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CONFERENCE on CONNECTIONS

BETWEEN SOIL HEALTH and HUMAN HEALTH

October 16-17, 2018Silver Spring, Maryland USA

coordinated by

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WELCOME

C. Wayne Honeycutt, PhDPresident and CEO

Soil Health Institute

2803 Slater Road

Suite 115

Morrisville, NC 27560

Telephone: +1-919-230-0303

Dear Friends:

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Conference on Connections Between Soil Health and Human Health! The conference is designed as a working meeting to provide a roadmap for collaborative, interdisciplinary leadership and exploration into the connections within and among microbiome ecosystems, soil health, food production, nutrition, and human health.

We have the opportunity to identify promising research opportunities, begin to build interdisciplinary teams to address research priorities, and propose funding mechanisms that will lead to scientific findings that benefit the health of agricultural systems, the environment, and the public.

Historically, when we have considered how soil health supports human health, it has often been in the context of feeding our growing world population, a notable goal by itself. We have studied how healthy soils contribute to ecosystem functions, sustaining plant and animal productivity and biodiversity, filtering contaminants and thus maintaining or enhancing air and water quality; thereby supporting human health. Mostly, however, we have stayed within our disciplines, addressing soil health’s possible impact on human health, various soil-borne disease pathogens, parasitic infections, bacterial suppression, immunity, and other topics discussed during broad conferences, symposia and meetings.

We know the opportunities are even greater, but unfortunately, we have rarely interacted. Few are conducting research that bridges our fields. Differences in language, funding sources, research priorities, and even locations on college campuses are impediments to exploring this most fundamental relationship between soil and human health.

This conference is designed to bring our communities together, establish the current state of our collective knowledge, identify gaps and associated priorities, and outline the paths forward. As we join together – soil health and human health researchers, soil science and medical science practitioners, public health experts and agronomists, policy makers and program funders, let’s use this opportunity to challenge ourselves to listen and think beyond our own professional experiences and disciplines.

On behalf of the Soil Health Institute and the conference’s hard-working, dedicated planning committee, I welcome you. We are honored to have you join us.

With deepest appreciation,

C. Wayne Honeycutt, PhDPresident and CEOSoil Health Institute

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Tuesday, October 16(8:15 am – 5:15 pm with reception following)

MORNING – PLENARY SESSION

8:15 am - 8:40 am — Welcome

Goals and Overview

• Steven Shafer, PhD, Interim Chief Scientific Officer, Soil Health Institute

• Warren Miller, President, Fountainworks

8:40 am - 9:40 am — Keynote Addresses

Soil Health-Human Health Connections: Introduction from the Medical Community

• Jerome Paulson, MD, Emeritus Professor, George Washington University, School of Public Health

Soil Health-Human Health Connections: Introduction from the Soil Health Community

• David Montgomery, PhD, Professor of Geomorphology, University of Washington

9:40 am - 10:50 am — Technical Session 1

The Influence of Soil Health on Human Nutrition

Overview:

• Naomi Fukagawa, MD, PhD, Director, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, USDA-ARS

Panel:

• Michael Grusak, PhD, Director, Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, North Dakota, USDA-ARS

• Jennifer Otten, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington

• Christian Peters, PhD, Associate Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University

• Mulumebet Worku, PhD, Professor of Animal Sciences, North Carolina A&T University

Conference Participatory Q&A

BREAK (10:50 am - 11:05 am)

AGENDA

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AGENDA

11:05 am - 12:15 pm — Technical Session 2

The Influence of Soil Health on Food Safety

Overview:

• Patricia Millner, PhD, Research Microbiologist, Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory, USDA-ARS

Panel:

• David Ingram, PhD, Consumer Safety Officer, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

• Michele Jay-Russell, DVM, MPVM, PhD, Research Microbiologist and Manager, Western Center for Food Safety, University of California, Davis

• Kalmia Kniel, PhD, Professor of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Delaware

• Keeve Nachman, MHS, PhD, Program Director, Food Production and Public Health Program, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University


LUNCH | NETWORKING (12:15 pm - 1:15 pm)

AFTERNOON – PLENARY SESSION

1:15 pm - 2:25 pm — Technical Session 3

Chemistry, Bioavailability, Fate, and Transport of Toxins in Field Soils

Overview:

• Eric Brevik, PhD, Professor of Geology and Soils, Dickinson State University

Panel:

• Nicholas Basta, PhD, Professor of Soil and Environmental Chemistry, The Ohio State University

• Gregory Evanylo, PhD, Professor of Crop and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech

• Linda Lee, PhD, Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University

• Jason Unrine, PhD, Associate Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky


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AGENDA


Interconnections of the Soil-Food-Human Microbiome

Overview:

• Lily Pereg, PhD, Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of New England, Australia

Panel:

• Carl Keen, PhD, Chairman of the Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis

• Joshua Steffan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Agriculture and Biology, Dickinson State University

• Mary Stromberger, PhD, Professor of Soil and Crop Sciences and Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Colorado State University

• Carl Wepking, PhD, Executive Director of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (GSBI)


BREAK (3:35 pm - 3:50 pm)


Implications of Soil Health for Human Populations and Communities

Overview:

• Linda Abbott, PhD, Director, Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis, US Department of Agriculture

Panel:

• Lynn Burgess, PhD, Professor of Biology, Dickinson State University

• Thomas Ducey, PhD, Microbiologist, Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research, USDA-ARS

