FoodSHIELD is the subject of a case study on Adobe's website, as an example of using Adobe technology in innovative and successful ways.  FoodSHIELD is a web-based platform for communication, coordination, education and training among the nation's food and agriculture sectors, sponsored by NCFPD, the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Read the case study here.  Visit FoodSHIELD here.

On May 27-29th, NCFPD hosted a three-day exercise on food supply protection for the G8 nations with fifty participants from Japan, Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and United States.  The exercise aimed to strengthen coordination, cooperation, and communication between G8 nations in the event of an intentional attack on the food supply.  In addition, the World Health Organization representatives participated via a web link from the WHO’s global Strategic Health Operations Center in Geneva.  NCFPD hosted the exercise with funding support from the Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate.

The exercise was driven by a fictitious contamination scenario, designed to stimulate participant discussion.  The exercise was divided into four distinct phases representing significant periods in a food defense event: public health notification, identification of the outbreak, investigation activities, and recovery.  Each phase was followed by a work session to capture input and insights, and identify opportunities for further collaboration.  Emphasis during the exercise was on communication strategies team approaches; sharing of information and resources, and analyzing and capturing opportunities for enhancing global response.

Participating country representatives shared insights on preparedness planning and lessons learned from previous experiences.  The exercise provided nations an opportunity to discuss roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in event of a terrorist attack and enhanced strategies for working together to prevent and respond to a terrorist attack on the food supply.

NCFPD is proud to announce that Patricia Hatch, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Hampton University, will join Charles Young’s project at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory this summer as part of DHS’s MSI Summer Research Team Program.  This program provides opportunities for faculty members and undergraduate and/or graduate students in the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) disciplines to work on collaborative research with a DHS Center of Excellence.

We have had great success with this program in the past, with Salam Ibrahim of North Carolina A&T State University, George Ude of Bowie State University and Cecilia Serrano of the National Hispanic University.  We wish Patricia and Charles a productive summer of research.
 

Faith Mrutu, NCFPD Operations Manager, presented "We are Family: Administering Collaborative Center Awards" at the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Region IV - Midwest Annual Meeting 5/4/08 - 5/7/08 in Kansas City.  The presentation has been chosen as a discussion session at the 50th NCURA Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. 11/2/08 - 11/5/08.  Congratulations to Faith!

Download the Presentation

Download "Tools and Tips: Administering a Successful Center Award"

The National Center for Food Protection and Defense will hold an Open House Monday, April 21st from 3PM-6PM in our new offices at 144 Veterinary Science Building (1971 Commonwealth Ave) on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul Campus.  Come see our new offices, meet us, eat some food, and hear about our research opportunities! 

There will be a short welcome presentation at 3:30 and food and refreshments will be served. 

Here is a map to our location, and a PDF of the flyer.

We hope to see you there!

Two of Vangie Alocilja's graduate students, Michelle Packard and Shannon McGraw, each received a SMART (Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation) fellowship from the Department of Defense to pursue a PhD degree in Biosystems Engineering (biosensors research) at Michigan State University. The fellowship includes full tuition and fees, a $1,000/yr book allowance, full health insurance, a paid internship, and a stipend.  Congratulations to Michelle, Shannon, and Vangie!

NCFPD would like to congratulate Sudeshna Pal and Michael Wiederoder of Michigan State University, both students on Vangie Alocilja's projects.  At Michigan's College of Engineering Academic Awards and Recognition Reception, Sudeshna was awarded Outstanding Graduate Student in Biosystems Engineering and Michael was given a Service Award.  Congratulations to both students!

Five NCFPD students presented posters at the 2008 DHS University Network Summit.  PDFs of the posters are available by clicking on their names:

Kim Cowden, North Dakota State University

Megan Frisk, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Azadeh Namvar, University of Guelph

Stella Opendi, North Dakota State University

Seungkyung Park, Old Dominion University