Three UAPB students win awards at Association of 1890 Research Directors conference

Will Hehemann | School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences

Jenat Rahman, Greyson Farris and Tiffanna Ross

Three graduate students of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences (SAFHS) recently took awards at the 18th Biennial Research Symposium of the Association of 1890 Research Directors (ARD) in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference provided opportunities for scientists and students from the nation’s 1890 land-grant universities to present research papers and posters on innovative and practical research findings in food and agricultural sciences.

“I am pleased to see three of our graduate students leave the research competition with flying colors,” Muthusamy Manoharan, interim assistant dean for research and Extension at UAPB, said.

Two graduate students of agricultural regulations at UAPB were awarded for their poster presentations in the Plant Health and Production and Plant Products category. Jenat Rahman won the first place prize for a presentation titled, “Down-Regulation of Lignin Biosynthetic Genes in Big Bluestem Grass (Andropogon gerardii Vitman).” Tiffanna Ross won the third place prize for her poster, “In vitro Plant Regeneration in Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam cv. Beauregard).”

In the Animal Health and Production and Animal Products category, Greyson Farris, graduate student of aquaculture and fisheries, won second place for his oral presentation titled, “Calcein Marking: A Non-Lethal Batch Marking Option for Stocking Evaluation.”

“The occasion marked the first time UAPB won three graduate student awards at an ARD symposium at the same time,” Dr. Edmund Buckner, interim dean/director for SAFHS, said. “This achievement speaks highly of the quality of our graduate programs at SAFHS.”

This year’s symposium, which focused on the theme “1890 Research: Meeting 21st Century Challenges Through Innovation,” included nearly 1,000 participants. Around 500 research papers and posters were presented, which also included topics on animal health and production, food safety, nutrition and health, and economic development for families and communities.

The first ARD Research Symposium was held in 1976 to commemorate the United States Bicentennial and to showcase the varied accomplishments of research at the 1890 institutions.