MAES Research Grant Program

Overview:

Research activities under this grant focus and address NIFA’s priority areas, both under Foundational and AFRI programs. The purpose is to use this seed grant’s research outcome to apply for AFRI and other external competitive grants. NIFA-AFRI supports research in the following six Farm Bill categories (nifa.usda.gov/program/agriculture-and-food-research-initiative-afri):

Plant health and production and plant products;
Animal health and production and animal products;
Food safety, nutrition, and health;
Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment;
Agriculture systems and technology; and
Agriculture economics and rural communities

The National research priority areas are also listed as (nifa.usda.gov/research):

a) Food Security: All plant and animal research (both basic and applied) consisting of field crops, horticultural crops, animal nutrition, plant & animal genomics, plant and animal health, agricultural economics and rural communities, etc., fall under this category).

b) Climate Variability and Change: – All the research related to the sustainability of natural resources (soil, water, air), ecosystem impacts of climate change, watershed management, etc., fall under this category), climate change adaptation and mitigation, ecosystem services, etc.

c) Water – Water Challenge for Agriculture is at the forefront of the National priority areas in order to meet the food production needs for the growing population in light of stressors such as Climate Change, pest, etc.

d) Sustainable Bioenergy – This involves research pertaining to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other innovative research for replacing fossil fuel with renewable energy sources.

e) Childhood Obesity Prevention – This may include research on food composition for obesity prevention, knowledge and behavioral and environmental factors influencing weight gain, expansion and implementation of effective obesity prevention strategies, socio-economic impacts on obesity, etc.

f) Food Safety – All research related to food safety from farm to table as it relates to food safety, food pathogens, nutrition and human health.

FY2022-2023 MAES Competitive Grant Program Request for Proposals (RFP)

MAES Competitive Grants by Fiscal Year

2024-2025 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Sunny	Nishanth	Impact of branched chain amino acid degradation on hepatic lipid metabolism	ANSC
Broadbent	Andrew	Defining the sequence diversity and transcriptomic signatures of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) strains isolated from the Delmarva (DMV) region	ANSC
De Freitas Cardoso	Fabiana	A new feed strategy to improve forage quality: Effect of short stature whole plant corn silage on animal performance and farm profitability	ANSC
Dickey	Seth	Mechanistic analysis of a novel antimicrobial pore-forming peptide	VETMED
Riley	Sean	Engineering the antibody response to obligate intracellular bacteria	VETMED
Nelson	Daniel	Engineering endolysins to eradicate lactobacillus plantarum In bioethanol feedstocks	VETMED
Lamp	William	Evaluating insect feed as a climate mitigating protein supplement for dairy cattle	ENTM
Li	Yuanyuan	Deciphering gene regulation in broccoli glucoraphanin-induced beneficial effects on prevention of obesity-related nonalcoholic fatty liver disease	NFSC
Slavin	Margaret	Assessing pain outcomes in a low sugar dietary intervention	NFSC
Rodriguez Leal	Daniel	Tomato Multiplex Editing for Trait Optimization (TOMETO)	PSLA
Qi	Yiping	Enriching plastid base editing in crops with versatile TALE-Combo systems	PSLA
Henley	Shauna	Developing a community-based participatory research wellness program for Maryland older adults	UME

2023-2024 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Park	Jaekeun	Resident memory T cell responses to avian Influenza viruses	VTMD
Leisnham	Paul	Mosquito microbiota reflects human socio-economic conditions surrounding juvenile habitat	ENST
Rawat	Nidhi	Characterization of a conserved susceptibility factor for designing novel disease resistance in wheat	PSLA
Shi	Meiqing	Role of the complosome in cryptococcosis	VTMD
Xiao	Zhengguo	Intraepithelial T Lymphocytes in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract of cattle	ANSC
Wang	Qin	Machine learning-accelerated development of sustainable, all-natural food packaging	NFSC
Zhang	Yanjin	Improved vaccine against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome	VTMD
Pick	Leslie	Assessing risk of RNAi pesticides in agricultural systems	ENTM
Song	Jiuzhou	Towards a microbiome-based strategy to promote soil health and food safety on urban farms	ANSC
Biswas	Debabrata	Sources and comparative genomics of infectious Coryza outbreaking agent in Delmarva region	ANSC
Schiffmacher	Andrew	Unlocking the potential of bovine fetal mammary stem cells	ANSC
Jin	Younggeon	Role of intestinal mesenchymal stromal cells in the porcine postnatal intestinal development	ANSC

