Progress 01/15/24 to 01/14/25
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is four graduate students working in the field of plant-soil-microbe interactions. This year, we completed the cohort of LEAPS fellows. One student is seeking a PhD degree in Microbiology, one student is seeking a PhD degree in Horticulture & Agronomy, one student is seeking a M.Sc. degree in Horticulture & Agronomy, and one student is seeking a M.Sc. degree in Plant Pathology. Although only four students are funded through this award, we offered the same opportunities to an additional 13 graduate students in the PD and co-PD labs, largely increasing the impact of the program on a diverse student population. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PDs provided training opportunities for 4 graduate students through this project. During this period, fellow's training was focused on written communication of research, experimental design, data analyses, as well as developing teaching, leadership, and networking depending on the career stage of each fellow. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Manuscripts are being prepared for publication in scientific journals and fellows have presented their work in local, national, and international scientific gatherings and to the industry that partially funds their research. Full reference to these efforts is listed under the "Products" section of this report. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the fifth year of the project, fellows will continue to spend time in research and networking activities. Fellows are preparing to present their projects in national and international scientific meetings. This will be an opportunity to develop their technical and scientific skills, which is one of the six core principles of the NNF-LEAPS program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT: One of the future's greatest challenges is to sustain food, fiber, and energy production while conserving resources and soils. Managing plant microbiomes (both below and above ground) is an important component of an integrated strategy to enhance sustainability and resilience of crop production systems. LEAPS fellows gain a deep scientific knowledge of "omics" technologies, molecular biology, metadata analyses, modelling and machine learning, and be able to practice the understanding of plant biology, microbiology, and agricultural management. LEAPS is built on institutional support and resources and connections with commercial growers and the agricultural industry to provide hands-on experience on research, teaching, and extension for the fellows. The measurable outcomes of this project will be evaluation of students' performance by faculty guidance committee, production of high-quality scientific publications, acceptance into internships with the industry, presentations in field days for growers and farmer advisors, and publication of cooperative extension bulletins. These activities coupled with our plan for mentoring, advising, and leadership development will prepare highly qualified professionals to enter the workforce in the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area of Plant Production. PROGRESS: the four fellows have been engaged in the LEAPS program. The cohort was completed, representing a continuum of expertise levels that is beneficial to all as they share their experiences with the group. The names of the fellows are omitted in this report for privacy. One PhD fellow has completed the program and filed the dissertation with UC Davis. This fellow is now interviewing for jobs in the industry. One PhD fellow completed all academic requirements for the fellowship and their degree. This fellow is now focusing on finishing the research. One MSc fellow is not making good academic progress and is on probation to bring the GPA to a good standing. We have worked with this fellow to give more support and mentorship to succeed in graduate school. One MSc fellow is making excellent academic progress, including the completion of the TAship and leadership training requirements to keep the LEAPS fellowship. Once again this year, the PDs were able to secure additional funds to support the education of all fellows (over $50,000) through the UC Davis Graduate Studies Office and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. This matching funding was essential to pay for student tuition. Beyond standard tasks to fulfill the graduate program requirements, LEAPS fellows should master six core principles that include 1) technical and scientific skills, 2) teaching skills, 3) writing skills, 4) networking experiences, 5) leadership skills focused on effective communication and team management, and 6) equity, inclusion, and ethics. All four fellows devoted some of their time to developing teaching skills by serving as teaching assistants in undergraduate courses and increasing their network by participating in scientific meetings and outreach activities. All fellows spent time honing their technical and scientific skills and are leading the efforts to publish peer-review articles soon. The PDs, major professors, and the student guidance committee continue to offer one-on-one mentoring to all fellows for effective scientific writing to communicate their research findings. We believe that these hands-on learning and researching activities as well as professional leadership training are already positively affecting the success of these young scholars.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
CB Erikson 2024. Wildfire Burn Severity and Recovery on Microbial BVOC Emissions Sandia-UCD Climate Security Symposium.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
MacConnell 2024. JAZ: the junction of immunity, development, and human pathogen exclusion. PhD Dissertation. University of California, Davis.