• Daniel George, PhD, Associate Professor, Humanities Department, College of Medicine, Penn State University

• Daniel Richter, PhD, Professor of Soils and Forest Ecology, Duke University


5:00 pm - 5:15 pm — Wrap-up | Summary

• Daphne Miller, MD, Project Scientist, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley;

Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

ADJOURN (5:15 pm)

RECEPTION (5:30 pm - 7:00 pm)

(Dinner on your own)

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Wednesday, October 17(8:30 am – 4:05 pm)

MORNING – PLENARY SESSION

8:30 am - 8:50 am — Keynote Address

Emerging Topics Connecting Human Health to Soil Health

• Howard Mielke, PhD, Research Professor, School of Medicine, Tulane University

8:50 am - 9:05 am — Day 1 Review and Instructions for Breakout Sessions

• Andrew Sharpley, PhD, Professor of Soils and Water Quality, University of Arkansas

9:20 am - 10:50 am — BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Identification of research gaps and priorities based on Day 1 Technical Sessions

BREAK (10:50 am - 11:05 am)

11:05 am - 11:50 am — Open Mic

The ONE MAJOR RECOMMENDATION from each Breakout Group

LUNCH | NETWORKING (11:50 am - 12:50 pm)

AFTERNOON – PLENARY SESSION

12:50 pm - 1:50 pm — Panel Discussion I

Food/Ag Policies and Human Health Policies: Intersections and Disconnections

Overview:

• Catherine Woteki, PhD, Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University

Panel:

• Thomas Burke, PhD, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

• Bruce Knight, Principal and Founder, Strategic Conservation Solutions

• Susan Mayne, PhD, Director Center for Food Science and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration


AGENDA

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1:50 pm - 2:35 pm — Panel Discussion 2

Funding Opportunities and Challenges

Chair:

• LaKisha Odom, PhD, Scientific Program Director, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

Panel:

• William Hairston, Director of Product Development – SeedGrowth, Bayer Crop Science

• Heather Henry, PhD, Program Administrator, Superfund Research Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

• Luis Tupas, PhD, Deputy Director for Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA

• Paul Wolfe, JD, Program Officer, Mississippi River Program, Walton Family Foundation


BREAK (2:35 pm - 2:50 pm)

2:50 pm - 3:50 pm — General Discussion

Future research, untapped areas of inquiry, ways to establish new collaborations

Documenting and Communicating: Strategy for formal reporting

3:50 pm - 4:05 pm — Conclusion

• David Collier, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Health Disparities, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University

ADJOURN (4:05 pm)

AGENDA

SPEAKERS

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Linda Abbott, PhD


Dr. Linda Abbott serves as the Director of the Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis (ORACBA). In this role she coordinates the review of regulatory risk assessments and cost-benefit analyses for major USDA proposed rules affecting the environment, human health or human safety.

Prior to this position she served as a senior risk assessor on the ORACBA staff. While at ORACBA, she was also detailed to the USDA Office of Pest Management Policy to evaluate risk models used to assess human health exposure and ecological risk. She began her USDA career as an ecologist at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service where she developed risk assessments and environmental assessments required under the National Environmental Policy Act. Dr. Abbott received her PhD in biology-ecology from Utah State University, MS in environmental biology from George Mason University, a BS in biology from Florida Southern College and a JD from George Mason University School of Law.

Nicholas Basta, PhD

Chemistry, Bioavailability, Fate and Transport of Substances in Field Soils

Dr. Nick Basta is Professor of Soil and Environmental Chemistry in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at the Ohio State University. His research program, focused on chemistry, bioavailability, and environmental fate of contaminants in soil, focuses on soil health and risk-based environmental chemistry as well as bioavailability of contaminants with emphasis on human, agronomic and ecosystem pathways. His soil environmental chemistry program is respected for novel bioavailability-based remediation of soil. Dr. Basta is an active member of several international scientific committees focused on environmental fate and remediation of soil contaminants including the Bioavailability Research Group of Europe, the International Society for Trace Element Biogeochemistry, and the SETAC Global Contaminated Soil Advisory Group. He has served on several Editorial Boards including 12 years as Technical or Associate Editor for the Journal of Environmental Quality. He is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of America. Dr. Basta earned his BS in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University, MS in Soil Science and PhD in Soil Chemistry with a minor in Analytical Chemistry from Iowa State University.

Eric Brevik, PhD


Dr. Eric Brevik is Professor of Geology & Soils at Dickinson State University. He teaches courses in geology and soil science, coordinates the Environmental Science degree program and advises undergraduate research. His research interests include combining information from soil science and geology, soil genesis and the impact of humans on soil properties and processes, as well as soil science history, education and links between soil science and culture. He is an active member of the European Geoscience Union, International Union of Soil Sciences and Soil Science Society of America. Dr. Brevik received his BS and MA in Geology from the University of North Dakota. He received his PhD in Soil Science from Iowa State University.

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SPEAKERS

Lynn Burgess, PhD


Dr. Lynn Burgess is Professor Emeritus at Dickinson State University. He taught for 18 years in the Natural Sciences Department, teaching courses in Biology, Biochemistry, Epidemiology and Environmental Health. With NIH grant support, he conducted research on cancer chemoprevention and the effect heavy metals on cancer and angiogenesis, and the contribution of angiogenesis to pathogenic wound healing. His research interest included the effect of retinoic acids on the angiogenesis involved in cancer tumors. He started and was the director of the university’s environmental health program and served four terms with the National Environmental Health Accreditation Council. He was a co-editor and contributor of the book Soil and Human Health. Dr. Burgess holds a BS in Zoology from Utah State University, his MS in Biology from Eastern Washington University and his PhD in Toxicology from Utah State University.

Thomas Burke, PhD


Dr. Thomas Burke is the Jacob I and Irene B. Fabrikant Professor and Chair in Health Risk and Society at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and the School of Medicine Department of Oncology. He is also Director of the Johns Hopkins Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute. Dr. Burke was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development. From January 2015 until January 2017, Dr. Burke was the EPA Science Advisor and Deputy Assistant Administrator for Research and Development. His research interests include environmental epidemiology and surveillance, evaluation of population exposures to environmental pollutants, assessment and communication of environmental risks, and application of epidemiology and health risk assessment to public policy. Before joining the University faculty, Dr. Burke was Deputy Commissioner of Health for the State of New Jersey and Director of Science and Research for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Dr. Burke served as a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. He was Chair of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Improving Risk Analysis that produced the report Science and Decisions, and chaired the NAS Committee on Human Biomonitoring for Environmental Toxicants and the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land. He also served on the NAS Committee on the Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury. He is a Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis and a lifetime National Associate of the National Academies. He was Inaugural Chair of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the CDC National Center for Environmental Health and a member of EPA Science Advisory Board and Board of Scientific Counselors. Dr. Burke received his BS from St. Peter’s College, his MPH from the University of Texas and his PhD in epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania.

SPEAKERS

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David Collier, MD

Conference Conclusions

Dr. David Collier is a Professor of Pediatrics and Health Disparities at East Carolina University’s (ECU) Brody School of Medicine. He serves as Director of ECU’s Pediatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center and is an Associate Director of the Integrative Health Sciences Facility Core for North Carolina State University’s Center for Human Health and the Environment. Dr. Collier received a BS in Animal Science from North Carolina State University, a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed medical school and residency training in pediatrics at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine. His clinical and research activities are focused on understanding the causes and consequences of childhood obesity with a particular interest in the role of xenobiotic compounds in the development and maintenance of obesity.

Thomas Ducey, PhD


Dr. Thomas Ducey is a Research Microbiologist with ARS-USDA at the Coastal Plain Soil, Water, and Plant Research Center in Florence, SC. He has served in this role for the past 11 years, during which he has led interdisciplinary research on a variety of agricultural issues ranging from antibiotic resistance and animal wastewater treatment, to assessing the impacts of agricultural management practices on soil health. His current research has a strong focus on looking at the role of microbial communities in the improvement of soil health, and he has worked with several state and federal agencies to develop and assess methods to restore soil health to nutrient impoverished and mine-impacted soils. Dr. Ducey holds BS and MS degrees in clinical laboratory science from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a PhD from the University of Oklahoma in microbiology and immunology.

Gregory Evanylo, PhD


Dr. Gregory Evanylo teaches in the Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences Department at Virginia Tech. The goal of Dr. Evanylo’s research is to investigate the chemistry, transport, and availability of nutrients (esp., nitrogen), inorganic trace elements, and organic matter (esp., carbon) in land-applied by-products derived from agricultural, industrial, and municipal activities. Composted residuals are of particular interest. My colleagues and I research the effects of such by-products on plant health, soil properties, greenhouse gas generation, and water quality in both natural and disturbed soils. He received his BA in biology from the University of Connecticut, MS in Plant and Soil Sciences from the University of Massachusetts, and PhD in Agronomy from the University of Georgia.

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SPEAKERS

Naomi Fukagawa, MD, PhD


Dr. Naomi Fukagawa is director of the USDA Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, in Beltsville, MD. Dr. Fukagawa previously served as professor of medicine and acting director of the Gerontology Unit at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. She is a board-certified pediatrician and an expert in nutritional biochemistry and metabolism, including protein and energy metabolism; oxidants and antioxidants; and the role of diet in aging and chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus. Dr. Fukagawa has maintained an active research laboratory where her work ranges from cells and animals to in vivo studies in human volunteers. Dr. Fukagawa’s present work focuses on the impact of environmental stressors (metabolic or physical) on human health, specifically the health effects of exposure to petrodiesel and biodiesel exhaust. She has served on numerous NIH review panels, served as chairman of the NIH study section for General Clinical Research Centers and completed a five-year term on the NIH Integrated Physiology of Obesity and Diabetes Study Section. Her membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation, election as President of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition (American Society for Nutrition), and service as an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, as Editor-in-Chief of Nutrition Reviews, and as Vice-Chair of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee of the USDA and HHS speak to her national/international recognition. Her clinical training included residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, chief residency at the University of Vermont, and nutrition/ gerontology fellowships at the Children’s Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School. She received her MD degree from Northwestern University and her PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

Daniel George, PhD


Dr. Daniel George is Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities at Penn State College of Medicine. Dr. George specializes in the study of dementia and is co-author of The Myth of Alzheimer’s, which was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2008 and has been translated into four languages. He has more than 100 professional peer-review publications, and his research on intergenerational issues in dementia care has been recognized by the global advocacy group Alzheimer’s Disease International. In addition to teaching and research at Penn State, Dr. George has co-founded the Farmers Market in Hershey and a Community Garden on the hospital campus, and is currently developing plans for an organic farm on campus. Since 2010, he has supervised a medical student advocacy group called “Food As Medicine” that provides leadership for such community-based projects as prescription produce programs, gardening initiatives for young cancer survivors, and farmers market-based nutrition education programs for recently resettled refugees and women living in transitional housing. Dr. George earned his PhD and MSc in medical anthropology from Oxford University in 2010.

SPEAKERS

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Michael Grusak, PhD


Dr. Michael Grusak is a USDA, Agricultural Research Service scientist and the Center Director of the Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, North Dakota. He leads a program consisting of five research units where scientists encompass expertise ranging from crop plants to insects to food safety. The Center’s broad mission is to solve problems that will help farmers produce a safe, nutritious, and sustainable food supply. Prior to his appointment as Center Director in 2017, Dr. Grusak served as a Research Plant Physiologist at the USDA-ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) in Houston, TX and a Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. He joined the CNRC in 1990 to develop an interdisciplinary program to link plant science and production agriculture with human nutrition concerns. His previous and ongoing research involves understanding ways to enhance the nutritional quality of plant foods for human or animal consumption. His group also has contributed to clinical investigations by providing stable isotope-labeled plant material to study nutrient bioavailability and metabolism in humans. Dr. Grusak received his PhD in Botany from the University of California-Davis.

William (Bill) Hairston


Mr. William (Bill) Hairston is Director of Product Development for SeedGrowth for Bayer CropScience in Research Triangle Park, NC. In his role at Bayer CropScience he is responsible for product development related activities for seed treatment which include laboratory screening, field screening, application technology, and technical support. His career focus has included the development of numerous innovative seed treatment technologies involving insecticide and fungicide chemistries, seed treatment biological products, and seed coating technologies. Mr. Hairston received his BS in Crop Science, and his MS in Seed Science from Mississippi State University.

Heather Henry, PhD


Dr. Heather Henry is a health science administrator for the NIEHS where she oversees Superfund Research Program (SRP) grants that span human health toxicology, risk assessment, detection technologies and remediation approaches. She provides guidance to potential applicants for SRP’s Multiproject Center Grants (P42s), Individual Research Grants (R01s), Small Business / Technology Transfer Grants (R41-44; SBIR/STTR). Dr. Henry studied plant-based environmental remediation (phytoremediation) and ecological restoration as part of her doctoral work at the University of Cincinnati and as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne and University of Adelaide in Australia. She received her BS degree in Biology from University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, and a PhD in Biology from the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH.

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SPEAKERS

David Ingram, PhD


Dr. David Ingram joined FDA/CFSAN in 2013 as a Consumer Safety Officer with the Produce Safety Staff in the Office of Food Safety. His experience includes more than 14 years as a Research Microbiologist with the USDA-ARS in Beltsville, MD, where he integrated his experience in clinical, food and environmental microbiology to investigate mission critical pre- and post-harvest food safety issues. Pre-harvest areas of interest included the mitigation of foodborne pathogen prevalence and persistence through irrigation water management and disinfection practices and the application of various practices for the treatment and handling of soil-amendments. Dr. Ingram had also investigated virulence factor regulation/expression on the influence of foodborne pathogen growth and persistence in farm environments, as well as during the post-harvest processing and packaging of fresh-cut produce. Dr. Ingram’s research has been instrumental in the development of the United States Composting Council (USCC) testing standards for human pathogens in finished compost and his work on the fate of human microbial pathogens during the production of compost and compost teas was used to develop compost tea regulations as stipulated by the National Organics Standards Board (NOSB). Dr. Ingram’s commitment to the promotion and protection of public health through food safety involves understanding how the physical, chemical and environmental dynamics of farming practices may influence the survival, persistence and dissemination of foodborne pathogens. He is currently integrating the science behind the science-based legislation associated with FSMA. He received his BS degree in Biology from Dickinson College, and both MS (Microbiology) and PhD (Food Science) degrees from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Carl Keen, PhD


Dr. Carl Keen has been a member of the nutrition faculty at the University of California, Davis since 1981. He was the Chairman of the Department of Nutrition from 1993 to 2006. He is a member of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences (ASNS), the American Society of Clinical Nutrition (ASCN), the Teratology Society, the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (SEBM), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Keen has more than 600 peer reviewed scientific publications.

The activities of Dr. Keen’s research group are currently focused in two areas; the investigation of the influence of maternal diet on the risk for pregnancy complications (maternal, conceptus, and fetal) and the influence of diet on the risk for age-related chronic diseases. Regarding the influence of diet on embryonic and fetal development, his group has been studying the acute and long-term consequences of micronutrient deficiencies on embryonic and fetal development for almost three decades. The majority of their efforts have been centered on the characterization of the effects of primary and secondary zinc and copper deficiencies. Recently this work has been focused on the effects of these deficiencies on oxidative stress in the conceptus, and its consequences, particularly with respect to the vascular system and the developing brain. Regarding the influence of diet and chronic disease, during the past decade his group’s work has been centered on the study of dietary factors that influence the risk for vascular disease. A current hypothesis in the laboratory is that a significant part of the positive cardiovascular health benefits associated with plant food rich diets can be attributed to their flavanol content. Dr. Keen received his PhD from the University of California, Davis.

