The EPSCoR Partnership Between Kansas State University, The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Arkansas State University Receives NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 Award To Help Understand Connections Between Genes and Organisms

   National Science Foundation has made eight Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-2 awards. The intention of the RII Track 2 award as well as its investment strategy is to build national research strength through research collaborations across two or more EPSCoR jurisdictions. These awards establish regional partnerships with government, higher education and industry contributing to lasting improvements in EPSCoR states' research capacity and infrastructure.
   The 2017 RII Track 2 research awards focus on the genotype-to-phenotype relationship. Awarded projects will enhance the understanding of this relationship and its impact on improved food crop yields, human disease and risk predictions, and new drug therapies.

Picture borrowed from the
The NSF document:
10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments
https://goo.gl/taCyYo

   Kansas State University has partnered with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Arkansas State University to investigate the foundational knowledge necessary to improve rice and wheat crops yields in stressful environments. Through a multidisciplinary approach the project will explore how to improve crop resilience to high night time temperatures and make discoveries that can be translated into genetic and phenotypic markers for public and private breeding programs.

   

   For more information on this project go to: RII Track-2 FEC: Comparative Genomics and Phenomics Approach to Discover Genes Underlying Heat Stress Resilience in Cereals

The grant's educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers.