 8 weeks collaboratively with faculty mentors and graduate student or postdoctoral scholar mentors from all aspects of Human Nutrition and Food Science, including sensory & consumer science, food chemistry and analysis, metabolomics, food toxicology and biochemistry, human ingestive behavior, and nutrition.
Project Methods
1. Evaluation Plan & Reporting: a combination of qualitative and quantitative assessments throughout the program to evaluate the success of our program will be used. The evaluation and assessment plan for our program aligns program aims with the different activities REEU fellows and mentors at PSU and partner institutions participate in.2. Longitudinal Tracking after REEU program Completion via LinkedIn group site3. Student-centered learning outcomes