Thought for Food: Training scientists who can translate basic research into healthy foods

THOUGHT FOR FOOD: TRAINING SCIENTISTS WHO CAN TRANSLATE BASIC RESEARCH INTO HEALTHY FOODS

Sponsoring Institution

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Project Status

TERMINATED

Funding Source

OTHER GRANTS

Reporting Frequency

Annual

Accession No.

0227782

Grant No.

2012-38420-19284

Project No.

PEN04462

Proposal No.

2011-03887

Multistate No.

(N/A)

Program Code

Project Start Date

Feb 1, 2012

Project End Date

Jan 31, 2017

Grant Year

2012

Project Director
Coupland, J. N.

Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
208 MUELLER LABORATORY
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802

Performing Department
Food Science

Non Technical Summary
The role food plays in human health and well-bring is of growing scientific and public interest. Ensuring that consumers benefit from potential health-promoting effects of select foods while maintaining a safe and abundant food supply depends on a workforce of well-educated Food Scientists. More than ever, these individuals must have not only rigorous scientific training, but effective communication skills to provide sound information to the public about health and food safety claims reported by the popular press. We propose a training program in the Food and Nutrition for Health area that provides multidisciplinary training for 3 Ph.D Fellows and supports the USDA Strategic Goals and Objectives to improve nutrition and health, and to promote a safe food supply. Fellows selected in collaboration with North Carolina A&T University will develop critical thinking skills through resident education and thesis research. Leadership and public communication skills will be gained through the establishment of Structured Controversies and Scientific Evidence for Health Claims seminar series, which will be organized by the Fellows and used to critique current issues in Food Science and Nutrition in a public forum. Integration of the Fellows into the undergraduate research programs at NC A&T University will additionally transform them into the next generation of mentors. This program will impact the TESA in the short and long term through the professional development of global-ready Fellows, education of the public, and the strengthening of relationships between the Food Science programs at Penn State and NC A&T University.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

50%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
501	5010	2020	20%
502	5010	2000	20%
702	5010	2000	20%
712	5010	1100	20%
723	5010	1100	10%
502	5010	3070	10%

Knowledge Area
502 - New and Improved Food Products; 501 - New and Improved Food Processing Technologies; 712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins; 723 - Hazards to Human Health and Safety; 702 - Requirements and Function of Nutrients and Other Food Components;

Subject Of Investigation
5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 2000 - Chemistry; 3070 - Psychology; 1100 - Bacteriology;

Keywords

food science

foods for health

graduate education

underrepresented groups

Goals / Objectives
The role food plays in human health and well-bring is of growing scientific and public interest. Ensuring that consumers benefit from potential health-promoting effects of select foods while maintaining a safe and abundant food supply depends on a workforce of well-educated Food Scientists. More than ever, these individuals must have not only rigorous scientific training, but effective communication skills to provide sound information to the public about health and food safety claims reported by the popular press. The goals of this training program are to provide multidisciplinary training for 3 Ph.D Fellows in Food Science, specifically in the foods for health area, to develop critical thinking skills through the creation of two seminars that will be directed by the Fellows (Scientific Basis for Health Claims seminar, and a Structured Controversies seminar), and develop mentoring skills through interactions with Food Science undergraduate students at North Carolina A&T State University. This program will impact the future of agricultural education and knowledge in the United States by providing professional development of global-ready Fellows, education of the public, and the strengthening of relationships between the Food Science programs at Penn State and NC A&T University to encourage future training activities for undergraduate and graduate students.

