Seventeen faculty members in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences received research grants that will help young researchers kick-start their careers.
A total of $808,147 was awarded for the 2015 Early Career Seed Funding program from a panel of scientists within the department.
Winning research topics included examining herbicide-resistant mechanisms, discovering new ways to detect E. coli in meat and creating better-tasting processed tomato products.
Douglas Archer, the associate dean for research, said the office found that investing in the young faculty has been positive for IFAS.
“It’s been very successful and very well-received,” he said.
Paul Sarnoski, a UF food science and human nutrition assistant professor, was awarded $49,103 to research the idea of developing better products made with processed tomatoes, according to a press release.
Sarnoski is looking forward to examining the flavor makeup of processed tomatoes. He will then test whether using better-tasting tomatoes can make a difference in the product for consumers.
“It’ll be interesting to see how the two types of data correlate,” he said.
Archer said one of the benefits to the Early Career Seed Funding program is that it allows young researchers to further their careers through funding from federal grants.
“We’ve been delighted by that,” he said of the program’s results.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 2/24/2015 under the headline “IFAS awards young researchers”]
