2007 Alabama EPSCoR Meeting February 13, 2007 University of Alabama in Huntsville

1. 2007 Alabama EPSCoR MeetingFebruary 13, 2007University of Alabama in Huntsville USDA EPSCoR McArthur Floyd, Ph.D. – State Director Charles Prince, Ph.D. - Co-Director

2. USDA EPSCoR • A co-funding initiative • In Alabama, all proposals submitted to any USDA National Research Initiative program are considered for EPSCoR co-funding • All proposals must be submitted in response to a Request for Proposals (RFA) – unsolicited applications are NOT accepted • submissions accepted once per year – deadlines are program specific

3. Includes 4 agencies: CSREES– Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service(>$1,000 mil – 43%) Supports research, education and extension programs in colleges and universities ARS– Agricultural Research Service ($1,079 mil) In-house research agency in natural and biological sciences ERS– Economics Research Service ($81 mil) In-house research agency in economics and social sciences relative to agriculture, food, natural resources and rural America NASS– National Agricultural Statistics Service ($145 mil) Provides official current statistics on agricultural production and indicators of economic and environmental welfare USDA – Research, Education and Economics Mission

4. Formula funds Congressionally directed funds Competitive funds USDA – Research, Education and Economics Mission CSREES– Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Federal Assistance provided via 3 mechanisms

5. www.csrees.usda.gov CSREES Competitive funds • National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program - $183M in 2006 – major means of funding individual investigators • Integrated Research, Education, and Extension (IREE) Competitive • Grants Program • Coordinated Agricultural Projects (CAP) • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program • Science and Education Resources Development (SERD) Funding • Opportunities • Biotechnology Risk Assessment Program • Integrated Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative

6. Goals of the NRI program • Increase competitiveness of U.S. agriculture • Improve human health and well-being through an abundant, safe, and high-quality food supply • Sustain the quality and productivity of the natural resources upon which agriculture depends

7. Economics & Commerce Agricultural Markets and Trade Farm Financial Management Financial Security Public Policy Small & Home-based Business Natural Resources & Environment Air Quality; Ecosystems Environmental & Resource Economics Fish & Wildlife Forests; Global Change and Climate Rangelands; Soils Sustainable Development; Water Agricultural & Food Biosecurity Animal & Plant Biosecurity Agricultural Systems Manure & Nutrient Management Organic Agriculture Precision Farming Small Farms Sustainable Agriculture Workforce Development & Safety Families, Youth & Communities Child Care & After-School Programs Communities at Risk Family Science & Human Development Housing & Indoor Environment Leadership & Volunteer Development Rural & Community Development Urban Programs Youth Development & 4-H Youth Education Pest Management Biobased Pest Management Integrated Pest Management Invasive Species Pesticides Animals & Animal Products Animal Breeding, Genetics & Genomics Animal Health Animal Nutrition & Growth Animal Products Animal Reproduction Animal Well-being Aquaculture Plants & Plant Products Agronomic & Forage Crops Biobased Products & Processing Horticulture Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics Food, Nutrition & Health Food Safety & Biosecurity Food Science & Technology Health Hunger & Food Security Nutrition Obesity & Healthy Weight Technology & Engineering Agricultural & Biological Engineering Information Technology Education Nanotechnology Sensor Technology Biotechnology & Genomics Bioinformatics Biotechnology Microbial Genomics www.csrees.usda.gov/nri/nri_topics.html NRI Competitive Grants Program 59 programs clustered in 11 National Emphasis Areas

8. National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program In 2004, NRI funded ~500 proposals of 3,299 received (~15%), although individual programs vary (12-33%) Projects are supported for periods up to 4 years Project awards can be up to $1,500,000 total dollars, but awards in many programs are capped at $400,000-$500,000 including indirect costs; indirect costs are capped at 25% In Alabama, all proposals submitted to any NRI program are considered for EPSCoR co-funding All proposals must be submitted in response to a Request for Proposals (RFA) – unsolicited applications are NOT accepted – submissions accepted once per year

9. NRI National Needs Initiatives for 2007 Program Program Name Application Due Code 43.0 Animal Genome 6/5/2007 42.0 Animal Growth and Nutrient Utilization 6/5/2007 44.0 Animal Protection and Biosecurity (C): Animal Biosecurity Coordinated Agricultural Projects (CAP) 8/14/2007 51.2 Arthropod and Nematode Biology and Management (B) and (C): Suborganismal Biology and Tools, Resources, and Genomics 6/5/2007 31.5 Human Nutrition and Obesity 6/5/2007 61.0 Agricultural Markets and Trade 6/5/2007 51.0 Microbial Genomics (B): Functional Genomics of Microorganisms 6/5/2007 56.0 Plant Biology (C): Biochemistry 2/14/2007 56.0 Plant Biology (D): Growth and Development 2/14/2007 20.2 Plant Biosecurity 6/5/2007 52.1 Plant Genome 2/14/2007 52.1 Plant Genome (D): Applied Plant Genomics CAP 2/14/2007 At http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/nri/nri_topics.html