Project Methods
We will select 3 Ph.D Fellows for this program through traditional recruitment procedures of the Department of Food Science, but also work in cooperation with our Office of Multicultural Affairs and with collaborators at North Carolina A&T State University to target individuals from traditionally underrepresented groups. Unlike our traditional offer letters which identify the student's thesis advisor, offers to potential National Needs fellows will be left open to allow the Fellow to decide which specialty and mentor best fits his or her career goals and interests. Fellows will also be encouraged to select a second advisor in a different area to enhance cross-disciplinary training. Fellows will develop critical thinking skills through resident education and thesis research. Leadership and public communication skills will be gained through the establishment of Structured Controversies and Scientific Evidence for Health Claims seminar series, which will be organized by the Fellows and used to critique current issues in Food Science and Nutrition in a public forum. Integration of the Fellows into the undergraduate research programs at NC A&T University will additionally transform them into the next generation of mentors. We will create measurement tools for developing the logic model and collecting data in the input-output-outcomes continuum of the project, particularly addressing the following measures: 1) Completion of doctoral degree in 3-4 years with graduate GPA of 3.5 or greater; 2) A record of scholarly productivity that should include 2-3 peer-reviewed papers; 3) Attendance and poster or oral presentation at 1-2 national or international scientific meetings; 4) Placement in academic, government, or industry employment relevant to degree; 5) Evaluation by the principal faculty advisors indicating Fellow had a positive impact on the field of Food Science and the Department culture; and 6) Positive evaluation by the student cohort regarding the value of the new educational program, and their willingness to recommend the program to prospective students.

Progress 02/01/12 to 01/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems:Fellowship appointments supported by this project are paid outside of the salary category at Penn State University and therefore are not able to be reported as SYs, PYs, or TYs. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Through the development of seminars on profession careers, creation of a structured controversies seminar, and an online podcast, the students became familiar with deeper issues concerning food science professionals and how to communicate them with the general public. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of their work were communicated through peer-reviewed journal articles, open presentations delivered at Penn State, and the development of a podcast series. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Two of the three students funded by this project graduated with their Ph.D. They are employed at DDW The Colour House in Lexington, KY, and Ocean Spray in the Boston Area. The third student is scheduled to graduate Spring 2017, and her funding was continued by the Department of Food Science, Penn State.

Publications

Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Glisan SL, Grove KA, Yennawar NH, Lambert JD (2017) Inhibition of pancreatic lipase by black tea theaflavins: comparative enzymology and in silico modeling studies. Food Chem. 216:296-300.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Rivera-Reyes, M., J. A. Campbell, and C. N. Cutter. 2017. Pathogen Reductions Associated with Traditional Processing of Landj�ger. Food Control 73:768-774.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2017 Citation: DiMarzio, M., A. Patterson, E. G. Dudley. Hijacking host metabolism with Lactobacillusunderstanding the implications of bile salt hydrolase diversity. Submitted to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2017 Citation: M. DiMarzio, B. Rusconi, N. H. Yennwar, M. Eppinger, A. D. Patterson, E. G. Dudley. Identification of Lactobacillus johnsonii strains with potential for metabolic control based on bile salt hydrolase activity against the potent FXR antagonist T-?-MCA. Submitted to PLoS One.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Glisan SL, Ryan C, Neilson AP, Lambert JD (2016) Cranberry extract attenuates hepatic inflammation in high fat-fed obese mice. J Nutr Biochem. 37:6066.

Progress 02/01/15 to 01/31/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Graduate students interested in Food Science Ph.D, and the general public interested in the role Food Scientists play in their lives Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Poster presentations at scientific meetings, publications in scientific journals, and through the creation of a podcast series. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We anticipate by the next reporting period that all students will have graduated.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In 2015, the three Fellows created a new podcast called "Breaking the Food Scilence" (http://foodscience.psu.edu/breaking-the-food-scilence), for educating the general public about the role of Food Science in society. They initiated this project independently, used services available through Penn State's library services to interview and record participants, and professionally edited the audio. The podcast is now featured on the Food Science Department's website, and has been advertised to our alumni via Facebook. One of the Fellows, Minerva Rivera, presented a poster of her Ph.D work at the 2015 International Association of Food Protection Meeting in Portland, Oregon, and won 3rd place in the developing scientist competition. In addition, one of the Fellows (Shannon Glisan) graduated with her Ph.D during Fall 2015, and Michael Dimarzio anticipates a Spring 2016 graduation. Therefore, at least two of the three fellows are expected to successfully graduate during the first three years we offered this program.

