Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Innovative Approaches Integrating Research, Extension, and Teaching Martin Wiedmann Department of Food Science Cornell University Ithaca, NY

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Introduction Appointed as Assistant Professor in Food Science in 1999 Appointment is 60% research & 40% teaching Research focuses on transmission of bacteria that cause human disease from animals through foods and environmental sources to humans

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell My philosophy Research at a university must incorporate teaching Undergraduates involvement in research can provide more meaningful experiential learning than lectures and classroom instruction Involvement with outside constituencies provides for societal benefits of research and can further enhance experiential learning opportunities for students

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Basic tenets for successful integration of research, teaching and extension Qualified and motivated collaborators are key Not all collaborations initiated will work out well… All activities need to be grounded in a strong extramurally funded research program and in a commitment to teaching All activities need to provide financial or other quantifiable benefits for university In general, research, teaching and extension activities should be supported by extramural grants that return overhead to the university Leverage funds from different sources Inter- and multidisciplinary activities are a must

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Ingredients for success A competitive, high quality basic research program Competitive, high quality applied research High quality and relevant outreach and extension Well-trained & diverse Graduate students & post-docs Well-trained & diverse undergraduates with interest in research Enthusiastic and committed teaching

Basic research program – Transmission of foodborne diseases In 1999 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated the following annual burdens due to foodborne diseases in the US: 76 million cases of gastrointestinal illnesses Cause is unknown for >60 million cases 325,000 serious illnesses resulting in hospitalizations 5,000 deaths Research focuses on transmission of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella, which together cause more than 1,000 foodborne death annually in the US Funded by New York Sea Grant, USDA-NRI, USDA Special Research Grants and NIH

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Transmission of foodborne diseases Manure Food products Humans Animal feed/environment/alternative hosts Food animals Animal derived food products Food Processing Plants RTE Foods/Consumer Homes

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Applied Research Transmission of L. monocytogenes in food processing plants Research is conducted in commercial plants and involves industry collaborators Use of molecular subtyping methods and bioinformatics tools to detect human listeriosis outbreaks and to detect outbreak sources Collaborations with state health departments and state departments of Agriculture and Markets

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Sample Source * VISIT 1 VISIT 2 VISIT 3 VISIT 4 VISIT 5 * * * * * * * AACCBDCCCCCCAAACCBDCCCCCCA Sample Ribotype Sample Source RiboPrint® Pattern 1042 C (E) Floor, brining cold room 1046A (E) Floor drain, brining cold room # (E) Floor, brining cold room 1045 (E) Floor, finished product cold room 1045 (E) Floor drain, raw materials area 1045 (E) Floor drain, finished product area 1043 (E) Floor, cold smoker 1043 (E) Floor drain, raw materials area 1042 C (E) Floor, finished product cold room 1042 C (E) Floor, brining cold room 1045 (E) Floor drain, brining cold room 1045 (E) Slicer, finished product area 1045 (E) Floor, finished product storage cooler 1042 C (R) Raw Atlantic Salmon 1042 C (E) Floor drain, finished product area 1042 C (E) Floor drain, raw materials area 1042 D (E) Cutting table, raw materials 1062 (R) Raw Whitefish 1042 C (IP) Brine solution, trout 1042 C (E) Floor drain, raw materials area 1039A (F) Cold-Smoked Chilean Salmon 1039A (R) Raw Chilean Salmon Understanding Listeria transmission - Example Understanding Listeria transmission - Example

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Extension – focus on preventing Listeria contamination in processing plants Collaborations with industry and trade groups and extension faculty at various universities Focus is on communicating new knowledge generated through our applied and basic research efforts and assessing impact of the research Emphasis is also on assuring that extension content is based on sound, peer-reviewed research: Strategies for controlling Listeria contamination in smoked seafood processing plants were published as a series of 5 peer-reviewed papers; control manual is now used by Association of Food and Drug Officials Efforts in New York state have resulted in quantifiable reductions in Listeria contamination of smoked seafood products

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Applied Research and Extension Funding New York Sea Grant (1998 – 2000): $100,000 New York Sea Grant (2000 – 2002): $100,000 Smoked fish processors and National Fisheries Institute: approx. $ 15,000 Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program – National Food Safety Initiative, CSREES/USDA (2000 – 2003): $600,000 Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program – National Food Safety Initiative, CSREES/USDA (2003 – 2006): $500,000

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Collaborators Within Cornell: Food Science, Microbiology and Immunology, Microbiology, Computer Science, Applied Economics and Management, Populations Medicine and Diagnostic Science, Biological Statistics Other universities: University of Nebraska; Penn State; University of Vermont; University of Delaware; Louisiana State University; University of Maryland, Eastern Shore State and federal agencies: New York State Dept. of Health, Wadsworth Center; health departments in New York City, Michigan, Ohio; New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets; USDA-ARS, Georgia; FDA; Health Canada Industry groups, industry, and non-for profits: National Fisheries Institute; International Life Sciences Institute; Food Products Associations; American Meat Institute; Kraft Foods

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Undergraduate Teaching overview Classroom teaching Includes personal 15 min meeting with every student in every class 10-week university-wide summer research program in food science Lab research opportunities for undergraduates from various disciplines (computer science, microbiology, biological and environmental engineering) Other teaching activities Participation in “BioExplorations” every semester, introducing on- going research to 15 students enrolled in Bio 101 through a 2 h hands-on lab tour Various guest lectures 2 ½ day 4H career explorations program on DNA fingerprinting to track foodborne diseases

