Source: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED submitted to
UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING AND MENTORING IN THE AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0226670
Grant No.
2011-38422-30813
Project No.
CALE-2011-02427
Proposal No.
2011-02427
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
NJ
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2011
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2015
Grant Year
2011
Project Director
Ortiz, R. M.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED
PO BOX 2039
MERCED,CA 95343
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The proposed program will train the next generation of highly skilled scientists in the agricultural workforce, with an emphasis on underrepresented students (~16). This will be accomplished through an intensive summer research training program, in which UC Merced will partner with CSU Stanislaus, the USDA-ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center and the Forest Service Institute of Forest Genetics. Students that complete this program will be prepared to pursue graduate degrees in agricultural-related fields.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90360993020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The objectives of our proposed project are to train the next generation of highly trained, graduate students in agricultural-related sciences. This will be accomplished by: 1) recruiting students (~16) from two HSIs (UCM and CSUS) to participate in long-term, intensive research projects with participating UCM faculty and participating USDA researchers, 2) providing students the opportunity to attend and present research results at national conferences such SACNAS, which provide opportunities to undergraduate researchers in STEM fields, and 3) incorporating practical agricultural science-related themes into the curriculum of UCM STEM courses.
Project Methods
Our recruitment process for this program will be organized into two phases. For the first phase our objective is to obtain an applicant pool that reflects the diversity of students at UCM and CSUS. Upon obtaining the applicant pool, we will evaluate the diversity of students who have applied. We will advertise this program in several targeted venues including UCM and CSUS recruitment events, campus emailings, announcements to potential participants and advertisement flyers posted on campus on both campuses. Eligible student will be undergraduate students of sophomore or junior standing, have a minimum grade point average (GPA) in science of 3.0 and minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8, and have at least 1 full academic year of undergraduate eligibility remaining. The most promising applicants will be given a face-to-face interview with the selection committee, consisting of PDs, a faculty representative from CSUS, and a member from each of the participating USDA labs. Following the interviews, the 8 most suitable candidates will be selected annually. The initial portion of the USDA scholar's tenure will involve an intensive 2-week orientation and research training component. This initial training period will be conducted under the guidance of the PDs and take place at UCM. This initial program element will begin in early June and the scholars will receive training in basic laboratory skills, literature searching strategies, laboratory and field safety, abstract and manuscript writing, data collection and organizational skills, fundamentals of statistics, and research ethics. During the final week of the orientation scholars will be asked to select a primary UCM and USDA mentor with whom they will develop a long-term research project. Each scholar will have both a UCM/CSUS and an USDA mentor. This dual mentorship allows scholars that conduct their work at a USDA lab during the summer to continue to work on their collaborative projects in the lab or under the guidance and supervision of a UCM/CSUS faculty member during the academic year. This proposal aims to foster productive research experiences for undergraduate students that will ultimately nurture their academic progress, leading to successful admission and completion of a graduate degree. All research faculty mentors will sponsor a scholar in an independent research experience, with the expectation that publishable results will be attained. Research projects are proposed in very diverse disciplines to offer multiple opportunities to students that best address their interests. This research experience and publication record will be very valuable assets for future success in graduate school and beyond. We will offer two professional skills development workshops each semester. These workshops will focus on graduate school preparation, abstract writing, resume/CV development, and agriculture-related employment opportunities. The latter is intended to expose students with non-traditional agriculture training to additional career opportunities. Lastly, the program also includes funding for students to attend a national conference, in many cases along with their mentor.

Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Our HSI Education Training grant targeted undergraduate students from primarily underrepresented and underserved communities and/or disadvantaged backgrounds. Of the 18 undergraduates and 1 graduate student that our program directly trained, 15 undergraduates and the lone graduate student are of hispanic/chicano origins, almost all of which were first generation. Of our 19 scholars 10 were female demonstrating gender equity within our cohorts.Furthermore we targeted undergraduate students with great potential and desire to pursue an advanced degree leading to a career in research or similar, but that did not have exceptional GPAs or SAT scores. These were high risk:high reward candidates, but with a genuine desire and ambition to pursue an advanced degree (assessed by direct interview). Also, an examination of the CIP codes clearly demonstrates the diversity of disciplines that we attracted within our scholars. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In addition to developing presentation and networking skills provided by the opportunity to attend and/or participate in a formal conferences and meetings, we also instituted an intense summer workshop series for all our undergraduate scholars including the USDA scholars. Within our "Graduate and Professional Skill Training (GPST) Workshops" we offered workshops or lectures on: (A) Getting the Most of Your Research, (B) Identifying and Applying to Graduate Schools, (C) Managing Data in Science and STEM, (D) Writing a Research Abstract, (E) Writing a Successful Personal Statement, (F) How to Create an Effective Poster Presentation, (G) Identifying and Applying to Graduate Programs, (H) Developing a CV and Professional Etiquette, and (I) Diversity in Graduate Education & Overcoming Challenges. Additionally we offered the following academic enrichment activities: (a) USDA Summer Program Orientation, (b) GRE Preparation Training, (c) GRE Diagnostic Test, (d) DOE Forensics Lab Career Visitation Day, (e) California Academy of Sciences Academic Visit, (f) Sierra Nevada Research Institute-Yosemite Field Station Visitation, (g) Stanford Graduate School Visitation, (h) Univ. of California, Berkeley Graduate School Visitation, (i) Univ. of California, Davis Graduate School Visitation, and (j) USDA Career Presentation & Outreach. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results stemming from the various components of the grant were disseminated in multiple ways. The results from the scholars' research were disseminated in conference proceedings, as poster presentations at conferences, and as abstracts in an abstract booklet. The lone graduate student produced a thesis that is submitted for public record with the university and she has drafted a first-author publication to be submitted for peer-review in the coming weeks. Results of the evaluations from the various workshops and enrichment activities are disseminated locally with the dean of undergraduate studies. Furthermore, other student data are cataloged and retained by our Undergraduate Research and Opportunities Center (UROC), using this data for other grant applications to demonstrate the effectiveness of our programs. Specific data on the successes of this grant were presented by the Program Director (Ortiz) by invitation at the California HSI Research Collaboration Conference at the Biltmore Hotel, Santa Barbara, CA (Feb 2-3, 2015). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? With respect to our 3 primary goals, we feel that we successfully addressed and accomplished some aspects of each. AIM 1: We were successful in recruitingand training 19 scholars (18 undergraduates and 1 graduate). The lone graduate student completed her MS thesis in the area of Nutrition within the 3 years of the funding. While we did not successfully recruit students from CSU Stanislaus into our USDA program, despite the receipt of a few applications, our sister-training programs did recruit and train students from CSUS, and these students engage with our USDA scholars to enhance the broader impacts of our program. AIM 2: All of our USDA scholars had at least one opportunity to formally present their research with most presenting their work at multiple venues, and some even winning awards for their work. We are confident that of the 9 scholars (out of 16 that have graduated) that have entered graduate programs (MS and PHD) were benefited from the networking opportunities provided by attending a national meeting. We view this as a high-impact activity that appears to have benefitted our scholars. Five of our scholars won competitive merit awards for their presentations/abstracts at national conferences and another 3 were awarded nationally competitive internships/fellowships demonstrating the competitiveness and success of our program.AIM 3: While we had a hard time assessing this aim, for some of the faculty that worked closely with our program (PD included), practical agricultural-related themes were incorporated into various STEM courses. For example, the PD (Ortiz) included more nutritional aspects into his physiology course. Lastly, it should also be noted that the PD Ortiz worked closely with other colleagues within UC Merced to assist with the development of their USDA HSI Education training grant proposals. While no other grants within this program at USDA have been funded so far, PD Ortiz has been active in assisting in this way to help maintain a strong USDA presence within our campus.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Silvia Villalobos and Christina T. Liang. Movements and Habitat Use of Yosemite Toad. