Faculty honored for research, productivity
Three faculty members in MSU's Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station were recently recognized for outstanding publications and productivity.
Associate provost and animal and dairy sciences professor Peter Ryan received the Outstanding Scientific Publication Award. The award recognizes Ryan as primary author for a paper which was published in the Journal of Animal Science.
The paper describes a procedure which Ryan and colleagues developed to understand preterm birth in mares caused by infections. Bacteria are a common cause of abortion, still birth and premature delivery in horses. The study used imaging technology to monitor disease progression in pregnant mares.
Mark Woodrey, senior research associate and coordinator of the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, received the honor for the publication with the highest impact to the state.
Woodrey and co-authors examined the relationships of marsh birds between Gulf Coast estuaries.
"Publications which represent a significant breakthrough and improvement of information to producers, consumers, and resource managers are eligible for recognition in this category," said George Hopper, interim director of MAFES. "Given the challenges faced by coastal Mississippi, including Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill, it is fitting that this year's most relevant publication focused on the Gulf Coast."
The Grantsmanship award, which is presented to the scientist who garners the highest dollar amount of funding from external sources for research, was awarded to Ramon Arancibia.
Arancibia is an assistant research professor at the Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station. He received nearly $1 million to develop tools for farmers to improve sweet potato production efficiency, quality and food safety.
The three scientists were honored at the annual spring meeting for MAFES and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Karen Brasher | MAFES