Publications

Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Glisan SL, Lambert JD (2015) Cranberry extract ameliorated obesity-related liver inflammation via the Toll-Like Receptor 4 pathway. Experimental Biology. Boston, MA.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Bitzer ZT, Glisan SL, Dorenkott MR, Goodrich KM, Ye L, O'Keefe SF, Lambert JD, Neilson AP (2015) Cocoa procyanidins with different degrees of polymerization possess distinct activities in models of colonic inflammation. J Nutr Biochem. 26:82731.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: McCrea CE, West SG, Kris-Etherton PM, Lambert JD, Gaugler TL, Teeter DL, Sauder KA, Gu Y, Glisan SL, Skulas-Ray AC (2015) Effects of culinary spices and psychological stress on postprandial lipemia and lipase activity: results of a randomized crossover study and in vitro experiments. J. Transl. Med. 13:719.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Rivera, M. 2015. Pathogen Reductions Associated with Traditional Processing of Landj�ger: A Pilot Study. Presented at the 2015 International Association for Food Protection Meeting.

Progress 02/01/14 to 01/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience: Graduate student education Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The students were provided the opportunity to develop and present their own seminar, leading to a greater appreciation of how scientific data is used to develop public pollicy. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The seminar described was open to all members of the Penn State community and the general public. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The students will be expanding on the theme of "Food Controversy" by developing a website and short podcasts for the general public.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In the Spring of 2014, the three students participating in this project developed a Structured Controversy Seminar. The topic chosen was Genetically Modified Foods. The students researched the topic, including meeting with experts at and outside of Penn State, and delivered a debate-style presentation that was open to all individuals at the university.

Publications

Progress 02/01/13 to 01/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Penn State’s accounting system does not have a mechanism in place to capture the salary of students appointed on a fellowship appointment. The fellowships are not treated as salaries at Penn State and are not able to be easily separated or parsed to capture the SY, PY, or TY equivalents. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The Fellows designed over Fall 2013, and into 2014, the described Structured Controversies seminar series, which will initiate Spring 2014. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The students will continue developing the Structured Controversies seminar series, and also form a Scientific Basis for Health Claims seminar for Fall 2014. We will also begin reaching out to other minority serving institutions to advertise the National Needs program, with the hopes of increasing our graduate applications from these schools.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Three Fellows were recruited over 2013, who all began their Ph.D studies in Food Science Fall 2013. These included two students who were recruited from Penn State, and one from the University of Puerto Rico.

Publications

Progress 02/01/12 to 01/31/13

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The past year focused on the recruitment of outstanding candidates for this program. A committee comprising of the faculty on this grant made a conscious decision to delay the start of the program for recruits until Fall 2013 for several reasons: 1) This grant was official launched February 2012, which is past the date that we historically focus the most effort identifying and recruiting outstanding students; 2) We generally see the strongest applicants for Fall admissions; 3) We strongly felt that for this program to be successful that we should bring all three fellows in at the same time. Early Fall 2012 we started an intense recruitment process that included steps such as contacting department heads of all Food Science programs in the United States and Puerto Rico, and taking out an advertisement in the journal Science. We obtained 10 applications, and used phone calls and campus visits to learn more about each candidate. The committee met in Feb 2012 to discuss all of the candidates, and agreed to make offers to the three highest ranking individuals. We are pleased to say that as of March 5, we received acceptances from all of them. The remainder of the time between now and the students' arrival will focus on planning the seminar series program that they will be expected to lead starting Spring 2014. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Three outstanding fellows recruited for this program. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
As a Food Science Department this program has caused us to think deeper about our goals for graduate education, and through the recruitment process for the National Needs has strengthened our relationships with other Food Science programs. We hope to leverage this during future recruiting efforts in order to continue increasing the diversity of our graduate student population.

Publications

No publications reported this period