2022-2023 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Broadbent	Andrew	The development of an Avian Reovirus (ARV) Reverse Genetics System to facilitate the next generation of ARV vaccines	ANSC
Porter	Tom	Identification of transcription factor proteins regulating growth hormone production in broiler chickens	ANSC
Rahaman	Shaik	Assess the functionality of Trpv4-targeted dietary bioactives loaded in avocado-derived nanoparticles using a high-fat diet-induced atherosclerosis model	NFSC
Belov	George	Identification of a molecular target of a novel broad-spectrum anti-enterovirus compound	VTMD
Zhu	Xiaoping	Helminth-derived protein for the treatment of inflammatory diseases	VTMD
Negahban-Azar	Masoud	Assess sustainability of agricultural irrigation water under current and future climate scenarios	ENST
Fritz	Megan	The role of aminopeptidase N genes in Helicoverpa zea field evolved Bt resistance	ENTM
Coleman	Gary	Modulation of UVR8 in transgenic poplar to identify factors promoting rapid growth	PSLA
Culver	James	Reprogramming stone fruit crop defense responses for enhanced virus resistance	PSLA - IBBR
Xiao	Shunyuan	Developing a facile reporter system for functional assays of MLO proteins and engineering of MLO-based powdery mildew resistance in crop plants	PSLA -IBBR

2021-2021 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Kim	Byung-Eun	The Role of Copper and CTR1 in the Regulation of Adipocyte Metabolism	ANSC
Xiao	Zhenguo	CD4 T Cell Differentiation in Cattle	ANSC
Grev	Amanda	Effects of Nitrogen and Sulfur Fertility on Triticale Forage Protein Concentrations and Dairy Cow Performance	ANSC-Ext
Shi	Meiqing	Mechanisms of clearance of Cryptococcus neoformans in the brain	VTMD
Zhang	Yanjin	Mutagenesis of a novel porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus strain for a better vaccine	VTMD
Riley	Sean	Host-targeted Therapeutics for Rickettsia Infections	VTMD
Potts	Sarah	Effect of an Improved Grazing Management System on Dairy Heifer Performance	ANSC-Ext
Yonkos	Lance	Application of Fundulus heteroclitus Health Indicators to Establish Baseline Environmental Quality of the Anacostia River	ENST
Obanda	Diana	An ‘omics’ approach to identify and elucidate functional roles of gut microbial metabolites of Urtica dioica vegetable	NFSC
Qi	Yiping	Developing efficient CRISPR genome editing platforms for generating quantitative traits in crops	PSLA
Murphy	Angus	Nitrilase function in the regulation of auxin - dependent wound responses in rice	PSLA
Micallef	Shirley	An apple a day: investigating associations between apple management practices, fruit quality and phytochemical profiles, and foodborne pathogen interactions	PSLA

2020-2021 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Jin	Younggeon	Role of ClC-2 in intestinal ischemic injury and repair	ANSC
Sunny	Nishanth	Regulation of Mitochondrial Metabolism and Lipogenesis in Embryonic to Post-hatch Chicken	ANSC
Belov	Georgiy	The development of high efficiency vectored vaccines against highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses	VTMD
Lee	Seong-Ho	Anti-obese activity of novel high phenolic sorghum brans	NFSC
Pradhan	Abani	Application of Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics for Food Safety Risk Assessment	NFSC
Yarwood	Stephanie	Uncovering the mechanisms of N2O production in cereal cropping systems	ENST
Lamp	William	Identification of host plant use by the invasive spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) using next-gen DNA sequencing technology	ENTM
Hamby	Kelly	Interactions between spotted-wing drosophila and fruit rot fungi in fall red raspberries	ENTM
Fiorellino	Nicole	Developing fertility recommendations and assessing nutrient remediation ability of industrial hemp	PSLA
Neel	Maile	Can acclimation confer resilience in the Chesapeake Bay foundation species Vallisneria americana?	PSLA

2019-2020 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Zhang	Yanjin	Identification of the genetic source of interferon induction by a novel strain of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus	VTMD
Zhu	Xiaoping	Mucosal delivery of universal influenza vaccine antigens	VTMD
Nelson	Daniel	Engineering Endolysins to Target Gram-negative Pathogens for Food Safety Disinfectant Use	VTMD
Keefer	Carol	Proliferation and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells carrying fluorescent reporter genes	ANSC
Ma	Li	Big-data Genomic Investigation to Improve Cattle Health	ANSC
Newburn	David	Evaluating the Effectiveness of Subsidies for Agricultural Conservation Practices and Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay	AREC
Coleman	Gary	Advancing sustainable agriculture through improvements of Nitrogen Use Efficiency in cereal crops	PSLA
Tikekar	Rohan	Photocatalytic antimicrobial coatings for reducing safety risks and extending shelf life of fresh strawberries	NFSC
Wang	Qin	Development of an effective and low toxic silver-based antimicrobial materials	NFSC
Burghardt	Karin	Role of natural enemies in decreasing insect damage in diverse vs. monoculture managed forest stands	ENTM