SPEAKERS

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Michele Jay-Russell, DVM, MPVM, PhD


Dr. Michele Jay-Russell is Research Microbiologist and Manager, Western Center for Food Safety, University of California, Davis . Her research interests are in food safety and veterinary public health with an emphasis on the molecular epidemiology of enteric zoonotic foodborne pathogens. Recent work aims to understand the role of wildlife and domestic animals in the environmental dissemination of Campylobacter and E. coli O157 on dairy and produce farms. She is co-investigator on a large, multi-institutional study of the ecology and epidemiology of E. coli O157:H7 in a major produce production region in the central California coast. One of her key outreach goals is to work with stakeholders to develop co-management approaches to protect leafy green vegetables from microbial contamination while at the same time promoting environmental stewardship on farms. Dr. Jay-Russell has more than 15 years of experience working on the front-lines of state and local public health including oversight of California’s zoonotic disease program as State Public Health Veterinarian. She has her certification as a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (ACVPM) and post-doctoral (residency) training in epidemiology and microbiology with expertise in the investigation, surveillance, prevention and control of zoonotic diseases and animal-related injuries including rabies, hantaviruses, arenaviruses, plague, Q fever, leptospirosis, tularemia, E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter and other foodborne pathogens. Dr. Jay-Russell was a contributor to the first edition of the Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the lettuce and Leafy Greens Supply Chain, 2006 and was a founding member of the first Compendium of Measures to Prevent Disease Associated with Animals in Public Settings published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians. Dr. Jay-Russell received her DVM, MPVM, and PhD from University of California, Davis.

Kalmia Kniel, PhD


Dr. Kali Kniel is Professor of Animal and Food Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, at the University of Delaware. A virologist, Kniel specializes in the safety of fruits and vegetables, microbial food safety, food science and food processing. Her research includes understanding transmission, survival and risks associated with norovirus, hepatitis A virus, emerging enteric viruses, Salmonella species, and pathogenic E. coli species. Dr. Kniel is involved in numerous professional organizations, including the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), Capital Area Food Protection Association Affiliate, Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Southeastern Society of Parasitologists (SSP), American Society of Parasitologists (ASP), and American Association for Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP). Dr. Kniel received her BS in Biology, MS in Molecular Cell Biology, and PhD in Food Microbiology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.

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SPEAKERS

Bruce Knight


Mr. Bruce Knight is Principal and Founder of Strategic Conservation Solutions. As a consultant focused on conservation and environmental issues related to agriculture, Mr. Knight understands the potential value to his clients in agriculture, environment, wildlife and food systems of cutting-edge ideas and strategies such as carbon markets and other ecosystem services. Mr. Knight was the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 2006-2009. In this post, he provided leadership and oversight for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration. These agencies protect animals and plants and promote fair, open and orderly markets for U.S. agricultural products. From 2002 to 2006, Knight served as Chief of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. He is a third-generation rancher and farmer and lifelong conservationist. Mr. Knight attended South Dakota University.

Linda Lee, PhD


Dr. Linda Lee is Professor of the Department of Agronomy; Program Head for the Ecological Sciences & Engineering Interdisciplinary Graduate Program; and Courtesy Faculty in the Division of Environmental Ecological Engineering at Purdue University. Her research emphasis is on understanding the processes that govern environmental fate and remediation of contaminants in soils, sediments, biosolids, streams and groundwater for use in mitigating contamination, decision tools and management guidelines for industrial and agricultural settings. Current research involves contaminants of emerging concern including hormones, bisphenol alternatives, per/polyfluorinated substances, and compounds associated with pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Dr. Lee is a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Beneficial Reuse of Residuals and Reclaimed Water: Impact on Soil Ecosystem and Human Health (W3170). She received her BS in Chemistry, MS in Environmental Engineering Sciences, and PhD in Soil Chemistry and Contaminant Hydrology from the University of Florida.

SPEAKERS

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Susan Mayne, PhD


Dr. Susan T. Mayne is the Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this position, Dr. Mayne leads the center’s development and implementation of programs and policies related to the composition, quality, safety, and labeling of foods, food and color additives, and cosmetics. CFSAN also oversees diet and health initiatives, which include fostering the development of healthier foods and ensuring that consumers have access to accurate and useful information to make healthy food choices. The FDA foods program is responsible for approximately 80% of the U.S. food supply, which includes approximately $400 billion in domestic food and $50 billion in imported food. The Center is comprised of 1,000 staff with a budget of more than $300 million.

An internationally recognized public health leader and scientist, Dr. Mayne received a BA in chemistry from the University of Colorado. She earned a PhD in nutritional sciences, with minors in biochemistry and toxicology, from Cornell University. She came to the FDA from Yale University, where she was the C.-E.A. Winslow Professor of Epidemiology and the Associate Director of the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Howard Mielke, PhD

Emerging Topics Connecting Human Health to Soil Health

Dr. Howard Mielke is Professor, Department of Pharmacology, at the Tulane University School of Medicine. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Mielke held a joint appointment in the Department of Chemistry and the Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities. His current research focuses on environmental signaling in medicine. Earlier, Dr. Mielke’s work provided the scientific basis for proactive soil lead exposure prevention after research associated environmental sources of lead with childhood lead poisoning in inner city environments. His research has influenced policy for the removal of lead from gasoline, supported revised lead laws in New Orleans, Michigan, Canada, Mexico, Peru, the European Union, and Norway, and aided soil lead intervention in Vietnam. Dr. Mielke has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in scientific journals, books and proceedings and has served on editorial boards of scientific journals. Dr. Mielke is a member of the Society of Environmental Geochemistry and Health, the International Society for Children’s Health and the Environment, the Society of Toxicology, and the American Chemical Society. He received his BA in Biology, Chemistry and Geography from Macalester College, and his MS and PhD in Biology and Geography from the University of Michigan.