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2012, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Adam Rosso, Paul Maier, Stephen Ostoja, Andres Aguilar. Conservation Genetics of Yosemite Toads in Sequoia- Kings Canyon National Park. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2012, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Alan D. Leung, Rachel Schlick, Christopher Ozzie Rodas, Peggy O Day. Sorption Mechanism of Hazardous Heavy Metals on Reactive Surfaces of Clay Minerals. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2012, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Grant Ivison-Lane, Chelsea Carey, Stephen C. Hart. Invasive Plants Alter Nitrogen Cycling Dynamics in a California Annual Grassland. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2012, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Jennifer Guerrero, Chelsea L. Arnold, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe. The effects of topography on soil properties in high elevation meadows. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2012, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Steven Duval Ruilova, Colin S. McCoin, Trina A. Knotts, Sean Adams. Targeted Inhibition of the NF-kB Pathway: Effects on IL-6 Secretion and Cell Viability in C2C12 Myotubes. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2012, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Steven Duval Ruilova, Carmen De Miguel, Rudy M. Ortiz, Jennifer S. Pollock. Combination Therapy of Olmesartan/Exenatide Decreases Renal ER Stress in a Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2013, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: William Zeledon and Ricardo Cisneros. Sheep Fire Emissions Suggest an Impact to Air Quality in the San Joaquin Valley, CA, USA. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2013, Merced, CA
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Minas, J. High Fat Consumption Exacerbates and Angiotensin Receptor Blockade Alleviates Antinatriuresis in a Model of Metabolic Syndrome. University of California, Merced
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Anna Villegas, Marta Van Loan, Erik Gertz, Elieke Demmer, Deanna Cheng. Dairy vs. Supplements: Effects on Bone Health. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2012, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Fredy M. Cisneros, Andrea Rodarte, Sayantani Ghosh. Exploring the Lasing Threshold of CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots (QD) in 4-Cyano-4-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) Liquid Crystal (LC). UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2013, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Carlos O. Gomez and Nestor J. Oviedo. Regional Differences in Stem Cell Proliferation and the Initiation of Cancer. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2013, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ana L. Arteaga, Andrew Lee, Ruben Rodriguez, Jacqueline Minas, Rudy M. Ortiz. Optimizing High Performance Liquid Chromatography Method for Measuring Plasma and Organ Angiotensin II from Insulin Resistant Rats. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2013, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Maria Rodriguez, Priscilla Montez, Simon E. Weffer, Rudy M. Ortiz. Sugar Sweetened Beverage Consumption is Higher in Normal Weight than Overweight and Obese Adolescents: Implications for Future Increased Prevalence of Obesity. Experimental Biology 2013, Boston, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Maria Rodriguez, Priscilla Montez, Simon E. Weffer, Rudy M. Ortiz. Sugar Sweetened Beverage Consumption is Higher in Normal Weight than Overweight and Obese Adolescents: Implications for Future Increased Prevalence of Obesity. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2013, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Laura Jalpa, Emma McCorkle, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe. Relationship of Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Concentrations with Elevation and Vegetation Coverage. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2013, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Maritza Flores-Marquez, Molly Small, Peggy A. ODay. Ionic Strength and pH Dependence of Aqueous Cadmium and Lead Ion Sorption on Kaolinite. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2013, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Steven Duval Ruilova, Carmen De Miguel, Rudy M. Ortiz, Jennifer S. Pollock, PhD. Combination Therapy of Olmesartan/Exenatide Decreases Renal ER Stress in a Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome. Experimental Biology 2014, San Diego, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Maritza Flores-Marquez and William Tarpeh. Optimizing Nitrogen Recovery From Source-Separated Urine. SACNAS 2014, Los Angeles, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Carlos O. Gomez and Nestor J. Oviedo. Regional Differences in Stem Cell Proliferation and the Initiation of Cancer. CAMP Symposium 2014, UC Irvine
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Carlos O. Gomez, Jillian Silva, Martin McMahon. Analysis of P70 S6 Kinase Phosphorylation in BRAFV600E-Mutated Melanoma Cells. SACNAS 2014, Los Angeles, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ana L. Arteaga, Luke Reed, Erik Menke. Li and Mg Behavior in Organic Solvents. SACNAS 2014, Los Angeles, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Angela Macedo Andrade, Jasper Zeng and Jennifer Lu. Silicon-Coated CNFs for Renewable Energy Applications. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2014, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Presley Ramirez and Teamrat Ghezzehei. Sustainable Approach for Dust Suppression. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2014, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Angela Macedo Andrade, Jasper Zeng and Jennifer Lu. Silicon-Coated CNFs for Renewable Energy Applications. CAMP Symposium 2014, UC Irvine