2018-2019 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Fritz	Megan	Identification of the genetic factors contributing to Cry toxin resistance and cross-resistance in Helicoverpa zea	ENTM
Kim	Shin-Hee	A Novel Avian Influenza Vaccination Strategy	VTMD
Peer	Wendy	Auxin homeostasis and jasmonic acid crosstalk during flower development	ENST
Pradhan	Abani	Evaluating Food Safety Risk of Toxoplasma gondii in Naturally-Infected Meat Animals	NFSC
Rabenhorst	Martin	Evaluating Subaqueous Soil-Landscape Models (SSLM) for Soil Mapping and Interpretations in Chesapeake Bay	ENST
Rawat	Nidhi	Deciphering the mechanism of a broad-spectrum resistance gene against Fusarium Head Blight in wheat	PSLA
Samal	Siba	A novel vaccination strategy to control avian infectious bronchitis and Newcastle disease	VTMD
Shi	Meiqing	Role of IL-27 signaling in cryptococcal infection	VTMD
Song	Jiuzhou	Long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) and enhancer elements in regulation of chicken stem cells	ANSC
Toor	Gurpaal	Cycling of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen in Agricultural Production Systems	ENST

2017-2018 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Belov	George	Vectored Vaccine Against Food and Mouth Disease	VTMD
Lansing	Stephanie	Use of Nanoparticles to Enhance Performance and Viability of Anaerobic Digesters	ENST
Ma	Li	Genetic Analyses of Recombination and PRDM9 Alleles and Their Implications in Cattle Breeding	ANSC
Pick	Leslie	RNAi for Insect Pest Control: An Assesment of Mechanisms in Diverse Insect Taxa	ENTM
Tikekar	Rohan	Sanitizers for Egg and Poultry Industry Developed Using a Rational Combination of Approved Food Ingredients	NFSC
Wang	Qin	Investigation and Validation of Chlorine-Based Fresh Produce Washing Procedures Using Novel Experimental Platforms	NFSC
Xiao	Shunyuan	Towards Understanding and Developing Powdery Mildew Resistance in Strawberry	PSLA
Yarwood	Stephanie	Visualization of Soil Microbial Community Spatial Structure: Advancing Soil Printing Technology	ENST
Zhang	Yanjin	Vaccine Development Against Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus	VTMD
Zhu	Xiaoping	CD23 Targeted Mucosal Vaccination Against Influenza Infection	VTMD

2015-2016 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Biswas	Debabrata	Alternative intervention strategy for common bacterial pathogens in poultry gut with bioactive extracts of berry pomaces	ANSC/ CFS3
Keefer	Carol	Investigating the roles of SNAIL transcription factors during bovine trophectoderm linage segregation	ANSC
Kim	Byung-Eun	The role of CTr1 Copper Transporter in Cardiovascular Function in Mammals	ANSC
Woods	Curry	Functional genomics for spermatozoa of striped bass: implications for male fish fertility	ANSC
Kangas	Patrick	Cultivation of Macroalgae in the Chesapeake Bay for Environmental and Economic Benefits	ENST
Needelman	Brian	Increasing the Socio-Ecological Resilience of the Deal Island Peninsula to Climate Change Impacts	ENST
Hawthorne	David	Development of a novel molecular biomarker suite in the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca for ecological risk assessment	ENTM
Lamp	William	Modeling Adult Distribution of Nuisance Black Flies (Diptera Simulidae) and Determination of Larval Habitat	ENTM
St. Leger	Raymond J.	Can creating novel combinations of Trichoderma and Metarhizium genes produce a more consistent biocontrol strain?	ENTM
Pradhan	Abani	Assessment of Toxoplasma Risk in Chicken from Amish Market	NFSC
Rahaman	Shaik O.	Role of TRPV4 calcium channel in macrophage foam cell formation in diet-induced atherosclerosis	NFSC
Liu	Zhongchi	Investigating the function of a novel strawberry miRNA-PhasiRNA network using CRISPR	CBMG
Tully	Katherine	Mapping nitrogen storage and release from cover crops for variable rate fertilization in corn using multispectral imagery	PSLA
Xiao	Shunyuan	Toward elucidation of host-adaptation mechanisms of polyphagous powdery mildew fungi	PSLA/ IBBR
Belov	George	Role of Phosphatidylcholine Synthesis Pathway in Picornavirus Replication	VTMD
Samal	Siba K.	Engineering a novel vaccine that can protect both infectious bronchitis and Newcastle disease	VTMD
Zhu	Xiaoping	Immune Evation of the Neonatal Fe Receptor for IgG	VTMD
Liu	Chengchu	Development of Integrated Control Strategies for Vibrio Parahaemolyticus in Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) for Raw Consumption	UME