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SPEAKERS

Warren Miller

Welcome, Goals, and Overview

Mr. Warren Miller is Founder & President, Fountainworks, a management and public policy consulting firm, specializing in public-sector strategy for government agencies, membership organizations, educational institutions, and non-profits.

Mr. Miller has worked extensively with local, state and federal government agencies, universities and community organizations. Clients include: Farm Foundation, National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture, Compass Group, Procter and Gamble, Cisco, Duke University, NC State University, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Florida, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Transportation, and Rockefeller Foundation.

Mr. Miller has served as an adjunct professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. He also served as Policy Director to former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt.

Daphne Miller, MD

Wrap-Up and Summary - Day I

Dr. Daphne Miller is Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); and Project Scientist, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. She founded WholeFamily MD, San Francisco’s first integrative primary care medical practice, in the Fall of 2001. Her mission was to reclaim the heart of medicine by focusing on patients rather than on the business and red tape. Over the ensuing years the practice has grown, but Dr. Miller has not strayed from her early vision. She welcomes the challenge of medical mysteries and enjoys helping patients tackle complex and vexing health problems. Dr. Miller is a Bravewell Fellow with the University of Arizona Program in Integrative Medicine and an Associate Professor at UCSF where she teaches nutrition and integrative medicine. Since 2005, she has consistently been elected by her peers for inclusion in Best Doctors in America. Dr. Miller has authored two best-selling books: The Jungle Effect: The Healthiest Diets from Around the World, Why They Work and How to Make Them Work for You and Farmacology: Total Health from the Ground Up. Dr. Miller is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Medical School and completed her family medicine residency and an NIH-funded primary care research fellowship at UCSF.

Patricia Millner, PhD


Dr. Patricia Millner is a Research Microbiologist at the Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Lab, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Her long-term research objective is to develop and translate fundamental agroecological knowledge into recommendations and products to improve the economic position of organic farmers and to improve their ability to meet consumer demand for organic products. She works to develop component technologies and management strategies that lead to improved productivity, enhanced soil and water conservation, and efficient nutrient cycling on organic farms. In addition, she seeks to understand agroecological principles that drive the function of organic cropping systems and quantify ecosystem services.

SPEAKERS

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David Montgomery, PhD

Soil Health - Human Health Connections: Introduction from the Soil Science Community

Dr. David Montgomery is Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he is a member of the Quaternary Research Center. His research addresses the evolution of topography and the influence of geomorphological processes on ecological systems and human societies. His published work includes studies of the role of topsoil in human civilization. In 2016, Montgomery published The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health, a collaboration with Anne Biklé. The book addresses the relationship between microbial life, plants and people. His most recent work is Growing A Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life. He received his BS in geology at Stanford University and his PhD in geomorphology from UC Berkeley.

Keeve Nachman, MHS, PhD


Dr. Keeve Nachman is Director of the Center for a Livable Future’s Food Production and Public Health Program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Nachman leads investigations of the public health and environmental impacts of industrial agriculture, with particular interest in livestock and poultry production. He also is on the faculty of the Departments of Environmental Health and Engineering and Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Nachman’s research program focuses on the human health risks posed by drugs used in food animals. His research interests include the public health and environmental consequences of industrial food animal and crop production; chemical and microbial food safety; risk assessment and communication; regulatory approaches to synthesis of scientific evidence in decision-making; and transparency in federal rulemaking. Publications include studies of antibiotic use in food animals and the development of antibiotic resistance, the use of arsenicals in poultry production, and environmental health policy and decision-making. Dr. Nachman received his MHS and PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

LaKisha Odom, PhD


Dr. LaKisha Odom is Scientific Program Director of The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). She uses innovative science and interdisciplinary thinking to tackle today’s complex challenges in food and agriculture. Dr. Odom developed her passions for the inter-sectional space of research and policy while working at the U.S. EPA in the Office of Research and Development and the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response’s Brownfield’s Redevelopment Program. In her academic career at Tuskegee University, she continued to seek out opportunities to work in interdisciplinary and collaborative science as a Create-IGERT fellow and as a researcher at Teagasc Research facility in Carlow, Ireland. She then had the opportunity to serve as an Early Career Intern for the Public Policy Board of the American Phytopathologicial Society. In 2013, Dr. Odom became an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Biotechnology Regulatory Service where she managed a diverse portfolio which included working with the OECD Working Group for the Harmonization of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology. Dr. Odom

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SPEAKERS

received her BS in Environmental Science from Tuskegee University, her MA in Environmental Resource Policy from The George Washington University and her PhD in Integrative Biosciences Tuskegee University.

