Where do ideas come from?
I walk away from about half the meetings I attend with a new idea to support and grow the CALS research enterprise. Are they my ideas? Someone else’s? Usually, those new ideas emerge in conversation – they’re collaborative.
“The most productive tool for generating good ideas remains a circle of humans at a table, talking shop.”
- Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From
What are some of the great ideas we’ve turned into research supports?
Creating CATS: the CALS Academy for Team Science
Three teams are funded to bring their team science to the next level! Click the link above to check out who’s on each funded team. Hint: the PI’s are Thomas Lübberstedt, Matt O’Neal, and Irene Jacqz.
Sending researchers to visit Program Directors in DC and KC
Is there a federal granting agency’s program director you want to have lunch with? Use the link to request to meet them on their own turf.
Simplifying Ag Experiment Station reporting
Need help initiating or reporting on a project so you have access to all the supports offered by the Office of Research and Discovery? Email aes_research@iastate.edu to set up a time to meet and work together.
Sharing how ISU works through your department’s CAPER
Are you wondering what your department’s CAPER has learned over the last two years? Ask them! Hopefully they’re already sharing useful tidbits.
Offering support through the CALS For Researchers webpage
Who does what? How can I get travel funds? What new opportunities are open?
Sharing stories about what it takes to land a big grant or project
The linked article describing Melha Mellata’s research (next page) is the second in a series Ann Robinson created to highlight CALS researchers and their journeys to finding funding and enlightenment. To every success, there’s a backstory.
What’s next?
Soon CALS will have a person on staff to help with formatting and sharing research datasets. I know exactly where that idea came from: it’s one Lisa Schulte-Moore walked in with.
Another good idea? Curt Youngs suggested standing office hours. Want to meet up? Reserve a time for coffee with me!
What ideas will you share for improving research support in CALS?
Carolyn Lawrence-Dill
Associate Dean
Research & Discovery
Researcher aims to increase food safety through poultry gut health
June 14th, 2023
By Ann Y. Robinson, with excerpts from Innovation for safer food by Rachel Cramer, ISU News Service.
This article is the second in a series of articles highlighting CALS researchers and their journeys to funding and enlightenment. To every success, there’s a back story. Read the first article about research by Joshua Selsby, professor of animal science.
Around 48 million people in the U.S. get sick each year from foodborne pathogens, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimates one of the top culprits, salmonella (non-typhoidal) bacteria, causes 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths annually. Nearly a quarter of the 1.3 million human infections each year are attributed to poultry, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Melha Mellata, associate professor of molecular microbiology at Iowa State University, is on a mission to develop new treatments and procedures to improve poultry health and mitigate bacterial infections, such as salmonella, in poultry and humans.
Who does what:
- Darwin Campbell, Data Analyst
- Ásrún Kristmundsdóttir, Research Development Lead
- Kendra Lee, AES Project Coordinator
- Seth Wilmes, CARES Project Coordinator
Download the July 2023 Newsletter (pdf)
CALS Office of Research & Discovery
139 Curtiss Hall, Iowa State University | Ames, Iowa 50011
515-294-8842 | research.cals@iastate.edu