Source: NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIV submitted to
A NOVEL APPROACH TO TRAINING GRADUATE SCHOOL- AND INDUSTRY-READY MINORITY STUDENTS IN RUMINANT NUTRITION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
NEW
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1028536
Grant No.
2022-38821-37302
Project No.
NC.X2021-12774
Proposal No.
2021-12774
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
EP
Project Start Date
May 1, 2022
Project End Date
Apr 30, 2025
Grant Year
2022
Project Director
Anele, U.
Recipient Organization
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIV
1601 EAST MARKET STREET
GREENSBORO,NC 27411
Performing Department
Animal Sciences
Non Technical Summary
This project aims to develop an innovative ruminant nutrition laboratory (IRNL) to provide minority undergraduate students with immersive learning experiences to help them develop three fundamental skills (feed formulation and evaluation, product development and evaluation, and data management) required for graduate school or employment in the livestock feed industry. Four faculty and 5 industry and USDA-ARS collaborators will work together to create a route for minority students to integrate classroom learning and experiential learning to develop these industry-specific skills. This will be addressed by following these objectives: 1) develop a modified course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) with a special focus on feed formulation and products evaluation, 2) develop a second modified CURE designed for product development, and 3) develop a third modified CURE to improve students' problem-solving and computational skills through data management. Each year, 30 students from these 3 classes will be recruited into the IRNL track to undertake independent small-team (5 students) research studies. To achieve the three specific objectives, the team will integrate the proposed project with two other federally funded projects by the PD to make the learning process as real as possible for the students. About 660 students (220 students/year) will be reached through the modified CUREs and 90 students will be trained in the IRNL track. The IRNL will also provide students with experiential learning activities like small group and individual studies, summer internships, field trips, opportunities to serve as research mentors, team-building exercises and workshops designed to enhance knowledge, leadership and communication skills.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
30%
Applied
40%
Developmental
30%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
30201201010100%
Knowledge Area
302 - Nutrient Utilization in Animals;

Subject Of Investigation
0120 - Land;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;
Goals / Objectives
The major goals of the project are to develop a strong ruminant nutrition program at N.C. A&T and build capacity by providing research training in ruminant nutrition by establishing an Innovative Ruminant Nutrition Lab (IRNL). The team will redesign three existing classes (ANSC 212 - Feeds and Feeding, a sophomore class; ANSC 411 - Livestock Production, a junior class; and ANSC 431 - Principles of Animal Nutrition, a senior class) into a modified (select number of students working in small teams).Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience. The adoption of CURE for this project will seamlessly integrate the instruction and research components. For the research component, the students will address real-world research problems relevant to the farming and scientific communities. We hypothesize that the IRNL will provide experiential learning opportunities and prepare industry- and graduate school -ready minority students, thereby contributing to an increase in the diversity of livestock industry professionals in the workforce. We will prove our hypothesis by addressing the objective of building a ruminant nutrition program at N.C. A&T. The specific objectives are as follows:Objective 1: Develop a modified CURE with a special focus on feed evaluation. To accomplish this objective, students will undertake several digestive and metabolic studies with intact and cannulated cattle in addition to using the rumen stimulating technique to evaluate different feeds and feed additives.Objective 2: Develop a second modified CURE designed for product development. The students will work with faculty and industry mentors on the various steps and processes in developing different products like feed additives and novel solutions for parasite control in small ruminants. Students will use the in vitro batch culture technique for initial evaluation purposes.Objective 3: Develop a third modified CURE to improve students' problem-solving and computational skills through data management. To accomplish this objective, students will acquire analytical and logical reasoning skills for detecting patterns and trends in big datasets. Working with a bioinformatician, a modeler and the PD, students will be exposed to a broad knowledge of data analyses, bioinformatics, modeling and big data analytics that will be helpful to make informed decisions. The modified CURE will allow students to build teamwork, develop leadership and research skill sets and increase students' competencies for industry careers or graduate school.By the end of the project, we anticipate that about 660 students (220 students/year) will be impacted through three redesigned existing courses. From this number, 90 students will be intensively trained in the IRNL (to be called lab-track students).
