AgriLife Research director’s awards honor faculty, staff, projects

Texas A&M AgriLife Research will honor a collaborative project, six faculty and staff awardees, two new Faculty Fellows and a new Senior Faculty Fellow on Jan. 7 during the 2024 Texas A&M AgriLife Research Director’s Awards at the Stella Hotel in Bryan.

The awards recognize outstanding contributions by faculty and staff in their respective fields that exemplify support for AgriLife Research’s mission and vision.

AgriLife Research will also recognize Lloyd “Ted” Wilson, Ph.D., former center director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont, for over 25 years of service. Wilson stepped down from the center director role to return full-time as the Jack B. Wendt Endowed Chair in Rice Research professorship in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and the Department of Entomology to conduct leading-edge research in Beaumont.

“These individuals have made contributions that stand out even among those of their world-class peers across AgriLife Research,” said G. Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., director of AgriLife Research. “The work done by these esteemed professionals exemplifies our mission to pioneer knowledge that supports abundant, affordable, and high-quality food and agricultural products in Texas and around the world.”

Administrative Support Staff Award

Dawn Miles

Dawn Miles, senior administrative coordinator for the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Bryan-College Station, has been an integral part of Texas A&M since 1996, working in the Physical Plant, 4-H, District 9, the Department of History, and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Most recently, she was pivotal in navigating the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology’s accreditation process for its new forestry program with the Society of American Foresters. This endeavor required coordination across multiple stakeholders, including the Provost’s Office, Dean’s Office, Texas A&M Forest Service and the departmental accreditation committee. The success of this accreditation process can largely be attributed to her exceptional organizational skills and unwavering dedication. Her colleagues credit her with fostering a welcoming atmosphere in the department, helping students, faculty and staff feel supported and valued.

Technical Staff Support Award

Shay Simpson

Shay Simpson is the associate program director of the AgriLife Research Office of Corporate Engagement and Research Support, Bryan-College Station. Simpson has managed or assisted in directing a $267 million-plus portfolio since 2007. She has most closely managed projects related to water technologies and bioenergy systems. Simpson was instrumental in the design, planning and construction of the state-of-the-art AgriLife Automated Precision Phenotyping Greenhouse. She has been integral in coordinating discussions, brainstorming projects and developing proposals through contract execution on many large industry-sponsored projects. Additionally, she acted as lead project manager on the high-impact Chancellor’s Research Initiative and Governor’s University Research Initiative awards related to biophotonics. Simpson has been recognized as the American Society of Biological and Agricultural Engineers’ Texas Section Young Engineer of the Year and as the Texas Section Engineer of the Year.

Infrastructure Information Technology Staff Award

Justin Hager

Justin Hager is an information technology manager for Texas A&M AgriLife Support Services, where his innovative approaches, hands-on expertise and unwavering dedication consistently drive exceptional results. Retired from combined service in the Marine Corps and the U.S. Army, Hager exhibits disciplined leadership and the ability to adapt to complex challenges. These qualities help him assist researchers in managing their workstations and instrumentation, ensuring seamless operations and enabling cutting-edge research. Known for his proactive mindset and creative problem-solving, he has also streamlined processes, improved departmental efficiency and fostered a collaborative, supportive work environment. A lifelong learner, Hager participates in hardware and software beta testing and attends various conferences to discover new products and services to bring back to Texas A&M AgriLife, ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of innovation.

Collaboration Award

Rio Grande Colonias USDA Regional Food Business Center

The Rio Grande Colonias U.S. Department of Agriculture Regional Food Business Center was established by a five-year, $30 million cooperative agreement to enhance the resiliency of the food systems of Texas and New Mexico. The center offers technical assistance, capacity building and coordination support to small and midsized food producers and food businesses with an emphasis on targeted aid to colonia counties in both states. The full collaboration includes representatives from Feeding Texas, The University of Texas Health, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, People Fund and La Semilla Food Center.

Texas A&M AgriLife team members of the Food Business Center include Beth Racine, DrPH, director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at El Paso and associate department head for AgriLife Extension programs within the Department of Nutrition; Analicia Perez, program manager, El Paso; and Valerie Mendoza, senior business administrator, El Paso. Joining the team from Bryan-College Station are Steven Klose, associate department head for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service programs in the Department of Agricultural Economics, and Brian Faries, director of the AgriLife Extension office of data and accountability.

Research Scientist of the Year

Julie Howe, Ph.D.

