New FARM grants program supports research for healthier food, planet

As part of its mission to promote research at the intersection of agriculture, health and technology, the Food and Agriculture Research Mission (FARM) at WashU School of Public Health has established the FARM Cultivate Grants Fund. The fund supports research into practical, scalable innovations that contribute to sustainable transformation of agricultural and food systems and improved public health. 

FARM is one of an initial cohort of five Innovation Research Networks (IRNs) that are being established at the School of Public Health, and the Cultivate Grants Fund is the first FARM initiative.  

“The core function of the Innovation Research Networks is to promote research excellence at the intersection of different disciplines with the goal of creating actionable breakthroughs in areas of critical importance for public health,” said Morven McLean, PhD, the executive director of networks & innovation, the inaugural director of FARM, and a professor of practice at the School of Public Health. “FARM’s Cultivate grants program aims to amplify and accelerate efforts to find creative solutions to the challenge of providing nutritious food to all in a sustainable way.”

There are two Cultivate grants tracks, and up to two awards will be granted on each track twice a year. Track 1 is aimed at early-career investigators and provides up to $40,000 for one year to support exploration of novel research ideas and strengthen future grant applications. Track 2 is designed for more established interdisciplinary teams conducting rigorous preliminary investigations into novel concepts, approaches and methodologies. These awards provide up to $250,000 of support over two to three years to propel promising research forward. Detailed guidelines and instructions for the first round of Cultivate grants are available in InfoReady (Track 1 and Track 2) and on the school’s FARM site. 

“There is already so much exciting work being done at WashU around hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity,” said Lora Iannotti, PhD, the Lauren and Lee Fixel Distinguished Professor at the School of Public Health and the co-director of FARM. “The Cultivate grants program strengthens and accelerates that work by supporting creative ideas and new approaches with the potential to transform public health by transforming food systems.”

Tamara Schneider, MPH, PhD, is the assistant director of communications and senior science writer at Bursky Public Health. She holds a bachelor’s degree in molecular biophysics & biochemistry and in sociology from Yale University, a master’s in public health from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in biomedical science from the University of California, San Diego. She joined WashU as a science writer in 2016.