Project Methods
MethodsStudent recruitment into IRNL: A web-based application will be developed via Qualtrics. Applicants will be evaluated on their GPA and a short essay on their career aspirations. Eligible students must have maintained a 3.0 GPA or higher. Preference will be given to first-generation college students.Objective 1: Develop a modified CUREs with a special focus on feed evaluation To accomplish this objective, students will undertake several studies using the in vitro batch culture and RUSITEC to evaluate different feeds and feed additives in addition to using intact and cannulated cattle for digestive and metabolic studies. To achieve objective 1, an existing sophomore class (ANSC 212 - Feeds and Feeding) will be redesigned to include problem-based practical learning activities to help students acquire two of the specific skills considered essential in the ruminant feed industry--feed formulation and feed evaluation.Additionally, the syllabus will be modified to include new topics (e.g., non-conventional feedstuffs, feed formulation software, feed processing, nutrient requirements, nutrient utilization, nutrient metabolism, rumen microbes, and voluntary feed intake) to reflect the research focus. The whole class will be intensively taught to use different feed formulation software and will be given at least nine different assignments to ensure that they have a working knowledge of feed formulation for ruminants. Fifteen students (three teams of five students/team) will be recruited into the IRNL to undertake independent research on two important problems facing American livestock producers. The team-based research will provide leadership opportunities and help the students "increase their understanding of leadership roles, including critical thinking, problem solving, communication skills, ethics and professionalism and working in teams." The students will work on the relevant research studies listed below:a) Use of spent mushroom substrates as a cheap source of feed and prebiotics to improve beef cattle productivity and health. This study will provide an excellent opportunity for the lab-track students in the IRNL to get involved and develop both basic and applied skills in feed evaluation. Together with the PD and the graduate students, the undergraduate students will undertake one metabolism study to determine feed intake, total weight gain, average daily weight gain, feed efficiency, nutrient digestibility, microbiome diversity, blood metabolome and immune response.b) Effects of fertilization, location and age of pasture on nutritive value of fall-stockpiled tall fescue. The PD started a small part of this project with mentees before the university was closed due to COVID-19. The PD currently has over 1,100 samples from Dr. Franzluebbers and will be receiving a similar number to evaluate the effect of the drying method on the nutritive value of fall-stockpiled tall fescue. The in vitro batch culture technique will be used to evaluate the samples.Objective 2: Develop a second modified CURE designed for product development Product development is at the core of successful private feed companies. To help students acquire a working knowledge of this important skill, they will work with faculty and industry mentors on the steps and processes in developing different products such as feed additives from plant nutraceuticals. Students will also use the in vitro batch culture and RUSITEC techniques for initial screening purposes. Additionally, the students will explore novel solutions for parasite control in small ruminants. Another existing junior class (ANSC 411 - Livestock Production) will be redesigned to include a modified CURE module to help students acquire product development skills. The syllabus will also be modified by introducing specific topics (e.g., critical issues/challenges facing the livestock industry, classifications of feed additives, an overview of the private feed industry, product development from an industry perspective, regulations, and drugs vs. GRAS - generally recognized as safe) to reflect the research focus: product development.Ten students will join the IRNL for additional independent research studies. The 10 students in the lab-track will be working in two groups of five to undertake independent research on two significant problems facing American livestock producers as detailed below: a) Alternatives to antibiotics use in food animals. To make the learning process as real as possible for the students, the research component will focus on one of the biggest challenges facing the livestock sector: alternatives to sub-therapeutic antibiotics use for production purposes. Based on literature, the students will decide on the different blends or combinations of plant nutraceuticals they want to use in their studies. The students will evaluate not more than 30 different product blends and will measure different variables such as dry matter (DM) digestion, fermentation kinetics, neutral and acid detergent digestibility, volatile fatty acids, efficiency of microbial production, utilizable crude protein at the duodenum and in vitro methane, CO2, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia concentrations. Any product blend that increases DM digestibility, VFA and efficiency of microbial production by at least 10% with a concomitant decrease in methane and ammonia concentrations will be selected and further evaluated using a rumen stimulating technique (RUSITEC). The 10% selection baseline will be increased to 20% or more if more than nine product blends meet these criteria. After the RUSITEC evaluation, three product blends will be evaluated using live animals; data on gut health, immune response, metabolome and microbial diversity will be collected. The development process is not expected to be completed by a particular set of lab-track students. This is a continuous