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell The teaching & training pipeline High school students (4H career explorations; participation in high school sciences fairs; high school teacher workshops) Undergraduate students (Multicultural scholars program; Experiential learning program with SUNY schools; Food Science Summer Scholars Program; Leadership Alliance; Cornell Hughes Program; Cornell Presidential Research Scholars Program) Graduate students (National Needs Food Safety Training program with internship opportunities; strong applied and basic research programs; teaching opportunities)

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Food Science Summer Scholars Program A 10-week summer research and experiential learning program for undergraduates with interest in food science Program components include: Intensive research experience with faculty mentors Career development workshops and activities Field trips Final presentations and abstract $3,000 stipend/student Initiated in 2000, 5 programs completed

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Food Science Summer Scholars Program (con’t) National recruitment, including strategic relationships with institutions that traditionally serve under- represented minorities (e.g., Alabama A&M) Funded through industry sponsors, USDA Higher Education Challenge Grants, Cornell University contributions, faculty mentor contributions

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Summer Scholars Home Universities US Universities: Cornell University (24) Alabama A&M University (5) Binghamton University (1) Brigham Young University (1) Clemson University (1) Hartwick College (1) Kenyon College (1) Mississippi State University (1) Nicholls State University (1) Oklahoma State University (1) Oregon State University (3) Pennsylvania State University (3) Siena College (1) Texas A&M University (1) The University of Arizona (1) University of Arkansas (1) University of California-Davis (4) University of Florida (2) University of Hawaii, Manoa (3) University of Idaho (1) University of Kentucky (1) University of Massachusetts (1) University of Minnesota (3) University of Nebraska, Lincoln (1) University of Pennsylvania (1) Utah State University (1) International Universities Universidad De Las Americas, Puebla (1) University of Alberta (1) University of Guelph (1) University of Reading, England (1) University of Toronto (1)

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Summer Scholars Impact A total of 70 students have participated in the program; including 11 minority students Career paths of program participants: 5 obtained jobs within food industry 18 entered graduate programs in food science (including one completed) 2 entered other graduate programs 3 have gone into medical programs 33 are completing their BS degrees 9 unknown

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Graduate Training Program Includes MS and Ph.D. training Multidisciplinary Majoring in Food Science and Technology, Microbiology, or Comparative Biomedical Sciences Minors in Food Science and Technology, Microbiology, Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Education, Agricultural Economics, Epidemiology, Genetics, Biochemistry Opportunities for Internships

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Graduate Training Program (Cont.) Opportunities to gain teaching and extension experiences Many graduate students supervise undergraduates Funded by basic and applied research grants and training grants (National Needs)

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Integration of research, teaching and extension provides…. An opportunity for work that makes a difference in people’s lives Access to unique expertise and resources otherwise not available Industry expertise Undergraduates with unique expertise, e.g., in computer science An opportunity to design and conduct better research with potential for translation An opportunity for broader impact through training the future leaders in a field

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Integration of research, teaching, and extension requires…. Very dedicated collaborators Willingness to move outside one’s comfort zone Commitment to multidisciplinary activities Institutional support, including some start up funds (Hatch funds!) Institutional support must not foster entitlement mentality, but set up faculty and staff to secure extramural support Mentoring and appropriate support structures

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Final thoughts and conclusions The main challenge to successful integration of research, teaching, and extension at universities is to obtain funding Universities cannot be expected to provide consistent funding for programs, at best they will provide small start-up funds Overcoming this challenge requires persistence, development of collaborations, and lot’s of practice in grant writing The times of the “lone ranger” are over… Successful grant writing requires knowing about grant opportunities Get to know your sponsored programs people Subscribe to grants alerts and news releases Invite grants officers for federal programs to campus

Acknowledgments - Funding u New York Sea Grant grants R/SHH-7 and R/SHH-10 u USDA-NRI grants and (PI: A. Benson) u USDA Special Research Grants ; ; and u NIH grant R01GM u USDA Integrated Food safety Initiative grants and u USDA Higher Educations Challenge Grants and u USDA Multicultural Scholars grant (PI: D. Miller) u USDA National Needs Grant (PI: K. J. Boor) u Hatch grants u Industry sponsors of the Summer Scholars Program: Kraft Foods, Pepsi, Gorton’s, Gallo, International Food Network, General Mills, Hershey Foods

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell Acknowledgments - the people Mentors and supervisors: C. A. Batt, K. Boor, D. Miller, S. Henry, J. Hotchkiss, C. Parrish Collaborators: K. Gall, N. Dumas, A. Benson, Y. Grohn, Y. Schukken, J. Scott, M. Moody, M. Verghese, and many others Staff: J. Robbins, E. Fortes, K. Windham, A. Ho Undergraduate students: M. Chung, S. Forrester, M.A. Pohl, W.-L. Su, S. Cai, J. Overdevest, A. Turko, M. Fisher, T. Cunningham, A. Turko, K. Evans, B. M. De Leon Melendez, K. Schilke, N. Brooks, S. Maron Graduate students: A. Hoffman, J. Thimothe, A. Roberts, K. Nightingale, V. Lappi, D. Sue, B. Sauders, M. Kazmierczak, S. Alcaine, R. Orsi, L. Tsai, Y. Chan, Y. Hu, E. Fugett, S. Milillo Post-doctoral fellows: R. Zadoks, U. Schwab

Martin Wiedmann / Cornell