- Author: Steve Elliott
The Western Integrated Pest Management Center's annual grants program is now open with the release of its Request for Applications.
The RFA was announced in the October 6 issue of the Western IPM Center's newsletter and is at http://westernipm.org/index.cfm/2022-rfa. Complete application packets will be due Dec. 3.
The funding categories in the annual grants program are for Project Initiation research projects, Outreach and Implementation projects and Work Groups. They are all one-year grants with maximum funding of $50,000. About $400,000 is available.
As a regional program, Western IPM Center grants encourage multistate collaborations. Project directors for Western IPM Center proposals must be located in the 17 states or territories that make up the region, and proposals must address one or more identified regional priorities (see below).
The Western IPM Center will hold a webinar on Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. Pacific to go through the RFA and proposal management system. The grants webinar link is https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/8420058983.
Regional priorities
This list is not ranked. Explanations are for clarity and are not all-encompassing or exclusionary.
- Invasive Species: Creating IPM responses to invasive pests and resurgent native pests disrupting IPM programs.
- Biological Control of Pests: For insects, weeds, diseases and vertebrate pests.
- IPM and Ecosystem Services: Using IPM to protect and promote ecosystem services in managed and natural landscapes.
- Soil-borne Pest Management: Developing IPM tactics to manage soil-borne pests.
- Urban Pest Management: Promoting IPM for homes, schools and communities, including the safe use of pesticides in homes and gardens.
- IPM for Indigenous, Insular and Isolated People: Promoting IPM for underserved communities and audiences.
- IPM for Pest-Resistance Management: Developing IPM tools and techniques to reduce pest development of resistance.
- New Technologies to Manage Pests: Developing novel and non-traditional approaches to managing insects, weeds, diseases and vertebrate pests.
- IPM in New Places: Promoting IPM to new, challenging and changing industries, such as animal agriculture, aquaculture, chemically intensive cropping systems, urban farming, indoor production, etc.
- IPM in Changing Landscapes: Creating IPM tools and tactics for landscapes changed by natural forces, including climate and fire.
- IPM Culture and Capacity: Enhancing the acceptance of IPM, strengthening the networks, structures and institutions that promote it, and developing new scientists to lead it.
To learn more about Western IPM Center grants, visit http://westernipm.org/index.cfm/center-grants.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Center invites UC ANR scientists to apply for research funds.
Environmental health science is a branch of public health that is focused on environmental determinants of health.
“This funding is intended to support researchers who are new to EHS to get preliminary data that they can use to pursue larger funding opportunities,” said Shosha Capps, associate director for community engagement. “We highly encourage a community-engaged approach, and part of my job is to support researchers to form effective partnerships with communities in the Central Valley that are impacted by their work.”
“A lot of the topic areas we fund research in are also of interest to folks at ANR, including pesticide use (from a human health perspective), air quality, and water quality and quantity,” said Capps, formerly of the UC Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education Program. “Plus ANR affiliates are already going to be oriented toward applied research and working directly with the communities impacted by their research.”
A list of this year's community research priorities, as well as projects funded in the past, is at https://environmentalhealth.ucdavis.edu/scientists/funding-opportunities/pilot-projects-program.
“A lot of them are in the fields of toxicology, exposure science and epidemiology, but EHS is a multidisciplinary field and we're hoping to reach beyond the usual disciplines this year,” Capps said.
She encourages UC ANR academics to apply with a partner; for example, collaborating with a health researcher to look at the impacts of environmental issues on the health and well-being of farmworkers, farmers or rural communities.
“If someone at ANR works with a community partner who has brought these kinds of issues up as priorities, but they feel it's beyond their expertise, they could refer the community partner to me, and I could try to match them to an appropriate EHS researcher,” Capps said.
For more information, contact Capps at sacapps@ucdavis.edu or (864) 952-9210.
- Author: Conor McCabe
University of California students Anna Rios and Conor McCabe have been selected as Global Food Initiative Fellows for UCANR during the 2021-22 school year. Their projects will involve working with campus-based academics, UC Cooperative Extension professionals, and staff to conduct research and communications to improve food security, nutrition and agriculture sustainability for communities across California.
Rios is a senior in molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley. Rios is originally from the small rural town of Williams, about two hours north of the Bay Area. In her home community, she noticed the prevalence of packaged and processed foods, along with health burdens present. Coming into college, Rios had no interest in research, but this slowly shifted as she gained more exposure to research through her involvement with Lorrene Ritchie, director of the Nutrition Policy Institute. In this upcoming year, she will work on two GFI projects which focus on improving nutrition in infants and school-aged children through nutritious school meals.
“As a first-generation college student and daughter of immigrants, I'm looking to take the findings of my research work to benefit not one or two individuals, but rather multiple generations through program and policy change and reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases in my hometown and communities across California,” Rios said.
McCabe is a Ph.D. student in animal science at UC Davis. His research focuses on the intersection of agriculture and the environment by reducing the environmental impact of intensive cattle production. Every part of McCabe's past has focused on Extension and agriculture programs from raising pigs in 4-H to show at the county fair to talking with decisionmakers on Capitol Hill for funding for agriculture research and Extension programs. His project for the GFI will focus on strategic communications on food-related issues for underserved communities.
