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Agrochemicals Education Award

AGROCHEMICALS DIVISION EDUCATION AWARDS
FOR GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL
WITH SPONSORSHIP BY DOW AGROSCIENCES

Agricultural chemistry student research was well represented at the Fall 2007 ACS meeting in Boston. Ten students received $600 educational grants to help defray the costs of presenting their researchposters at this meeting. Sixteen students representing ten universities participated in the AGRO division’s student research poster symposium. The quality of the presentations was excellent, making the judging of the posters extremely difficult. However, the judges persevered in picking the top three (and in this case four) posters. Students interested in participating in the 2008 AGRO student research poster competition (ACS National Meeting, August 17 – 21, 2008, Philadelphia, PA) should see the announcement on page 21 and email john.j.johnston@aphis.usda.gov by March 17, 2008.

Graduate Student Research Poster Competition

Fall 2007 Participants

2007 AGRO EDUCATION AWARDS FOR
GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL
Sponsored by Dow Agrosciences


First Place – Hilliary E. Hodgon. Binary mixtures of pyrethroids crosstalk between voltage-sensitive calcium and chloride channels in isolated presynaptic nerve terminals from rat brain. H. E. Hodgdon, R. K. Frisbie, J.M. Clark; University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.

Hilliary Hodgdon is a Master’s student in Dr. John M. Clark’s toxicology lab at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in the Animal Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences program. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science with a pre-veterinary concentration from UMass-Amherst in 2005. She plans to graduate in the spring of 2008 and obtain a research and development position in
the pharmaceutical industry. Hilliary’s current research is focused on the mechanism of action of binary mixtures of pyrethroids at the presynaptic nerve terminal of rat brain and the contribution that individual voltage-sensitive ion channels play in the observed neurotoxicity.


Second Place – Keri L. Henderson. Fate of sulfamethazine in surface water
microcosms. K. L. Henderson, T. B. Moorman, J. R.Coats; Iowa State University, Ames, IA.

Keri is currently a Ph.D candidate in Toxicology at Iowa State University, finishing a dissertation under the direction of Dr. Joel Coats (Dept. of Entomology) and Dr. Tom Moorman (USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory, co-major advisor). Her research centers on the potential environmental significance of current livestock production practices, specifically, focusing on the transport and degradation of veterinary pharmaceuticals in manure-soil and surface water systems, including the assessment of potential biological impacts of antibiotics using relevant invertebrate and microbial models. She was awarded a STAR Graduate Research Fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fund her Ph.D. studies. Her dissertation research objectives involve assessing the fate of veterinary antibiotics in soil columns and aquatic microcosms, developing models for assessing bioavailability in soil and water, and evaluating the potential impact of antibiotics on microbial communities. She completed her M.S. in Toxicology from Iowa State University in August 2004. The focus of her M.S. was the environmental fate of herbicides in grass phytoremediation soil systems, and involved the assessment of herbicide degradation in soil and plant tissues. She holds a B.A. from Wartburg College, with majors in Biology and Education. In her spare time, Keri enjoys spending time with her daughter, camping, hiking, and trying new recipes. She also enjoys participating on the Board for the Ozark-Prairie Region of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), and as a symposium organizer and student representative in the Agrochemicals Division of ACS. She looks forward to seeing all of you at future ACS meetings.

Third Place (tie) – Deok Ho Kwon. Molecular cloning of sodium channel and
identification of point mutations putatively associated with fenpropathrin
resistance in Tetranychus urticae. D. H. Kwon, B. R. Choi, S. W. Lee, H. M. Park,
J. M. Clark, S. Lee; University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.


Deok Ho Kwon received his BS in agricultural biology in 2001 fromAndong National University and his MS in applied entomology in 2003 from Seoul National University. His research area is the rapid diagnostics of insecticide resistance level to the field population by the molecular biological and biochemical approaches for the effective
management of resistant population. He has established two point mutation allele frequency determination methods associated with insecticide resistance by rtPASA and quantitative sequencing from Plutella xylostella and Tetranychus urticae. Recently he discovered L1022V and A1374D mutations from the resistant T. urticae. He will carry out the analysis the function of these mutations against to the fenpropathrin utilizing an electrophysiological approach.


Third Place (tie) – Dhana Raj Boina. Toxicity and mode of action of the anion transporter blockers against the European corn borer. D. R. Boina, J. R. Bloomquist; Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA.