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Progress 01/15/23 to 01/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is four graduate students working in the field of plant-soil-microbe interactions. This year, we were able to recruit two new students and complete the cohort of LEAPS fellows. One student is seeking a PhD degree in Microbiology, one student is seeking a PhD degree in Horticulture & Agronomy, one student is seeking a M.Sc. degree in Horticulture & Agronomy, and one is student seeking a M.Sc. degree in Plant Pathology. Although only four students are funded through this award, we offer the same opportunities to an additional 13 graduate students in the PD and co-PD labs, largely increasing the impact of the program on a diverse student population. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PDs provided training opportunities for 4 graduate students student through this project. During this period, PhD fellow's training was mostly focused on written communication of research, experimental design, and data analyses, as well as developing leadership and networking. The MSc fellow's training was mostly focused on designing research and taking required courses for their degree. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Manuscripts are being prepared for publication in scientific journals and fellows have presented their work in local, national, and international scientific gatherings and to the industry that partially fund their research. Full reference to these efforts is listed under the "Products" section of this report. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the fourth year of the project, fellows will continue to spend time in research and networking activities. Fellows are preparing to present their projects in national and international scientific meetings. This will be an opportunity to develop their technical and scientific skills, which is one of the six core principles of the NNF-LEAPS program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT: One of the future's greatest challenges is to sustain food, fiber, and energy production while conserving resources and soils. Managing plant microbiomes (both below and above ground) is an important component of an integrated strategy to enhance sustainability and resilience of crop production systems. LEAPS fellows gain a deep scientific knowledge of "omics" technologies, molecular biology, metadata analyses, modelling and machine learning, and be able to practice the understanding of plant biology, microbiology, and agricultural management. LEAPS is built on institutional support and resources and connections with commercial growers and the agricultural industry to provide hands-on experience on research, teaching, and extension for the fellows. The measurable outcomes of this project will be evaluation of students' performance by faculty guidance committee, production of high-quality scientific publications, acceptance into internships with the industry, presentations in field days for growers and farmer advisors, and publication of cooperative extension bulletins. These activities coupled with our plan for mentoring, advising, and leadership development will prepare highly qualified professionals to enter the workforce in the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area of Plant Production. PROGRESS: two new LEAPS fellows have been recruited from a diverse pool of applicants. Now the cohort is complete, representing a continuum of expertise levels that is beneficial to all as they share their experiences with the group. The names of the fellows are omitted in this report for privacy. Two PhD fellows have completed all coursework required for their degree, completed the teaching and leadership requirements, engaged in networrk activities, participated in multiple workshops and conferences, and are on track to graduate in time. The two M.Sc. fellows are making excellent academic progress in their first year. This year, we were able to secure additional fund to support the education of all fellows (over $50,000) through the UC Davis Graduate Studies Office and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Beyond standard tasks to fulfill the graduate program requirements, LEAPS fellows should master six core principles that include 1) technical and scientific skills, 2) teaching skills, 3) writing skills, 4) networking experiences, 5) leadership skills focused on effective communication and team management, and 6) equity, inclusion, and ethics. All four fellows devoted some of their time to develop teaching skills by serving as teaching assistants in undergraduate courses. In addition, one PhD fellow successfully completed the prestigious Launching Tomorrow's Leader program, a 11-week intensive and individualized program tailored to STEM professions. The program was offered by the the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Bayer Corp. and led by the leadership coaching and consulting firm Bonsai. Both PhD fellows spent time honing their technical and scientific skills and are leading the efforts to publish peer-review articles in the near future. We continue to offer one-on-one mentoring to all fellows for effective scientific writing to communicate their research findings. We believe that these hands-on learning and researching activities as well as professional leadership training is already positively affecting the success of these young scholars.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Silva, Danilo F. ; Cardoso, Elke J. B. N. ; Huang, Laibin ; Erikson, Christian ; Silva, Antonio M. M. ; Araujo, Victor L. V. P. ; Silva, Davila E. O. ; Melo, Vania M. M. ; Araujo, Ademir S. F. ; Pereira, Arthur P. A. ; Mazza Rodrigues, Jorge L. Functional genes related to N and P cycling in degraded and restored areas from Brazilian drylands. Applied Soil Ecology 196, 105316 (2024)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Laibin Huang, Elad Levintal, Christian Bernard Erikson, Adolfo Coyotl, William R. Horwath, Helen E. Dahlke, and Jorge L. Mazza Rodrigues. Molecular and Dual-Isotopic Profiling of the Microbial Controls on Nitrogen Leaching in Agricultural Soils under Managed Aquifer Recharge. Environ. Sci. Technol. 57, 1108411095 (2023).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Erickson C, Rodrigues JLM. 2024. Wildfire Burn Severity and Recovery on Microbial BVOC Emissions Sandia-UCD Climate Security Symposium.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
