WOOSTER, Ohio -- Exemplary graduate-student research was honored at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center's (OARDC) 2004 annual conference April 29 in Wooster. Winners of an annual poster competition were announced — the posters summarizing projects and findings— as were the recipients of three associateships.
In the doctoral-student category of the poster competition: • First place: Alifiya Ghadiali, Food Animal Health Research Program, "Short sequence repeat analysis of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolates from Crohn's disease patients exhibit genetic similarity to extant clones of animal origin." Advisor: Srinand Sreevatsan. • Second place: Jason Parker, Anthropology, "Land tenure as a variable in community based watershed projects: Some lessons from the Sugar Creek watershed, Wayne and Holmes counties, Ohio." Advisor: Richard Moore. • Third place (tie): Zhiqiang Cheng, Environmental Science, "Effects of lawn management practices on soil nematode community and nutrient pools." Advisor: Parwinder Grewal. Yuri Zinn, Soil Science, "Micromorphology and organic carbon studies on water stable aggregates from savanna soils of central Brazil." Advisor: Rattan Lal. In the master's-degree category: • First place (tie): Corrie Yoder, Entomology, "Evasive behavior of white grub species against entomopathogenic nematodes." Advisor: Parwinder Grewal. Sandra Garces, Entomology, "Potential of entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria for the control of grape phylloxera (Homoptera: Phylloxeridae): A novel approach." Advisors: Roger N. Williams, Parwinder Grewal. • Second place: Laura Gutierrez, Plant Pathology, "Identification and fungicide sensitivity of fungal pathogens causing tomato fruit rot in Ohio." Advisor: Brian McSpadden Gardener. • Third place (tie): Sougata Bardhan, Natural Resources, "Greenhouse and landscape growth media created by mixing coal combustion products with organic matter." Advisor: Warren Dick. Zhenyu Liu, Plant Pathology, "Patterns of diversifying selection in phytotoxin-like scr 74 gene family of Phytophthora infestans." Advisor: Sophien Kamoun. The first-place award-winners in both categories received $300, second place, $200, third place, $100. Judging was by a panel of OARDC scientists. Also announced were the recipients of the following associateships: • Director's Associateship: Nancy Marie Sundell Turner, Natural Resources; Sarah Jane Meyer, Horticulture and Crop Science; Eliza Leyva-Guerrero, Horticulture and Crop Science; Daniel Shustack, Natural Resources. • Charles E. Thorne Memorial Associateship: Arthur Morris, Natural Resources. • Minority Associateship: Alba Baez, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics; Maria Kristina Ignosh, Plant Pathology. The conference, titled "Bioterrorism and Food Security," featured speakers from Ohio State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture plus several Ohio farmers and food-issue experts. The event took place in the Shisler Conference Center. OARDC is the research arm of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. - 30 -