Dhana Raj Boina is an international student from India. He came to the USA in 2002 to pursue his masters program in entomology at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. He has
won a several awards recognizing of his research. The most notable were a first prize in poster competition at the 51st national annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America in 2003 and a David and Lillian Francis memorial fellowship from Virginia Tech in 2006. Currently, he is adoctoral student working under the supervision of Dr. Jeffrey R. Bloomquist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. His dissertation research involves determining the toxicity and site/mode of action of anion transporter (AT) blockers against selected insect and nematode species using toxicological, electrophysiological and molecular techniques. AT blockers are known for inhibiting anion transporters such as voltage-gated chloride channels and chloride/bicarbonate exchangers in biological systems. A major goal of his research is to find new pesticidal molecules targeting novel sites in insects and nematodes for effective control of crop pests.

Congratulations to all our winners!




 

AGRO Young Scientist
Pre- and Post-Doctoral Research Awards
Sponsored by Dow AgroSciences

The AGRO Division organizes an annual competition for the Young Scientist Pre- and Postdoctoral Research Awards. The purpose of the awards, which are open to both graduate students and post-doctoral research associates, is to recognize outstanding young agrochemical researchers and to encourage their participation in the Division. The 2007 awardees highlighted below will present their work during the annual Young Scientists Recognition Symposium at the 233rd ACS National Meetings in Chicago, IL. The symposium will also feature presentations by a total of 16 outstanding graduate students and post-doctoral associates and will begin on Sunday at 8:25 am in McCormick Place East, Room E267, Level 2.
The awards will be presented during The AGRO Awards Social on Tuesday evening. Awardees will receive a cash award, award plaques, and travel reimbursements to the Chicago meetings. All other presenters will receive a travel stipend from AGRO. The Agrochemicals Division would greatly appreciate your efforts to encourage students, post-doctoral research associates, and
new investigators to apply for future award competitions sponsored by AGRO.

Kelsey Prihoda, is the first-place winner of the 2007 Young Scientists Research Award with her entry, “Development of methods to determine the aquatic fate and non-target effects of transgenic Bt proteins on aquatic invertebrates: Toward risk assessment.” Kelsey conducted the research in the laboratory of Dr. Joel Coats at Iowa State University, Department of Entomology. Congratulations to Kelsey and Dr. Coats for being one of the first research teams to study the fate of Bt Cry1F protein in aquatic systems and its potential effects on aquatic midges.

Troy Anderson, runner-up winner for 2007, entered the paper, “Herbicide-induced hypoxic stress and hemoglobin gene regulation in an aquatic insect.” Troy conducted his research in the laboratory of Dr. Kun Yan Zhu in the Department of Entomology at Kansas State University. Congratulations to Troy and Dr. Zhu for using a combination of genomics and physiological measurements to elucidate a putatively novel mechanism of atrazine sub-lethal effects in an aquatic insect larva.


SYMPOSIUM PARTICIPANTS

Lingshuang Cai, Iowa State University, Wan-Ru Chen, Georgia Institute of Technology,Yun Cheng, University of Florida, Lindsey Gereszek, Iowa State University, Elizabeth Hodges, University of Florida, Dingfei Hu, Iowa State University,
Nicholas Johnson, Michigan State University, Brent Keller, Minot State University, Hirofumi Kosaki Iowa State University,
Christy Oliver, North Dakota State University, Gretchen Paluch, Iowa State University, Alejandro Perez-Jones, Oregon State University, Sukhendu Kumar Pramanik, Bidhan Chandra Krishi University, Robert Sulc, University of California, Irvine, Venkat Reddy Chinta Reddy, Iowa State University, Jing You, Southern Illinois University.


AGROCHEMICALS DIVISION EDUCATION AWARDS
FOR GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL
WITH SPONSORSHIP BY DOW AGROSCIENCES


Fourteen graduate students have been awarded AGRO Division travel grants to present their research posters at the ACS National Meeting San Francisco Sci-Mix on Monday evening and at the AGRO poster session on Tuesday afternoon. The first, second, and third place winners will be announced at the Agrochemical Division’s Social Hour on Tuesday evening. See pages 102 – 105 of the Picogram for Abstracts Nos. 129 – 142.

C. A.Curran; AGRO 138. Olfactory performance in salmonids exposed to aquatic herbicides. C. A. Curran, J. M. Grassley, C. E. Grue. University of Washington, Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, Box 355020, Seattle, WA 98195

L. J.Gereszek; AGRO 136. Effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid on the European corn borer pupae and adults. L. J. Gereszek, D. C. Beitz J. R. Coats. Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011

T. S.Goebel; AGRO 134. Modification of polymer flocculants for the removal of atrazine from water. T. S. Goebel, K. J. McInnes, S. A. Senseman, E. E. Simenak. Department of Soil & Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843

A. S. Gunasekara; AGRO 130. The sorption of thiobencarb to soils: Mechanistic findings. A. S. Gunasekara, T. M. Young, R. S.Tjeerdema. Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis CA 95616

D. Hu; AGRO 141. Environmental fate of a veterinary antibiotic: tylosin D. Hu, K. L. Henderson, J. R. Coats. Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA. 50011

