Led by NC State Professor Fred Gould, the goal of this Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT) project is to offer training that will prepare students for the interdisciplinary challenges that will face society as genetic technologies for manipulation of pest genomes are developed.
Now in the fifth year of this NSF-funded interdisciplinary program, Dr. Gould reports having reached a total enrollment of 20 PhD students. Approximately 20 faculty members, 17 graduate students, and 3 post-docs are engaged in this project. In addition, Dr. Gould estimates at least 100 K-12 students were reached through program outreach efforts.
Dr. Gould reports that Institute resources have helped support a weekly colloquium with 25-35 students and faculty participating. Two of the IGERT students presented case studies on genetic engineering at a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) meeting in 2016. Dr. Gould is the Chair of a NAS report committee that will be publishing its findings on Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects forthcoming in 2016. Prof.
Dr. Gould was awarded the Entomological Society Founders Memorial award and Prof. Kuzma received the 2015-2016 SRA/Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer award. Dr. Gould and his colleague Dr. Jennifer Kuzma are sponsored 2015-16 Kenan Fellow Elizabeth Helms of Knightdale High School of Collaborative Design (Wake County Public School System).