UF/IFAS Office of the Dean for Research

Hand watering growing plants; Funding and Award Opportunities

This call is for: Early Career Faculty

Submission deadline: October 29, 2024

The Archer Early Career Seed Grant is an important program that provides funds to build and boost the research programs of UF/IFAS assistant professors (up to $50,000 each). It was recently renamed in honor of Dr. Douglas Archer, who was UF/IFAS Associate Dean for Research and a staunch champion of faculty development.

Awards: Approximately $750,000 will be awarded. The maximum individual award will be $50,000 and there is no minimum award size. Successful grants will be announced in December 2024 with anticipated starts in January 2025 and funding provided for 18 months.

Eligibility: PI of the proposal must be a tenure-track Assistant Professor with a tenure home in UF/IFAS, have an official research appointment, and not be in their final year of the probationary period. Faculty status is based on rank on July 1, 2024. Faculty who previously received an Archer Early Career Seed Grant as PI are not eligible. Faculty must have a Capacity Project in the NIFA Reporting System that has been approved by NIFA prior to submission. Please contact Dana Holt (danasu@ufl.edu) with any questions about NRS capacity projects.

Scope and Criteria: The Archer Early Career Seed Grant program helps facilitate the development and future success of UF/IFAS early career scientists’ research programs. Awarded funds should be spent (within 18 months) by PIs to help “jumpstart” their research programs and provide a platform for future success with extramural grant funding by supporting pilot projects, collection of new data, or analysis of existing data. Proposals should focus on work led by the PI, but work that takes place in the context of broader partnerships is also acceptable.

Proposals will be evaluated on:

1) Overall proposal quality and research design

2) Potential of the project to advance basic, applied, and/or translational research discoveries that are impactful to society

3) Impact of funding on faculty research program development

4) Potential for the seed funding and pilot research to lead to future extramural funding

How to Apply: To apply for this award, please submit the requested materials here: https://ufresearch.infoready4.com/#ifas by October 29, 2024. The information requested includes:

Online cover sheet:

a. Project title

b. Faculty information (name, unit, email, and budgeted appointment split)

c. The PI’s NIFA Reporting System Project title and number (includes Hatch Regular, Hatch Multistate or McIntire-Stennis)

d. RCR Training status (completion of federal Responsible Conduct of Research training; if not, you must complete training here before submission)

e. IRB and/or IACUC protocol requirement status (indicate only if needed to conduct the study)

f. Abstract (general audience abstract limited to 200 words)

g. Estimated % effort that the faculty member will spend on this project, and will report to their NIFA Reporting System Project

h. Budget information

Narrative as PDF attachment with the following information (maximum 5 pages excluding literature cited, one inch margins on all sides, at least 11 point font including tables and figures):

a. Title, PI name and unit, and if applicable collaborator names and units

b. Introduction: An overview of the pertinent literature, justification, and relevance of the project to the faculty member’s broader research program and goals

c. Expected impact: A description of the potential impacts to stakeholders, to advancing science, and to the faculty member’s research program

d. Methodology: A description of the proposed research plan, objectives, hypotheses to be tested, methods, and the research timeline

e. Extramural funding strategy: A summary of specific sponsor(s) and program(s) that will be targeted for funding (include web links if possible) using the data collected through this grant, and the anticipated time of submission

f. Budget summary and justification: A description and justification of budget items for personnel costs, tuition, travel, research materials and supplies, and other expenses. Faculty salary is not supported by this program.

g. Literature cited (does not count toward the page limit)

Proposal Evaluation: Proposals will be evaluated by a faculty panel using the criteria listed above. Proposals not adhering to the specified format or not submitted by October 29, 2024 will not be considered. The panel will make recommendations for funding to the Dean for Research, who will be responsible for final award decisions.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email Damian Adams (dcadams@ufl.edu) or call the office at 352-392-1784.