Jennnifer Otten, PhD


Dr. Jennifer Otten is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington (UW) with expertise in public health nutrition, food and nutrition policy and food systems. She also serves as Co-Founder and Co-Director of UW’s Livable City Year, a new initiative that enables local governments to tap into the talents and energy of students and faculty at the UW to accomplish critical projects aimed at improving livability and sustainability. Apart from her academic and research appointments, Otten has served on food system policy-related task forces, working groups, and commissions for the State of Washington, the City of Seattle, and King County. Prior to her position at the University of Washington, Otten was communications director of the National Academy of Medicine and study director for the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies in Washington D.C. Dr. Otten’s research focuses on the impacts of policy and the policy process on food systems and public health, with an emphasis on diet- and lifestyle-related health. She has a broad background in public health nutrition, with formal training in nutrition and policy research and evaluation, and more than 8 years of experience working in the area of federal policy at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. The overarching goal of her research is to determine whether program and policy interventions are effective for improving public health outcomes, particularly given other available evidence-based alternatives, and to strengthen the processes needed to support evidence-based decision-making. Dr. Otten holds a BS in Nutritional Sciences from Texas A&M University, an MS in Nutrition Communications from Tufts University, and a PhD in Animal, Food, and Nutrition Sciences from the University of Vermont. She completed her postdoctoral training in prevention medicine at Stanford University and her dietetics internship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Jerome Paulson, MD

Soil Health - Human Health Connections: Introduction from the Medical Community

Dr. Jerome Paulson is the medical director of the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit-East Program and of the Climate Change Initiative for the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences and Professor Emeritus of Environmental & Occupational Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at GW. For more than a decade, Dr. Paulson served as the director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Environmental Health, the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) that serves Federal Region 3 – DC, VA, WV, MD, DE and PA. Currently, he is the pediatric consultant to MACCHE. He is the past chairperson of the executive committee of the Council on Environmental Health of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He also has also served as a special assistant to the director of the National Center on Environmental Health of the CDC working on children’s environmental health issues. Dr. Paulson holds a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland and an MD from Duke University. He did his residency training in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Hospitals and Sinai Hospital, both in Baltimore, MD, as well as a fellowship in ambulatory pediatrics at Sinai Hospital.

SPEAKERS

20

Lily Pereg, PhD


Dr. Lily Pereg is Associate Professor at the University of New England (Australia), School of Science and Technology. A microbial ecologist with a 25-year research experience in plant, soil and benthos microbiology, she leads research ranging from fundamental molecular aspects of host-microbial interactions and their genetic regulations to applied aspects of microbial diversity and function in natural and agricultural systems, plant pathology, nitrogen cycle, soil health and the relationship of soil biodiversity to human microbiome and health. Dr. Pereg is Acting President of the Soil System Sciences Division of the European Geosciences Union and until recently has been the Chair of the Soil Biology, Microbiology and Biodiversity subdivision. She is an Executive Editor of the international scientific journal SOIL and a guest editor and referee in other journals. Dr. Pereg’s group has formed close collaborations on soil and plant microbial ecology with international, national and regional researchers with outcomes that can benefit the public, scientific community and industry. Dr. Pereg received her BSc (Ecology) from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. She received her MSc from Tel-Aviv University, and PhD in Plant-microbial interactions from Sydney University, Australia.

Christian Peters, PhD


Dr. Christian Peters is Associate Professor at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. His research interests lie in the developing field of sustainability science, within the thematic area of food systems. Within this broad, transdisciplinary field, Dr. Peters focuses on the modeling of food systems. To date, he has used quantitative modeling approaches to explore four major topics: (1) land requirements of the human diet, (2) the human carrying capacity of agricultural land resources, (3) the potential of local and regional production systems to supply food needs, and (4) feed needs of livestock systems. Dr. Peters is perhaps most well-known for his spatial analysis of potential local foodsheds, providing a concrete example of a term that has resonated with the local and regional food movements. As a result of this experience, Dr. Peters was invited to lead a research team within the USDA-funded project entitled “Enhancing Food Security of Underserved Populations in the Northeast through Sustainable Regional Food Systems” (EFSNE). The “Scenarios and Modeling Team” includes all modelers on the EFSNE project and is charged with the development of scenarios and the identification of opportunities for linking models. Dr. Peters accepted this role in hopes of integrating biophysical and economic models of regional food systems. Finally, Dr. Peters seeks to understand the contribution that modeling has made to the knowledge base related to the sustainability of food systems. Dr. Peters received his BS in Environmental Sciences from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He received his MS and PhD in Soil and Crop Sciences from Cornell University.

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SPEAKERS

Daniel Richter, PhD


Dr. Daniel Richter is Professor of Soils and Forest Ecology, Environmental Science & Policy Division, Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment. His research focuses on how humanity is transforming Earth’s soils from natural to human-natural systems, specifically how land-uses alter soil processes and properties. The research examines decadal to millennial changes in the chemistry and cycling of soil C, N, P, Ca, K, Mg, and trace elements B, Fe, Mn, Cu, Be, Zr, and Zn across full soil profiles as deep as 30-m. Since 1988, Dr. Richter has directed the Long-Term Calhoun Soil-Ecosystem Experiment (LTSE) that quantifies how soils form as natural bodies and are transformed by human action. In 2005, Dr. Richter and students initiated the first comprehensive international inventory project of the world’s LTSEs, using an advanced-format website that has networked metadata from 250 LTSEs. Dr. Richter received his B.A. from Lehigh University and PhD from Duke University.

Steven Shafer, PhD

Welcome, Goals, and Overview

Dr. Steven Shafer, PhD, is Interim Chief Scientific Officer of the Soil Health Institute (SHI). He is responsible for developing and establishing scientific priorities, direction and strategy of SHI research programs. Dr. Shafer joined SHI after a career spanning more than 32 years in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Dr. Shafer served as Associate Administrator for National Programs in the USDA-ARS where he was the senior leader and manager for planning, prioritizing and budgeting. Earlier, he served as Director of ARS’ Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, USDA’s largest research installation located just outside Washington, DC; ARS Deputy Administrator for Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems national research programs; Senior Advisor for Climate Science in the Office of the Chief Scientist, USDA; Area Director for all research in ARS’ 8-state Midwest Area; and Research Plant Pathologist in ARS’ Air Quality-Plant Growth and Development Research Unit at Raleigh, NC, with concurrent faculty appointment in the Plant Pathology and Soil Science departments at North Carolina State University. Dr. Shafer received his BS and MS in Plant Pathology from The Ohio State University and his PhD in Plant Pathology from North Carolina State University.