“I'm strongly interested in career opportunities in food and agriculture and its relationship with policy implications,” said McCabe. “This fellowship is sure to serve as a key experience to continue my engagement into positively impacting California communities.”
The Global Food Initiative was founded in 2014 under then UC President Janet Napolitano with the goal of conquering the question of how to sustainably and nutritiously feed a world population that is expected reach 8 billion by 2025. Fellows across the 10 UC campuses and Agriculture and Natural Resources work on projects or internships that focus on food issues. Participants receive professional development, tours of food and agriculture sites throughout California, and a $3,000 annual stipend to support their education experience.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Open Enrollment is approaching, and you'll have more help than ever this year in choosing the right benefits for you and your family. In the meantime, we want to give you a heads up about a couple of important changes.
New Open Enrollment deadline this year
This year UC's open enrollment period will start Thursday, Oct. 28, at 8 a.m. and end Friday, Nov. 19, at 5 p.m. That's earlier than our usual Open Enrollment deadline of the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. You'll still have more than three weeks to make your benefits choices and our benefits professionals will have some needed extra time to ensure UC's systems are up to date for 2022.
New pharmacy benefit manager
Navitus Health Solutions (Navitus) is replacing Anthem IngenioRx as the administrator of prescription drug benefits for the following plans: CORE, UC Care, UC Health Savings Plan, UC High Option Supplement to Medicare and UC Medicare PPO. As the pharmacy benefit manager, Navitus sets clinical policy and guidelines for medications and for the processing of pharmacy-related claims.
UC regularly reviews the administrators of our health and welfare plans to ensure members receive the highest levels of service at the most competitive prices. After a thorough process, a committee representing faculty, staff and retirees determined that Navitus would offer significant advantages as the pharmacy benefit manager for these UC plans.
Continued focus on member service and convenience
Navitus offers convenient options for filling prescription drugs that members are accustomed to, including participating University of California Health pharmacies, a large retail network (Costco, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Safeway/Vons), mail order delivery through Costco and access to specialty medications through Lumicera and participating UC specialty pharmacies.
Navitus will also provide robust support to help you better understand and manage your prescription drug benefit, including:
- 24/7 customer care
- A pre-enrollment website (coming in October) with tools for finding participating pharmacies, checking drug prices at the pharmacy of your choice, and looking up drugs included in the formulary (the list of drugs that are covered by the plan)
- A mobile app (for non-Medicare members) and member portal, for easy access to all your prescription medication information
There are no changes to the standard cost-sharing amounts (copayments or coinsurance) for prescription drugs due to the transition to Navitus. However, every pharmacy benefit manager uses its own formulary. While the Anthem IngenioRx and Navitus formularies are similar, there are some differences, which could affect your individual medication costs.
More detailed information about the new prescription drug plan will be sent to you near the beginning of Open Enrollment. You will also receive information from UC later in the fall about any specific impacts to you or your medications because of the change.
Stay tuned for more Open Enrollment updates!
- Author: Ricardo Vela
UC ANR continues to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) through Oct. 15, with a series of public Zoom events to create awareness of Latinos' struggles and celebrate their contributions to the U.S. and the world.
Under the slogan “Celebrating Together Hispanic Heritage Month,” we have partnered with volunteers from UC Master Gardeners, 4-H Youth advisors, and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC educators to bring these programs to the Latino community. We have three Zoom forums with topics that we learned are important to Spanish-speaking Latinos.
October 6 Zoom Community Forum in Spanish
“Be Better Parents, How to Make Your Kid a Leader”
Guest Speaker: Claudia Diaz, 4-H youth development advisor
Recording at https://youtu.be/kDk8yF50nnU
October 13 Zoom Community Forum in Spanish
“How to Have a Successful Vegetable Garden”
Guest Speakers: UC Master Gardener volunteers from UCCE Sonoma County
October 15 Zoom Community Forum in Spanish
“The Power of a Nutritional Meal”
Guest Speaker: Susana Matias Medrano, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in nutritional science and toxicology, UC Berkeley
To register, visit https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=35503 or email ucnews.spanish@ucr.edu.
More information at https://ucanr.edu/sites/Spanish/Hispanic_Heritage_Month/Mes_de_la_Herencia_Hispana_2021/Calendario_de_charlas_por_Zoom_999.
For Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month this year, UC ANR is recognizing three Latino professionals who serve their communities while upholding UC ANR's public values of academic excellence, honesty, integrity, and community service. This year the honorees are:
Leticia Christian is a CalFresh Healthy Living, UC educator in Alameda County. As a physician in her native Cuba, she helped people stay healthy and here in California as a nutrition educator she strives to do the same.
Gersain Lopez loves nature and at his job, his passion, commitment and hard work have made him a favorite ag technician at Desert Research and Extension Center.
Liliana Vega is a 4-H youth advisor for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Vega is an avid advocate for the Latinx community and social justice.
