News Stories - Page 2

Antibiotics are commonplace — used to treat minor and major infections, prevent infection post-surgery, and treat our pets and livestock. But what happens if these life-saving drugs lose their efficacy? Issmat Kassem, assistant professor at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has asked this question for nearly two decades.

The future of farming depends on the health and success of farmers. The public needs farmers and farmers need support from the public — it's a mutual relationship essential to the long-term health of agriculture and humanity. This is the principle that drew doctoral student Elizabeth Abati to the University of Georgia to advocate for farmer well-being alongside Anna Scheyett, a professor in UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Cedric Knight never underestimates the power of hard work. Knight transferred to the University of Georgia his junior year. After graduating, he served two decades in the Navy and retired as commander. In 1995, at the cusp of the internet age, he launched New Directions Technologies Inc., an IT, software, engineering, and cybersecurity services company, where he’s still CEO.

The National Academy of Inventors has selected eight University of Georgia researchers as 2025 NAI Senior Members, surpassing its own record of five inductees set last year. UGA now has 24 Senior Members overall. “We are thrilled to celebrate these latest UGA elections to the country’s leading organization for groundbreaking inventors and innovators,” said Chris King, interim vice president for research. “Their dedication to translating research into tangible impact embodies the university’s land-grant mission and our commitment to serving society through innovation.”

Fourth-generation farmer, Air Force veteran and mental health advocate Connie Baptiste will give the keynote address at the 2025 Farm Stress Summit in Statesboro, Georgia, on March 13. For the third year, University of Georgia faculty, farmers, farm family members, agricultural community members, and agricultural mental health stakeholders will convene at the 2025 Farm Stress Summit to network and strategize ways to safeguard the well-being of Georgia’s farmers and farm families.

New research on using controlled environment agriculture to grow plants with medicinal properties could lead to production methods that will increase one anti-cancer compound naturally produced by certain species of plants. The study, led by doctoral student Rebekah Maynard, was designed to identify crops used in medical treatments and develop CEA production strategies that will increase the concentration of an anti-cancer compound produced by the plants.

Many of the flowers lining store shelves for Valentine’s Day have been gifted at romantic dinners. But what happens to the flowers that went unsold? A new study from the University of Georgia explores how flowers can be repurposed as food ingredients, offering a more sustainable way to use blooms that might otherwise be discarded. “We are looking at what happens the day after Valentine’s Day to those flowers,” said UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences researcher Anand Mohan.

Elevate is a federally funded, evidence-informed program that helps couples manage stress, spend quality time together, and develop new skills to strengthen their relationship, said project director Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension human development specialist in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. The program leverages the statewide UGA Extension network and community partners to deliver training both virtually and in person.

Checking expiration dates is second nature for many consumers, a routine part of deciding what’s safe to eat. But those dates often indicate peak quality rather than actual safety, leading people to throw away perfectly good food out of caution — wasting both meals and money in the process. Between 30% and 40% of the food supply in the United States is wasted, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. A portion of that stems from consumer misunderstanding of food labels, said Carla Schwan, a food safety specialist with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.