2013-2014 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Angel	Rosalina	Increasing the ability of broilers to survive and grow under high environmental temperatures using thermal conditioning during embryonic development	ANSC
Balci	Yilmaz	Reducing the impact of phytophthora to nurseries and the environement in Maryland. Establishing management practices using noval tools in population biology.	PSLA
Erdman	Richard	Use of the milk fat globule cytoplasmic crest to study changes in lipogenic gene expression in response to nutrition regiments that up-regulate and down-regulate milk fat secretion in the lactating dairy cow.	ANSC
Hooks	Cerruti	Designing a more sustanable weed and insect pest management system for begetable producers.	ENTO
Kohn	Richard	Using principles o thermodynaics and kinetics to identify creitical control points for decreasing methane emissions from ruminants.	ANSC
Lansing	Stephanie	Understanding H2S production in anaerobic digesters and its efect on solid oxide fuel cells.	ENST
Moyes	Kasey	The effect of nutrient supply and stage of lacatation on metabolic and inflammatory responses of liver from dairy cows after endotoxin challenge in vitro.	ANSC
Peer	Wendy	The evolution of herbicide resistance in Amaranthus.	ENST
Ristvey	Andrew	Characterizing the effects of cultural management on phytochemical concentrations in the fruit of the alternative crop Aronia.	WREC
Shi	Meiqing	Mechanisms of brain invasion by Crytococcus Neoformans in living hosts.	VTMD
Song	Hee-Jung	How to address paradox of rural food desserts? Formative research for a store-based nutrition intervention in low-income, rural communities.	NFSC
Sullivan	Joseph	Does the addition of supplemental phenlalanine increase UV-B and stress tolerance in soybean seedlings?	PSLA
Xiao	Zhengguo	Novel vaccine to induce protective memory CTLs against PRRSV in pigs.	ANSC

2012-2013 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Bequette	Brian	Developing a New Paradigm of Gamete and Embryo Nutrition.	ANSC
Biswas	Debabrata	Enhancement of Chicken Immunity against Colonization of Salmonella Typhimurium by Stimulation of the Lysogenic Cycle of Non-Pathogenic Salmonella strain in Chicken Cells.	ANSC
Culver	James	Engineering Plant Based Viruses for Bio-Nano Energy Applications.	PSLA
Lamp	William	Interaction of Increasing Atomospheric C02 and Sap-Feeding Insect Injury on the Physiological Response of a Legume.	ENTO
Lo	Martin	Novel Hydrogel Complex to Improve Frozen Food Safety by Eliminating Moisture Loss due to Temperature Fluctuation.	NFSC
Micallef	Shirley	Microbiological Assessment of Organic Produce per-and-post Harvest and Development of a Curstomized Food Safety Outreach Program for Organic Growers.	PSLA
Nelson	Daniel	Evaluation of Streptococcus suis cell wall hydrolases for therapeutic use in Swine	VTMD
Orlando	Edward	Toward a Greater Understanding of the Neuroendocrine Regulation of Fish Reproduction.	ANSC
Pradhan	Abani	Quantitative Risk Assessment for Listeria monocytogenes in Cantaloupes.	NFSC
Sahyoun	Nadine	Dietary and Serum Folate and the Association with Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.	NFSC
Samal	Siba	A Novel Vector Vaccine for Infectious Bronchitis.	VTMD
Telugu	Bhanu	Generation of "DNA" footprint-free" bovine induced pluripotent.	ANSC
Wang	Qin	Development of Antimicrobial Nanoparticles for Construction of Novel Coatings to Enhance Food Safety for Ready-to-Eat Meat Product and Fresh Produce.	NFSC
Yarwood	Stephanie	Restoring wetland function: Plant-Microbe Interactions in Restored Wetlands and their Susceptibility to Sea-level Rise.	ENST
Zhang	Yanjin	An Interferon-Inducible Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Isolate.	VTMD