research investigation that the next set of lab-track students will continue.b) Use of Moringa oleifera extract for parasite control in small ruminants. Control of internal parasites is the biggest issue facing small ruminant producers, which is made worse by their ability to develop resistance to chemical dewormers. The team will adopt a similar approach as the first research topic above. The students will be given the task of searching through literature for possible tanniferous plants used for parasite control in small ruminants. The team has identified M. oleifera as a potential candidate based on previous research at N.C. A&T. The team will adopt a simplified approach for feeding potential tanniferous plants as supplements to small ruminants in addition to their regular diet and collect weekly fecal samples for fecal egg counts. We are planning two studies of 42 days each. The number of treatments will depend on the number of potential solutions from the students.Objective 3: Develop a third modified CURE to improve students' problem solving and computational skills through data managementData management is an important skill that needs to be taught as part of research-based experiential learning activities. A third existing senior class (ANSC 431 - Principles of Animal Nutrition) will be redesigned to include a modified CURE module to help students acquire data management skills. Five students (out of a projected enrollment of 30) will join the IRNL as lab-track students. The syllabus will include new topics such as: experimental designs and data management, big data analytics and modeling for beginners. The module will be taught face-to-face during the project period and after that, it will be transitioned to an online module to ensure its availability beyond the end of the project. The team believes that by working with a bioinformatician, modeler and statistician, students will be exposed to a broad knowledge of bioinformatics, modeling, big data analytics and statistical analyses that will be helpful to make informed decisions.

Progress 05/01/22 to 04/30/23

Outputs
Target Audience:The current project focuses on providing minority undergraduate students with immersive learning experiences to help them develop three fundamental skills (feed evaluation, product development and data management) required for graduate school or employment in the livestock feed industry. Each year, 30 students from three classes - Feeds and Feeding, Livestock Production and Principles of Nutrition - are/will be recruited into the project to undertake independent small-team (5 students/team) research studies and each team works directly with a PhD student. Changes/Problems:There have been some delays in getting an evaluator for the project. I have had discussions with two evaluators at different times only to be informed that they will not have time to evaluate the project. Currently, I am open to using an internal evaluator if I am unable to get an external evaluator. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PhD students are currently having a Big Data training workshop organized by one of the collaborators - Dr. Peters from Berry College, GA. The training will continue until the end of summer. At the end of this workshop/training, the PhD students will be very proficient in Big Data analytics and will be able to work independently with the undergraduate students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Activities from the project are announced across all the classes to stimulate interest from other students. Additionally, activities at the farm are open to all the students in the class and invited guests get to talk to the whole class. Some aspects of the lab activities are also open to other students, but the number is limited to available lab space. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, we will report on the outcome of the extensive data training by the PhD students. We will also report on the data management part of the project - objective 3. We will also be reporting on the summer internship activities of the students.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Fifteen students were first recruited into this project in the Fall of 2022 (no summer activities as students were not on campus). The students were involved in product development and under the supervision of the PD and Dr. Dele. The students formulated five blends of essential oils which they evaluated using the in vitro batch culture technique. Another set of 15 students were recruited into the project in January 2023 (Spring semester) and they have been involved in feed evaluation. The students were divided into 3 teams and they are working with 3 Ph.D. students. Each team has 5 students under the direct supervision of a Ph.D. student. The whole group meets every Friday for research presentations. The weekly meeting provides a platform for the students to present their weekly research activities and for cross-fertilization of ideas. The weekly meetings help them to hone their presentation skills and also increase their knowledge and understanding of the research they are doing in the laboratory. With the above, we are accomplishing objectives 1 and 2 of the project. For objective 3, the Ph.D. students recruited for this project are currently undergoing training in Big Data Management. I will recruit the first cohort of students for Data management in the Fall. All the students have been significantly impacted by the project and one of the students that won 3rd place position at the North Carolina A&T Spring 2023 Undergraduate Research Symposium made this statement - "Wow, what can I say? Thank you so much to ALL the PhD mentors for giving me this opportunity and helping me along the way!! I'm so happy right now, like what? ME!!! Thank you again!".

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