Initiated a new research direction at the VFIC. Historically, the VFIC worked on breeding of vegetables and certain fruits. This ongoing approach has been highly successful and yielded multiple new crop introductions. During 2005, in addition to the conventional breeding work, we initiated several new and cutting-edge collaborative research projects, related to processing and pre-and postharvest effects on bioactive compounds. Additionally, the research focus expanded to include isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds to determine their potential benefits for human health. Further testing of these bioactive compounds is being conducted in cell and animal studies, and recently even human intervention studies, to understand their mechanisms of action. Specialty crops are also under investigation to understand their health-maintaining properties. By expanding our focus to include examination of human health benefits, this new research direction has synergistically supported traditional breeding efforts, yielding a stronger, diverse research program.
- VFIC Core Units: To achieve the goal of facilitating emerging research on foods for health and provide access to all members, four VFIC Core Units were established: 1) Isolation and Characterization Core Unit, 2) Analytical Core Unit, 3) Biotechnology Core Unit, and 4) Human Cell Culture Core Unit. Each core unit is assigned a leader who is responsible for the operation of the unit. Guidelines for operations and user agreements were established for each core unit. Policies for the use of resources in each core unit are being implemented.
- VFIC’s Greenhouse-Developed user guidelines and allocated 9 greenhouses according to the guidelines and research needs.
- External Scientific Advisory Committee. VFIC has very strong industry support and continues to grow; however, it did not have a scientific advisory board. In 2005, a seven member external scientific advisory board was formed; this committee helps the Director in determining the future direction of the VFIC.
- Developed three first-of-kind multi-disciplinary and multi-state courses. This was achieved by conducting curriculum workshops in collaboration with three land grant universities and was funded by five federal grants, a total of $1.7 million. It also provided an opportunity for student experiential learning and faculty enhancement for multi-disciplinary teaching.