The fifth annual CAFNR Research Symposium, Solving What’s Next: Innovation at the Intersection of Life, Food and Data, will showcase the important work students, post-docs, faculty and staff in the Mizzou College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources (CAFNR) perform each day to help create a healthy world. 
 

Schedule

8 – 9 a.m.
Poster Session / Coffee & Pastries in N214

9 – 9:30 a.m.
Opening Remarks in N201

• Shibu Jose, Associate Dean for Research

9:30 – 11 a.m.
Keynote Speaker: Glenn Davis Stone
Anthropologist and Environmental Scientist
Moderator: Mary Hendrickson - Division of Applied Social Sciences (DASS)
Talk Title: The academic dilemma: underlying philosophies of agricultural research

11 – 11:15 a.m.
Morning Break

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Session 1: Innovation in Biological Systems
Moderator: Rebecca North - School of Natural Resources (SNR)

• 11:15 – 11:20 Introduction
• 11:20 – 11:35 Lightning Talks (5 speakers)
  A Survey of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes Associated with Soybean Production in Missouri, Jefferson Barizon, Plant Science and Technology (PST)
  Catalyzing Organic in the Mid-South, Mary Hendrickson (DASS)
  Nanotechnology-enabled Agriculture: from soil to harvest, Xiaoping Xin (SNR)
  Ecosystem cooperatives: A novel approach to strengthen restoration and conservation, Rishabh Mahendra (DASS)
  AAV5 as a Divergent Serotype for Overcoming Neutralizing Antibodies in Gene Therapy, Godwin Iroanya, Animal Sciences (AS)
   
• 11:35 – 12:15 Panel Discussion (30 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A)

Panelists:

Noel Aloysius (SNR), Chung-Ho Lin (SNR), Mary Hendrickson (DASS), Ron Mittler (PST)

12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
Lunch (on your own)

1:15 – 2:15 p.m.
Session 2: Avian Flu Crisis / Food Safety / Biosecurity
Moderator: Matt Lucy - Animal Sciences (AS)

• 1:15 – 1:20 Introduction
• 1:20 – 1:35 Lightning Talks (5 speakers)
  Spraying without Symptoms? A Closer Look at Foliar Diseases in Missouri Soybeans, Joao Ferreira (PST)
  Discretionary Food Intake and Its Associations with Metabolic Syndrome Characteristics and Food Cravings, Lois Ackah-Swanzy (FNES
  When it rains, it pours, it floods: A water crisis in the St. Louis Metro East, Melissa Jones (FNES)
  Assessment of microplastics in Columbia and the Environment - Policy Pathways for a Cleaner Water Future, William Folk (Biochemistry)
  Does High Pressure Indicate Benign Weather, Anthony Lupo (SNR)
   
• 1:35 – 2:15 Panel Discussion

Panelists:

Hoa Hoang (DASS), Lakshmikantha Channaiah - Food, Nutrition & Exercise Sciences (FNES), Paula Chen (USDA-ARS), Kiho Lee (AS)

2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
Session 3: The Age of AI in Agriculture
Moderator: Mauro Palmero (DASS)

• 2:15 – 2:20 Introduction
• 2:20 – 2:35 Lightning Talks (5 speakers)
  Using artificial intelligence to predict the timing of ovulation in grazing beef heifers, Juliet Henning (AS)
  Leveraging digital persuasion strategies: enhancing sustainable restaurant choices through third-party delivery platforms, Jacqueline Zhu (DASS)
  Cloud Detection of OMPS Nadir Mapper Radiance Data Using Deep Learning Techniques, Qian Liu (SNR)
  Uncovering Arabidopsis Root Defense: Transcriptomics and Mutant Screening Against Broomrape, Supral Adhikari (PST)
  From page to desktop. Leveraging AI to increase historical data access, Katherine Nelson (DASS)
   
• 2:35 – 3:15 Panel Discussion

Panelists:

Toni Kazic - Computer Science, Jianfeng Zhou (PST), Qian Liu (SNR), Derek Brake (AS)

3:15 – 4:45 p.m.
Reception / Poster Session

4:45 p.m.
Closing Remarks

• Shibu Jose, Associate Dean for Research

Poster Voting

Poster voting will be open until 2 p.m.

Registration

• Register now to attend.

• Registration deadline to present: Monday, Sept. 15. Please note lightning talk slides are due to Rhonda Turner, turnerr@missouri.edu, by Wednesday, Sept. 24.
   
• Registration deadline to attend: Monday, Sept. 22.

About the Keynote Speaker

Glenn Davis Stone is an anthropologist and environmental scientist who specializes in food production and agriculture (both industrial and sustainable), biotechnology in food and agriculture, politics of technology, indigenous knowledge, food studies and science studies. He has been named a Guggenheim Fellow, a Weatherhead Fellow at the School of Advanced Research, and president of the Anthropology & Environment Society. 

Funded primarily by the National Science Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation, he has conducted fieldwork among farmers in the US, Nigeria, India and the Philippines. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and 2 books. 

After 35 years on the faculties of Columbia University and Washington University, he is now Scholar in Residence at Washington & Lee University.

Sponsorship

Sponsored by the CAFNR Office of Research and the Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security.