MacConnell, M. and Melotto, M. The JAZ6 of Tomato is a Putative Functional Ortholog of the Arabidopsis JAZ4. International Society of Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions 19th Congress. July 2023.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Repetto L, Lowe-Powell T. 2023 Investigating the Genetic Basis of Ralstonia Host Range. Host Microbe Interactions Retreat, UC Davis. (Best Poster Presentation)
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Progress 01/15/22 to 01/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is four graduate students in the field of plant-soil-microbe interactions. In the first year of this project we were able to recruit two students. One student seeking a PhD degree in Microbiology joined the Rodrigues Lab in January 2021, and the other seeking a PhD degree in Horticulture & Agronomy joined the Melotto Lab in September 2021. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PDs provided training opportunities for 2 graduate students student through this project. During this period, fellow's training was mostly focused on written communication of research, experimental design, and data analyses, as well as developing leadership. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Three manuscripts are being reviewed for publication in scientific journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the third year of the project, the PhD students will spend more time engaged in research and networking activities. Fellows are preparing to present their projects in international scientific meetings. This will be an opportunity to develop their technical and scientific skills, which is one of the six core principles of the NNF-LEAPS program. We also plan to recruit two MSc students to join the program as planned.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT: One of the future's greatest challenges is to sustain food, fiber, and energy production while conserving resources and soils. Managing plant microbiomes (both below and above ground) is an important component of an integrated strategy to enhance sustainability and resilience of crop production systems. LEAPS fellows will gain a deep scientific knowledge of "omics" technologies, molecular biology, metadata analyses, modelling and machine learning, and be able to practice the understanding of plant biology, microbiology, and agricultural management. LEAPS is built on institutional support and resources and connections with commercial growers and the agricultural industry to provide hands-on experience on research, teaching, and extension for the fellows. The measurable outcomes of this project will be evaluation of students' performance by faculty guidance committee, production of high-quality scientific publications, acceptance into internships with the industry, presentations in field days for growers and farmer advisors, and publication of cooperative extension bulletins. These activities coupled with our plan for mentoring, advising, and leadership development will prepare highly qualified professionals to enter the workforce in the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area of Plant Production. PROGRESS: Our two LEAPS fellows have been recruited from a diverse pool of applicants and they are in their second year of the program. The names of the fellows are omitted in this report for privacy. Both fellows have completed all coursework required for their degree and one fellow already passed the qualifying exam; thus, advancing to PhD candidacy in the fall 2022. In addition, this particular fellow secured a supplemental research assistantship from the Department of Plant Sciences, a highly competitive endeavor that provides funds only to the top 5-8 students among ~50-80 applicants each year. Beyond standard tasks to fulfill the graduate program requirements, LEAPS fellows should master six core principles that include 1) technical and scientific skills, 2) teaching skills, 3) writing skills, 4) networking experiences, 5) leadership skills focused on effective communication and team management, and 6) equity, inclusion, and ethics. Both fellows devoted some of their time to develop teaching skills by serving as teaching assistants in undergraduate courses. In addition, one fellow was selected to participate in the prestigious Launching Tomorrow's Leader program, a 11-week intensive and individualized program tailored to STEM professions. The program was offered by the the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Bayer Corp. and led by the leadership coaching and consulting firm Bonsai. A press release was made to showcase the success of these students (https://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/news/kassama-student-macconnell-grow-their-professional-skills). The other fellow spent time honing their technical and scientific skills and earned authorship in three manuscripts submitted for peer-review publication. These manuscripts include metagenomics analyses of soil microbial communities, which are in line with the goals of our LEAPS program. As both fellows already collected research data, we have started one-on-one mentoring for effective scientific writing to communicate their research findings. We believe that these hands-on learning and researching activities as well as professional leadership training is already positively affecting the success of these young scholars.