2011-2012 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Belov	Georgiy	Cellular Factors as targets to Control Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome Virus (PRRSV)	VTMD
Bossis	Ioannis	Regulation of the Cellular Catabolic Process of Autophagy by Vitamin A	VTMD
Cantonguay	Thomas	Sugars and their Effects on Appetite Regulation	NFSC
Chanse	Victoria	Transdisciplinary Civic engage-ment around visualizing climate change in Dorchester County, MD: A Pilot Project	PSLA
Cheng	Wen-Hsing	Methyl-Selenium compounds target senescence in precancerous colon	NFSC
Leisnham	Paul	Using Community Ecology to Understand the invasion of the disease-victor mosquito Aedes japonicus	ENST
Needelman	Brian	Ecological and Social Responses to Gridditched Coastal Marsh Restoration	ENST
Neel	Maile	Effects on habitat loss and fragmentation on potential for persistence and resilience of the submersed aquatic plant species Vallisneria Americana in the Chesapeake Bay	PSLA
Porter	Thomas	Functional Role of Candidate Genes in Anterior Pituitary Development in the Chicken Embryo	ANSC
Shrewsbury	Paula	Elucidating the biology, host plant use, and movement of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug on ornamental trees and shrubs for better pest management	ENTM
Tablante	Nathaniel	Epidemiological Analysis of Biosecurity Practices and Associated Seroprevalence of Diseases in Non-Commercial Poultry Flocks	VTMD
Terlizzi	Nathaniel	Enhanced economic and environmental sustainability of oyster aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay through seaweed aquaculture	Sea Grant
Walsh	Christopher	Evaluation of raspberry (rubus sp.) cultivars for postharvest quality and resistance to Botrytis Cinerea	PSLA
Woods	Curry	Improvement of Hypothermic Storage of Striped Bass Spermatozoa via Intracellular Transduction of the Impermeant Trehalose	Crane Facility
Xiao	Shunyuan	A novel strategy to enhance drought tolerance in plants.	IBBR

2010-2011 MAES COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Last Name	First Name	Project Titles	Dept.
Coleman	Gary	Identification of microRNAs associated with dormancy responses in Poplar	PSLA
Gruner	Daniel	Persistence and viability of insect pathogenic nematodes for conservation biological control in the Chesapeake watershed	ENTM
Harrell	Reginald	Examining Genetic Potential for Nutrient Mitigation by Aquatic Plants: Expanding opportunities for Maryland’s Aquatic Nursery Industry	ENST
Lansing	Stephanie	Creating Renewable Energy through Sustainable Nutrient Management Practices – Co-digestion of dairy manure and radish cover crops	ENST
Lo		Novel Biosensor for Real-time Detection of Acrylamide	NFSC
Mather	Ian	Molecular and Cellular Dynamics of Milk Secretion	ANSC
Nelson	Daniel	Thermodynamic Engineering of a Hydrolase for Environmental Decontamination of Streptococcus Equip	VTMD
Rabenhorst	Martin	Recognition of Sandy Hydric Soils in Vulnerable Barrier Island Wetlands	ENST
Samal	Siba K.	Engineering a Novel Vaccine that can protect both Infectious laryngotracheitis and Newcastle Disease	VTMD
Song	Jiuzhou	Pilot Study: Effects of Forage and Grain on Epigenetic Mediated Control of Beef Quality and Fatty Acid Profiles	ANSC
Timmons	Jennifer	Pilot Study of Airflow in Broiler Houses for Salmonella Risk Reduction	LESREC
Wang	Jian	Molecular Characterization of Plant-Insect Interactions among Potato Leafhopper, its Salivary Symbionts, and Alfalfa	PSLA
Wang	Qin	Enhancing the value-added utilization of Maryland grown blue crab and corn: development of micro-capsules from chitosan and corn zein for improved antioxidant property and storage stability of two synergistic antioxidant compounds	NFSC
Xiao	Zhengguo	Vaccine Approach Using mTOR Inhibitor Rapamycin and Inflammatory Cytokines	ANSC
Zhu	Xiaoping	Mucosal Delivery of Influenza Subunit Vaccine	VTMD

MAES Research Grant Program

MAES Research Grant Program

MAES Competitive Grants by Fiscal Year

FY 2024-2025

FY 2023-2024

FY 2022-2023

FY 2021-2022

FY 2020-2021

FY 2019-2020

FY 2018-2019

FY 2017-2018

FY 2015-2016

FY 2013-2014

FY 2012-2013

FY 2011-2012

FY 2010-2011