Budget Template

Early Career Budget Categories	Amount
Personnel Costs	TOTAL Personnel $
OPS
Post Doc
Graduate Student
Undergraduate Student
Fringe Benefits
Tuition	TOTAL Tuition $
Travel	TOTAL Travel $
In state travel (include mileage)
Domestic travel (include airfare, hotel, etc)
Foreign travel (include airfare, hotel, etc)
Research Materials and Supplies	TOTAL Mat & Supp $
Rental/User Fees - Equipment, Facility, or Services (e.g., Ufarm, HiPerGator)
Consultant Services
Animal Care and Associated Expenses
Other Research Materials and Supplies
Other Expenses	TOTAL Other
TOTAL Early Career Request	$-

2024 Recipients

PI: Mysha Clarke

Unit: School of Forest, Fisheries, & Geomatics Sciences
Title: Urban Forests and Climate Resilience: A Comparative Assessment Between Kingston, Jamaica and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Metropolitan Area, USA

Research Funding: $50,000

PI: Raquel Dias

Unit: Microbiology and Cell Science
Title: Bridging AI and Synthetic Biology for Engineering Thermally Resilient Bacteria

Research Funding: $49,480.00

PI: Isaac Esquivel

Unit: North Florida REC/Entomology and Nematology
Title: Influence of Off-season Host Plants of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus and Tobacco Thrips on within Field TSWV Incidence and Their Preference Behavior

Research Funding: $45,938

PI: Philip Hahn

Unit: Entomology and Nematology
Title: Does Habitat Degradation Destabilize Coexistence of Grasshopper Communities?

Research Funding: $49,777

PI: Abolfazl Hajihassani

Unit: Ft. Lauderdale REC/Entomology and Nematology
Title: Identification of Resistance Sources and Biological Control Agents for Managing Guava Decline in Florida

Research Funding: $50,000

PI: Daniel Hofstetter

Unit: Agricultural & Biological Engineering
Title: Assessing Energy and Water Requirements for Dairy Cow Cooling in Freestall Barns

Research Funding: $49,985

PI: A.J. Lindsey

Unit: Environmental Horticulture
Title: Evaluation of Compost Soil Amendments on Nutrient Mineralization, Leaching, and Turfgrass Quality

Research Funding: $49,976.58

PI: Samuel Martins

Unit: Plant Pathology
Title: Antibiotic Application and its Effects on Plant Microbiome and Plant Health

Research Funding: $50,000

PI: Mica McMillan

Unit: Ft. Lauderdale REC/Environmental Horticulture
Title: An Evaluation of a Renewable, Organic Slow-Release Fertilizer

Research Funding: $48,472

PI: Lindsey Reisinger

Unit: School of Forest, Fisheries, & Geomatics Sciences
Title: The Impacts of Urbanization on Animal Behavior within and across Aquatic Species

Research Funding: $49,957

PI: Pavlos Tsouvaltzis

Unit: Southwest Florida REC/Horticultural Sciences
Title: Addressing Climate Change Challenges in Broccoli and Basil Production in South Florida Integrating Conventional Horticultural Practices and Artificial Intelligence Techniques

Research Funding: $49,285

PI: Nikolaos Tziolas

Unit: Southwest Florida REC/Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences
Title: Developing a Geospatial GPT for Enhanced Agronomic Insights in Soil Management

Research Funding: $49,958

PI: Xu Wang

Unit: Gulf Coast REC/Agricultural & Biological Engineering
Title: Enhancing Strawberry Yield Prediction and Disease Estimation Using 3D Plant Replicas and AI-Driven Analysis

Research Funding: $49,931

PI: Xingbo Wu

Unit: Tropical REC/Environmental Horticulture
Title: Developing Better Vanilla Cultivars through Flavor Profiling and Disease Resistance Evaluation

Research Funding: $49,655

PI: Xiaoya Zhang

Unit: Family Youth and Community Sciences
Title: Advancing Precision-Based Interventions for Enhancing Adolescent Mental Health Using Artificial Intelligence

Research Funding: $48,305

UF/IFAS Office of the Dean for Research

UF/IFAS Office of the Dean for Research

Early Career Budget Categories

Amount

TOTAL Early Career Request

$-