Securing Our Food: A Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Virginia Tech 2017-2025
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  • Home
  • Apply Now!
  • Program Details
  • Participating Labs
  • Life at VT
  • Instagram
  • Contact
  • Where are they now?
  • 2017 VT-REEL fellows
  • 2018 VT-REEL fellows
  • 2019 VT-REEL fellows
  • 2020 VT-REEL fellows
  • 2021 VT-REEL fellows
  • 2022 VT-REEL fellows
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2017 Virginia Tech REEL Fellows ​

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Fellow                                 Fellow's Home Institution         Faculty Mentors                                      
Allison Coomber                 Cornell University                           David Haak and Hillary Mehl

            Project: The Relationship Between Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and Fusarium spp
Harald Ellorin                      Tidewater Community College      Boris Vinatzer and Ramon Arancibia
            Project: Examining the biocontrol ability of rain-derived bacteria 

Suzanne Laliberte               Virginia Tech                                   Aureliano Bombarely and Jim Owen
             Project: 
Petunia as a Model for Salt Tolerance 
Gabrielle Nelson                 Tidewater Community College     Xiaofeng Wang and Laurie Fox
             Project: 
Virus-induced gene silencing in cucumber and tobacco / Nutrient uptake comparisons in        
             terrestrial and aquatic settings

Samuel Park                         Virginia Tech                                   Glenda Gillaspy and Mark Reiter
             Project: 
Phosphorus Solubility and Uptake with Arabidopsis thaliana
Sophia Pinton                      Virginia Tech                                   Jim Westwood and Laura Strawn
             Project: 
Investigating the Behavior of Parasitic and Pathogenic Organisms on Vegetables 
Luis Santos                          Florida State University                  Takeshi Fukao and Jayesh Samtani
             Project: 
The Effect of Foliar Chemicals On Two New Blackberry Cultivars: An Analysis of Leaf Metabolites,  
             Fruit
Quality, Fruit Yield, and Consumer Appeal
​Hannah Sawyer                   Virginia State University                Dorothea Tholl and Sally Taylor
             Project: 
Effects of Rhizobacteria on Root Terpenoids in Switchgrass / Cover Crop Systems and Tilling
             Effects on Insect Pest and Predator Populations


The VT-REEL program started May 22, 2017 with dorm move-in, followed by a series of orientation events (lunch provided) to help fellows network with their Blacksburg research mentors and one another. Other program-affiliated events included: a Memorial Day cook-out, tour of local farm Glade Road Growing, hike to Cascade Falls and swimming at Claytor Lake. The gallery below provides highlights of the summer. Scroll over pictures to find out more about 2017 activities.
Research in Blacksburg labs often involves studies on molecular mechanisms that impact agriculture. Shown here are researchers in Xiaofeng Wang's lab, which studies how viruses hijack plant growth and development.
A VT-REEL student is examining how genetic mutants of Arabidopsis respond to phosphate, which is a limited nutrient important for plant growth and has important consequences for our environment.
Social events with TPS graduate students involve outdoor activities such as a hike to the nearby "Cascades".
Workshops each week give students a chance to learn about and discuss global agriculture, transgenic plants and consumer acceptance, bioregulatory affairs, science communication, and diversity issues in agriculture.
Our first social event and workshop took us to Glade Road Growing organic farms in Blacksburg. • Our tour guide shows up hoop houses that are used to extend the growing season, and shares what it is like to run a small, agricultural business.
At Glade Road Growing...We had a tour and saw various ways of compact farming in an urban setting...on a beautiful summer day! Glade Road Growing also raises geese, which are to the right.
AREC tour at the Hamptons Road station in Virginia Beach; looking at a field site.
Hampton Roads AREC tour site; Laurie Fox shows us a public garden used for extension activities on water and soil conversation.
VT-REEL fellow working at Eastern Shore AREC on using row covers to increase production.
Working at field station lab to document and address blackberry quality.
AREC tour group at Tidewater AREC station; in front of corn field site to test the impact of varying nitrogen.
VT-REEL fellow working with Jayesh Samtani on blackberry flavor and quality.
The beginning of VT undergraduate research symposium. This end of summer event started off with a VT-REEL presentation on phosphate and agriculture.
VT-REEL fellow presenting poster on parasitic plants, an unusual pathogen.
VT-REEL fellow presenting poster on analysis of plant pathogens that limit corn production.
VT-REEL fellow, who worked on microbes in rainwater, with Blacksburg research mentor Boris Vintager at poster session.
VT-REEL fellow, who worked on Mass Spectrometry analysis of flavor quality in blackberry, with Blacksburg research mentor, Takashi Fukao.
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