W. Hunter; AGRO 129. Using biomimetic PDMS fibers to determine the bioavailability of pyrethroids in sediment. W. Hunter, Y. Xu, J. Gan, F. Spurlock. Department of Environmental Science, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521


J. J. Keenan; AGRO 132. Indoor exposure to pyrethroid pesticides following fogger use or crack and crevice treatment by homeowners. J. J. Keenan, Y. Li, R. S. Gold, X. Zhang, G. Leng, R. I. Krieger. Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521

K. A. King; AGRO 137. Response of pre-spawn coho salmon to pesticides in urban streams in Western Washington. K. A. King, C. E. Grue, J. W. Hearsey, J. M. Grassley. Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195

H. Kosaki; AGRO 140. Environmental studies on the fate of pharma proteins produced in transgenic corn. H. Kosaki, J. Wolt, J. R. Coats. Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011

S. H. Lancaster; AGRO 131. Effects of pesticide programs for cotton on soil microbial activity. S. H. Lancaster, S. A. Senseman, R. L. Haney, F. M. Hons, J. M. Chandler. Department of Soil and Crop Science, Texas A&M, College Station, TX 77843

K. R. Prihoda; AGRO 139. Examination of the fate of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Bb1 protein in a soil microcosm Prihoda, J. R. Coats. Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA. 50011

G. E. Schultz; AGRO 135. Evaluation of essential oil mixtures for mosquito repellency G. E. Schultz, J. Coats. Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA. 50011


V. Williams; AGRO 142. Proposed field study to evaluate phytoremediation and best management practices for removal of atrazine from agricultural runoff. V. L. Williams, J. R. Coats. Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA. 50011

B. Zhang; AGRO 133. MicroRNAs: New players in plant responses to agrochemicals and environmental stress. B. Zhang, T. A. Anderson. Dept. of Soil and Crop Science, Texas A&M, College Station, TX 77843


Congratulations to all of our winners!

YOUNG SCIENTIST PRE- AND POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH AWARDS & SYMPOSIUM
AGROCHEMICALS DIVISION
With Sponsorship by Dow AgroSciences

The Agrochemicals Division organizes an annual competition for the Young Scientist Pre- and Post-doctoral Research
Awards. The purpose of the awards, which are open to both graduate students and post-doctoral research associates, is
to recognize outstanding young agrochemical researchers and to encourage their participation in the Division.

The 2006 awardees highlighted below will present their work during the annual Young Scientists Recognition Symposium
at the 231st ACS National Meetings in Atlanta, GA. Their awards will be presented to them during the Agrochemicals
Division social hour on Tuesday evening. The symposium will also feature presentations by a total of 14 outstanding
graduate students and post-doctoral associates on Sunday morning starting at 8:30 AM in the Georgia World Congress
Center (Room C103). The speakers (and affiliations) include Michael Farkas (State University of New York at Buffalo),
Lynne Heighton (University of Maryland), Dingfei Hu (Iowa State University), Perihan Binnur Kurt-Karakus (Lancaster
University), Artem Lyubimov (University of California-Santa Cruz), Paula Macedo (Montana State University), Kelsey
Prihoda (Iowa State University), Sujie Qin (University of California-Riverside), Gretchen Schultz (Iowa State University),
Jong-Su Seo (University of Hawaii), Bart van den Berg (Mississippi State Chemistry Lab), Chinta Venkat Reddy (Iowa
State University), Amanda Watts (Minot State University), Kyong Sup Yoon (University of Massachusetts). The
presentations will include a wide diversity of topics (synthesis, environmental chemistry, pest control, toxicology) and
cover all types of agrochemicals during the all day symposium. (See Abstracts 1 – 14 on pages 57 – 59.)

Link to the national meetings website through the AGRO website at http://membership.acs.org/a/agro/ to view the
Agrochemicals Division programming for Atlanta and please plan to attend the symposium.

Kelsey Prihoda, runner-up winner for 2006, entered the paper Examination of the fate of BtCry1F protein in an
aerobic aquatic system. Kelsey conducted the research in the laboratory of Dr. Joel Coats at Iowa State
University, Department of Entomology. Congratulations to Kelsey and Dr. Coats for important research that
enhances our understanding of the fate of plant incorporated toxins now widely used for controlling insect
feeding injury.

Kyong Sup Yoon, runner-up winner for 2006, entered the paper Detection and mechanisms of pediculicide
resistance in the human head louse, Pediculus capitis. Kyong conducted the research in the laboratory of Dr.
John Clark at the University of Massachusetts. Congratulations to Kyong and Dr. Clark for an outstanding
public health contribution that will allow a more facile screening of future pediculicides and a more rapid
monitoring of resistance development.