Julie Howe, Ph.D., is a professor and associate department head in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station. Hired in 2017 to lead the soil chemistry and fertility program, she researches the sustainability of agricultural production systems through improved soil health and nutrient cycling. Her projects range from examining the role of root exudates on carbon sequestration and beneficial microbes to developing novel mechanisms to improve the efficiency of nutrients to evaluating practices that could improve the resilience and sustainability of agricultural production systems. She secured the largest Texas A&M AgriLife grant, the Texas Climate-Smart Initiative. The groundbreaking, five-year, $65-million pilot project aims to collaborate with Texas’ commodity producers to promote the adoption of climate-smart agricultural and forestry practices. Overall, Howe has been awarded almost $73 million in grants while at Texas A&M.

William A. Dugas Early Career Award for Research Excellence

Established in 2018, the William A. Dugas Early Career Award for Research Excellence recognizes outstanding contributions by faculty members early in their careers to support AgriLife Research’s mission.

Sapna Dass, Ph.D.

Sapna Dass, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science, Bryan-College Station. She has built an impactful career studying the selection pressures that shape microbial communities at the intersection of human health and agriculture. A leading scientist in microbial ecology, Dass specializes in biofilms — communities of microorganisms that adhere to surfaces and survive through mutual interactions. Biofilms can impact both health and agriculture, often by fostering antibiotic resistance. Her seminal work on Listeria monocytogenes, a critical foodborne pathogen, has been referenced in food safety policies developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Food Safety Association, and the Government of Brazil by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. Since 2020, Dass has secured $6.7 million in grants from the federal government, commodity boards, associations and industry.

Kiran Gadhave, Ph.D.

Kiran Gadhave, Ph.D., joined the faculty at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Amarillo in early 2022 as an assistant professor with the Department of Entomology. He has received over $4 million in research funding, including awards from the National Science Foundation, USDA, and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, FFAR. In 2023, he received an FFAR New Innovator Award. He has published 28 refereed articles in high-impact journals, serves as an associate editor in Frontiers in Insect Science, and has been recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society. His program has yielded innovations in the use of RNA technologies now in the commercialization pipeline. These innovations are directed at practical approaches to sustainable management of insect pests in production agriculture and complement his parallel innovations in the use of Raman spectroscopy for early detection of biotic stresses in field crops.

Faculty Fellows

The Faculty Fellow and Senior Faculty Fellow titles are permanent and go to senior-level research or service professionals who have worked with AgriLife Research for at least five years and demonstrated exceptional leadership and impact.

Asko Noormets, Ph.D.

Asko Noormets, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Bryan-College Station. He is an ecophysiologist and ecosystem ecologist, working on questions related to the carbon cycle and its responses to environmental, biological and land management factors. Noormets conducts cutting-edge research in forest ecology and management, soil biogeochemistry, plant physiology and phenology with remarkable consistency of success. His research achievements are well recognized by agricultural and ecological research communities in general and by scientists in the AmeriFlux research network in particular. His work is based equally on field, laboratory and modeling analyses. He is an editor of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, a premier research journal in his field; past editor or member of the editorial board of five other professional journals; and has served as chair of the U.S.-China Carbon Consortium.

Weston Porter, Ph.D.

Weston Porter, Ph.D., is a professor and the Fred A. and Vola N. Palmer Chair in Comparative Oncology in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology within the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He is a leading expert in mammary gland development and breast cancer, with research interests in metabolic adaptation, circadian rhythm disruption and Down Syndrome. He also teaches tumor cell biology and environmental health. Porter has been highly successful in research and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. He has been directly involved in more than $30 million in National Institutes of Health research projects. He is also the director of the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences P30 Texas A&M Center for Environmental Health Research. He is a recipient of the outstanding graduate student and postdoc mentor award in the College of Veterinary Medicine. 

Senior Faculty Fellow

Thomas Welsh Jr., Ph.D.

Thomas Welsh Jr., Ph.D., is a Regents Professor and AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow in the Department of Animal Science. He is affiliated with Veterinary Integrative Biosciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He is nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in the field of reproductive biology and stress physiology in livestock. His integrative endocrine physiology laboratory focuses on regulating reproductive, metabolic and immune functions to identify factors that regulate animal health and productivity. He has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses and chaired/co-chaired 19 doctoral and 38 master’s students. Welsh has served as an associate editor of Domestic Animal Endocrinology, is a member of the American Society of Animal Science Board of Directors and is president of the board’s southern section. He has received internal and external awards for teaching, mentoring and research.