Publications
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Progress 01/15/21 to 01/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is four graduate students in the field of plant-soil-microbe interactions. In the first year of this project we were able to recruit two students. One student seeking a PhD degree in Microbiology joined the Rodrigues Lab in January 2021, and the other seeking a PhD degree in Horticulture & Agronomy joined the Melotto Lab in September 2021. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PDs provided training opportunities for 2 graduate students and 1 undergraduate student through this project. During this period, fellow's training by the PDs were mostly focused on written communication of research, experimental design, and data analyses. One of the LEAPS fellows took an opportunity to supervise an undergraduate student in basic laboratory tasks. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As this is the first year of the project, our efforts were geared towards recruiting LEAPS fellows and guiding them to succeed in graduate school. As such, research accomplishments by the fellows were limited. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the second year of the project, the PhD students will complete their coursework and take the qualifying exam to advance to candidacy. As part of the qualifying exam, they will gather preliminary data to prepare and defend their research proposal. This will be an opportunity to develop their writing skills as well as scholarly communication skills (two of the seven core principles of the NNF-LEAPS program).
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT: One of the future's greatest challenges is to sustain food, fiber, and energy production while conserving resources and soils. Managing plant microbiomes (both below and above ground) is an important component of an integrated strategy to enhance sustainability and resilience of crop production systems. LEAPS fellows will gain a deep scientific knowledge of "omics" technologies, molecular biology, metadata analyses, modelling and machine learning, and be able to practice the understanding of plant biology, microbiology, and agricultural management. LEAPS is built on institutional support and resources and connections with commercial growers and the agricultural industry to provide hands-on experience on research, teaching, and extension for the fellows. The measurable outcomes of this project will be evaluation of students' performance by faculty guidance committee, production of high-quality scientific publications, acceptance into internships with the industry, presentations in field days for growers and farmer advisors, and publication of cooperative extension bulletins. These activities coupled with our plan for mentoring, advising, and leadership development will prepare highly qualified professionals to enter the workforce in the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area of Plant Production. PROGRESS: We have created a website to attract students to the LEAPS program and direct them to application and eligibility (https://soilecogenomicslabs.weebly.com/leaps.html). Based on a holistic measure of applicant accomplishments, evidenced by personal statements, academic achievements, potential for leadership, letters of recommendation, and on-site interviews with the top applicants, the PDs were able to select two strong PhD candidates. Both students are from underrepresented minorities, including LGBT+, economically disadvantaged, and women, fulfilling our goal to achieving diversity and inclusion in the program. We have also made progress towards achieving our second goal, that is retention. In addition to having a major professor (the PDs), each student was assigned to an academic advisor. At this point, the LEAPS fellows are in excellent academic standing with 80% of the coursework completed. Furthermore, one student received supplement graduate research awards (Plant Sciences Graduate Student Research award and the Jack Pickett Agriculture Fellowship) attesting to the high level of competence. Finally, some progress was made towards experiential learning on teaching. One LEAPS fellow supervised the research of an undergraduate student intern in the Melotto Lab, expanding the impact of this project to include the training of additional students.
Publications
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