5.22.16
Have You Registered for the Plant &
Microbe Adaptation to Cold Conference?
This interdisciplinary conference promotes and shares research concerning the winter survival of plants and plant-microbe interaction and adaptation under low temperatures and prolonged snow cover. This year’s theme is the improvement of global food security and agricultural sustainability, with special emphasis on the impact of climate change. We hope to bring together researchers and professionals in crop breeding, ecology, meteorology, microbiology, plant pathology, soil science, and many others to join us in Seattle for a timely and exciting program.
PMAC will be held at the Motif Hotel in beautiful downtown Seattle from May 22-25, 2016. We have secured a discounted rate of $189 (single/double occupancy), and we will be within walking distance of some of the city’s best dining and most popular attractions!
When booking online, please use our group code: wsu20518. If making your reservation by phone, remember to mention that you are with WSU and the Plant Conference!) Please book your hotel stay no later than April 18 to take advantage of our discounted group rate!
Registration Link
Agenda for the Event
Hotel Reservations
5.12.16
NIFA, NSF Announce $6 Million in Available Funding to Develop, Enable Breakthrough Technologies for Plant, Animal Phenomics and Microbiomes
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO) today announced $6 million in available funding to support the development of transformative plant and animal phenomics and microbiome technologies. Proposed studies should be potentially transformative and may be considered “high-risk, high-payoff”, and be compatible with the budget and time limits ($300,000, 2 years) of the EAGER funding mechanism.
This USDA-NIFA, NSF-BIO Joint Activity is soliciting Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) proposals that address the development of innovative approaches for phenotyping and microbiome characterizations, as well as for elucidating the role of microbiomes in plants and animals. This activity addresses critical gaps in tools available for characterizing plant and animal phenotypes and microbiomes, in part to more fully realize the potential of low-cost high throughput sequencing and genotyping technologies. Types of projects that might be appropriate include but are not limited to:
- Technologies that increase the accuracy and throughput of existing phenotypic and microbiome data acquisition
- Extending the diversity of phenotypes that can be measured
- Automation or mechanization, including robotics and sensors, for phenotyping
- Standardization of ontologies, interoperability of platforms and systems, and integration of datasets
- Technologies that would identify the metabolic activities specific to particular microbes within a microbiome as well as facilitating elucidation of biochemical communication between microbes, and between microbes and their hosts
- Novel modeling approaches that address problems in phenotyping or microbiome structure and function
Summaries are due May 12. Please see the Dear Colleague Letter for more information. For more information on EAGERs, please review the NSF Grant Proposal Guide.
3.16.16
at 5:30 PM
Second Phytobiome Networking Event
This will be an informal event, and we hope that it will promote discussions and the formation of interdisciplinary teams, with an ultimate goal of submitting competitive proposals to public, private and/or industry funding sources. Hors d’oeuvres will be served, please bring drinks to share!
2658 Sleepy Hollow Dr., State College, PA
Mark Guiltinan and Siela Maximova’s home
Please, RSVP to Siela Maximova <snm104@psu.edu> or Cristina Rosa <czr2@psu.edu>