Perihan Binnur Kurt-Karakus is the 2006 first-place winner with the entry Real-time measurement of DDT
fluxes from historically treated agricultural soil in Canada. Perihan had conducted her research under the
direction of Dr. Terry Bidleman while in Canada. Congratulations to Perihan and Dr. Bidleman for an excellent
study of the environmental chemistry of historical recalcitrant insecticide residues and its potential contributions
to exposure assessment at the landscape level.

Awardees will receive a cash award, award plaques, and travel reimbursements to the Atlanta meetings. All other
presenters will receive a travel stipend from AGRO. The Agrochemicals Division would greatly appreciate your efforts
to encourage students and post-doctoral research associates to apply for future award competitions.

Further information about the Young Scientist Pre- and Post-Doctoral Research Awards and application information for
next year can be found on page 25 in this edition of the PICOGRAM. Applicants and their advisors/supervisor can
obtain additional information from Dr. Allan Felsot at Washington State University (509-372-7365; fax: 509-372-7460;
afelsot@tricity.wsu.edu) or by visiting the Division of Agrochemicals web site http://membership.acs.org/a/agro/.

Applications will be accepted until November 5, 2006 for consideration of the year 2007 award to be presented at the
spring meeting of the American Chemical Society in Chicago, IL, March 25-29, 2007.


Graduate Student Research Poster Competition

Fall 2005 Participants

 

Back row:(Left to Right): Daniel Nomura (U.California - Berkeley), Dingfei Hu (Iowa State), Gretchen Shultz (Iowa State),
Lindsey Gereszek (Iowa State), Pankag Kulshrestha (SUNY- Buffalo),Sanjay Mohanty (U. Hawaii) Front row: Keri Henderson (Iowa State), Kelsey Prihoda (Iowa State), Catherine Curan (U. Washington), Anubha Goel (U. Maryland) Not shown: Yun Cheng (U. Florida), Ola Bowardi (U.California - Riverside)

1st Place Daniel Nomura

The Agrochemical Division of the American Chemical Society hosted a graduate student research poster competition at the 230th National American Chemical Society Meeting in Washington DC (August 28-September 1, 2005). Twelve students, representing eight universities, presented research findings on a wide range of agrochemical related topics including pesticide exposure, repellency and metabolism in fish, antibiotic bioavailability and binding to soil constituents, insect repellency of natural products, modeling approaches for estimating aerial pesticide concentrations and identification of enzymes for pesticide detoxification. All student presenters received a $600 travel grant.

The first prize winner, Daniel Nomura (A brain detoxifying enzyme for organophosphorus nerve poisons. D. K. Nomura, D. Leung, K. P. Chiang, G. B. Quistad, J. E. Casida, Univ of California, Berkeley) received an additional $500 award. Additional cash awards were presented to Anuba Goel (Modeling the variability in aerial concentrations of atrazine, endosulfan and chlorothalonil at a rural location on the Delmarva Peninsula. A. Goel, L. L. McConnell, A. Torrent, Univ. of Maryland) and Catherine Curran (Responses of juvenile salmon to aquatic herbicides. C. A. Curran, J. M. Grassley, C. E. Grue, University of Washington). Graduate students interested in applying for a travel grant for the 2006 Fall ACS meeting in San Francisco (September 10-14, 2006) should contact John.J.Johnston@aphis.usda.gov by April, 2006.

 

Graduate Student Research Poster Competition

Fall 2004 Participants

Front row (left to right): C.L. Friedman, K.L. Henderson, O. Bawardi, R.K. Frisbie, Q. Cheng, K.S. Yoon
Back row (left to right): J.J. Johnston, B.W. Clark, D.A. Goldade, M.L. Hladik, H.J. Kim, P. Kulshrestha, D.D. Brame, J.J. Doherty

1st Place H.J. Kim; 2nd Place M. L. Hladik

The Agrochemical Division of the American Chemical Society hosted a graduate student research poster competition at the 228th National American Chemical Society Meeting in Philadelphia (August 22-26, 2004). Thirteen students presented research findings on a wide range of agrochemical related topics including pesticide metabolism in birds, fish and plants, electrochemical and phytoremediation of pesticide wastes and contaminated areas, development of bioassays for Bt, and molecular genetic approaches for identification of insecticide resistant insect populations. Student presenters received a $600 travel grant.

The first prize winner, Hyo Jeong Kim (Serial invasive signal amplification reaction for genotyping permethrin-resistant head lice, Pediculus capitis, H.J. Kim, S.B. Symington, S.H. Lee, J.M. Clark) received an additional $500 award. Graduate students interested in applying for a travel grant for the 2005 Fall ACS meeting in Washington, DC (August 28 – Sept 1, 2005) should contact John.J.Johnston@aphis.usda.gov

 

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