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Angela Macedo Andrade, Jasper Zeng and Jennifer Lu. Silicon-Coated CNFs for Renewable Energy Applications. SACNAS 2014, Los Angeles, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Jose A. Garcia, Andrew Lee, Ruben Rodriguez, Rudy M. Ortiz. Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Increases Lipid Mobilization and Ameliorates Hyperlipidemia in a Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome Fed a High Fat Diet. UC Merced Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium 2015, Merced, CA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Jose A. Garcia, Andrew Lee, Ruben Rodriguez, Rudy M. Ortiz. Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Increases Lipid Mobilization and Ameliorates Hyperlipidemia in a Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome Fed a High Fat Diet. SACNAS 2015, Washington DC


Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities: During the first year of this project we successfully supported eight undergraduate students and two graduate students. The support for the undergraduate students came in the form of a 10 week summer research experience. Graduate students were provided the opportunity to make progress towards their graduate degrees. The eight undergraduate students were placed with faculty mentors at UC Merced, the Western Human Nutrition Research Center (ARS) or the Pacific Southwest Research Station (Forest Service). Of the eight undergraduate students six were Hispanic and one of the graduate students was also Hispanic. Throughout the course of the summer all of the students were provided direct mentoring from their faculty supervisor and through weekly professional skills development workshops. We anticipate sending all eight of the undergraduate students to a national conference this coming year and continuing to support them financially for an additional year. Events: At the end of the summer research program students presented their research at the annual Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium at UC Merced. They presented both poster and oral presentations. This symposium was open to the public. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Dr. Andres Aguilar: Lead PI on the project. Organized the summer research program for the undergraduate students. Directly supervised the initial training session and professional skills development workshops for all undergraduate students. Also co-organized the final research symposium. Dr. Rudy Ortiz: Co-PI on the projects. Co-organized the summer research program and professional skills workshops. Ms. Kelly McClintock: Graduate student. Co-lead the laboratory training sessions for undergraduate student researchers. Also supervised undergraduate students working at UC Merced during the summer. Ms. Jacqui Minas: Graduate student. Co-lead the laboratory training sessions for undergraduate student researchers. Also supervised undergraduate students working at UC Merced during the summer. Partner Organizations: Western Human Nutrition Research Center (Davis, CA). Two undergraduate students worked with scientists at the WHNRC this past summer. USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station (Fresno, CA). One undergraduate student worked with a scientist at the USFS-PSRS this past summer. Collaborators: The following individuals mentored students during the summer of 2012: Dr. Andres Aguilar (UC Merced) Dr. Asmeret Berhe (UC Merced) Dr. Steve Hart (UC Merced) Dr. Rudy Ortiz (UC Merced) Dr. Marta Vanloan (Western Human Nutrition Research Center) Dr. Sean Adams (Western Human Nutrition Research Center) Dr. Peggy O'Day (UC Merced) Dr. Carolin Hunsaker (USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station) Training and Professional Development: We directly trained eight undergraduate students (6 Hispanic) during the summer of 2012 on this project. They were involved in experiental learining activities with scientists at UC Merced, the Western Human Nutrition Research Center and the USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station. Two UC Merced graduate students were also trained on this grant. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project was the highly diverse student population at UC Merced. We successfully trained six undergraduate students and one graduate student that are slef-classified as Hispanic this past summer. The efforts included intense summer experiential learning activities for all students involved in the program. Students did hands-on research with leading scientists in the region and presented the results of their summer research at an end of the summer symposium. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
All eight of the undergraduate students participated in hands-on research experiences this past summer. All gained access to practical and cutting edge research experiences in the agricultural sciences. Funding from this grant was used directly to train and financially support undergraduate and graduate students. Since this is the first year of the project the initial evaluation is currently being undertaken.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period