Establishing the Center for Agricultural Fluorescence-Microscopy Experiments and Biological Imaging (CAFE-BI)

The University of Kentucky (UK) is the flagship land-grant institution in the state of Kentucky, with its Agricultural Experiment Station dating back to the founding of the university in 1865. The present Tier- 1 globally-integrated research institution houses 14 departments and 27 academic programs, with an undergraduate student body of >3,000, in its College of Agriculture, Food & Environment. The three pillars of the land-grant mission of research, education, and outreach at UK are networked to the state’s 120 counties through the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, FFA, 4-H, and other programs. In addition to being essential for cutting-edge research, advanced microscopy methods are the cornerstone of many undergraduate experiential learning projects, particularly for students enrolled in the interdisciplinary Agricultural & Medical Biotechnology program, one of several such programs that establish bridges of research collaborations between faculty from many colleges and departments across the UK campus. To further promote synergistic research and enhance undergraduate education at the UK, we propose to establish the Center for Agricultural Fluorescence-microscopy Experiments and Biological Imaging (CAFE-BI).