10. Total: $2,810,091

11. Forestry and Community: Creating Local Markets for Local ResourcesConner Bailey, Valentina Hartarska, Mark Dubois, Bruce LindseyAuburn University • Goals: generate employment opportunities and improved housing through fuller utilization of timber resources in the rural South • 20,000,000 acres of timber land in the South is in tracts too small for commercial harvesting • Through time-motions studies, identify scale-appropriate technologies which will allow harvesting of timber on small (<50 acres) tracts • Harvested timber will be used locally Total grant dollars: $460,000 Publications/presentations generated to date: 10

12. Reducing Risk of Avian Influenza Outbreaks in Commercial Chickens by Genetic ResistanceSandra Ewald Auburn University • Goal: reduce risk of avian influenza outbreaks by increasing genetic resistance in the commercial chicken population • Hypothesis: an allele of the chicken Mx gene will limit AI viral replication and/or disease outbreaks in chickens • Aims: • Determine if chicken embryo fibroblasts with different Mx genotypes differ in susceptibility to infection with low pathogenic strains of AI • Determine if IFN-alpha modulates infectivity of CEFs • Determine if Mx alleles in commercial chickens confer resistance to AI • Future plans: evaluate role of Mx alleles in highly pathogenic AI, such as H5N1 Total project budget: $480,834

13. Opportunities and Constraints to Rural Development: Exploring the Linkages between Small Farms and Rural Communities in the Southeast RegionJames Bukenya Alabama A&M University • Goal: develop tools that will enable policy makers to assign realistic values to the non-market contributions of small farms to a region’s economy and community development • Methods: acquire analytical data from USDA Census of Agricultural Statistics, retail statistics from State Tax Commissions, employment data from State Employment Offices and data from relevant literature • Next: develop relevant data to model 20 policy scenarios and how communities may be impacted economically Total amount of award: $100,000

14. Thank you. Charles W. Prince, Ph.D. Professor of Nutrition Sciences and Biomedical Enginering Assistant Vice-President for Research University of Alabama at Birmingham 205-934-7757 princecw@uab.edu

15. CSREES Funding Levels (2006) National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program………………………………………………………………………………………….$183 mil Includes Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program…………………………………………..$36 mil Higher Education Grants (through SERD)……………..……….………$50 mil Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program……….....$19 mil Special Research Grants…………………..………………………….……..………..$18 mil Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative….……$3 mil Biotechnology Risk Assessment Program………………………………… $3 mil

16. www.csrees.usda.gov CSREES Federal Assistance Formula funds Support base programs of the state experiment stations, the Cooperative Extension System, and Cooperative Forestry Programs Not available on a competitive basis to individual researchers

17. www.csrees.usda.gov CSREES Federal Assistance Congressionally directed funds Support state- or commodity-specific programs that are directed by Congress May be awarded to individual investigators or distributed on a competitive basis by a recipient institution Current Special Research Grants Global Change, UV-B Monitoring Integrated Pest Management and Biological Control Minor Crop Pest Management Minor Use Animal Drugs Expert IPM Decision Support System National Biological Impact Assessment Program Pest Management Alternatives

18. 2006 Projects Funded by USDA EPSCoR Institution PI 2006 USDA $ AAMU Bukenya 41,667 Yang 29,167 Nyakatawa 41,261 Senwo 5,208 117,303 UAB Dokland 29,625

19. 2006 Projects Funded by USDA EPSCoR continued Institution PI 2006 USDA $ AUBURN Cheng 80,000 Ewald 153,600 Liu 369,427 Bailey 153,333 Zhang 103,334 Shi 33,333 Sartin 58,055 Bergen 21,162 Prorok 62,500 Givens 41,028 Bartol 66,193 Broughton 38,889 Murphy 25,000 Kaletnboeck 135,000 Bell 17,888 Price 28,999 1,387,741 TOTAL $1,534,669

20. USDA vs. NIH • Agriculture or human health • Model systems, zoonotic diseases, etc • Equally competitive • NIH $$$ > USDA$; full vs. partial overhead • NIH: large-scale, fundamental, and basic research; USDA: scale-back, relatively more applied research • Timing submission (Three cycles for NIH and one cycle for USDA each year)