SPEAKERS

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Andrew Sharpley, PhD

Review of Day 1

Dr. Andrew Sharpley is Distinguished Professor of Soils and Water Quality with the Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas System. His research investigates nutrient cycling of soil-plant-water systems in relation to agricultural production conservation and water quality. He works closely with producers, farmers and action agencies, stressing the dissemination and application of his research. He leads an on-farm program (Arkansas Discovery Farms) to quantify the effectiveness of conservation practices to reduce nutrient runoff, protect water quality, and promote sustainable of farming systems.

He was 2017 President of the Soil Science Society of America; is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America Soil, and Soil Water Conservation Society. In 2008, he was inducted into the USDA-ARS Hall of Fame, in 2012 he received the Christopher Columbus Foundation Agriscience Award, and in 2011 he received the Soil and Water Conservation Society Hugh Hammond Bennett Award. He serves on National Academy of Science Panels and EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Joshua Steffan, PhD


Dr. Joshua Steffan is Assistant Professor of Agriculture and Biology at Dickinson State University. He teaches courses for both the Department of Natural Sciences and the Department of Agriculture and Technical Studies including agronomy, soil science, microbiology, cell biology, and immunology. His research interests include understanding multiple aspects of cancer progression and prevention focused on the role of lysosome trafficking in tumor cell invasion, the role of natural products in cancer prevention and treatment, and other inhibitors of the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway. Dr. Steffan’s current research projects include plant-microbial interactions utilizing metagenomic sequencing and analysis, alterations in soil ecosystems including changes within the soil microbial community, the effect of soils on human health, and molecular mechanisms of cancer progression. Dr. Steffan received his BS in Environmental Health from Dickinson State University and his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport.

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SPEAKERS

Mary Stromberger, PhD


Dr. Mary Stromberger is the Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Colorado State University and a Professor of Soil Microbiology in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. She is nationally and internationally recognized for her research in soil ecosystem services and soil-plant microbiomes, particularly in the area of plant-microbial interactions for improved drought tolerance of winter wheat. Dr. Stromberger is a Fellow in the Soil Science Society of America and recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award, for which she studied earthworm-microbial interactions in Dublin, Ireland. She is an active leader in the Soil Science Society of America and Agronomy Society of America, and was Associate Editor for the Soil Science Society of America Journal (2009-2014) and chair of the Soil Biology and Biochemistry Division of SSSA in 2014. Dr. Stromberger received her BS degree in Biology from West Chester University, PA, her MS in Soil Science from University of Delaware, and her PhD in soil science from Oregon State University.

Luis Tupas, PhD


Dr. Luis “Louie” Tupas is the Deputy Director for Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment at the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Dr. Tupas provides national leadership to address global change and climate impacts on agriculture, forestry and other landscapes; advance bioenergy and bioproducts development and expansion of bioeconomy; and produce strategies for natural resources utilization and environmental systems management through research, education and extension programs. He is a representative to national and international scientific committees, working groups and task forces; collaborates with various USDA and federal agencies for joint activities; works with the US Public and Land Grant University System through sponsored research, education and outreach programs; acts as liaison to underrepresented and underserved communities and stakeholders; and engages state and local organizations in activities related to global change, the bioeconomy and the environment.

SPEAKERS

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Jason Unrine, PhD


Dr. Jason Unrine is Associate Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment and a member of the graduate faculty of the Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology in the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky. His research focuses on understanding the fate, bioavailability and adverse ecological and human health effects of trace-elements and manufactured nanomaterials with an emphasis on soil and food chain exposure. His group obtained some of the first evidence showing that engineered nanomaterials can enter food chains in agroecosystems. He has authored more than 100 peer reviewed journal articles and numerous book chapters on a wide range of topics related to nanomaterials and trace elements. He serves on numerous advisory boards and is a member of the steering committee and leader of the cellular and organismal impacts theme of the Center for Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology (CEINT), Associate Editor at Environmental Chemistry, and is an executive board member for the International Society of Trace Element Biogeochemistry (ISTEB). Dr. Unrine received his BS in Biology from Antioch College and PhD in Toxicology from the University of Georgia.

Carl Wepking, PhD


Dr. Carl Wepking is the Executive Director of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (GSBI) based out of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES) and a post-doctoral fellow in Biology at Colorado State University. The goal of the GSBI is to provide a platform for promoting the translation of expert knowledge on soil biodiversity into environmental policy and sustainable land management for the protection and enhancement of ecosystem services. As a researcher, he is an ecologist focused on soil, soil biota and ecosystems. Specifically, he is interested in how soils and soil functions are impacted by human activities. One such project addressed how exposure to livestock antibiotics alters the soil microbiome and, in turn, ecosystem-scale functions. He received his BS in Environmental Science from St. Norbert College, his MS in Environmental Science from Washington State University, and his PhD in Biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University where he was also named an Interfaces of Global Change Fellow within the Global Change Center.

Paul Wolfe, JD


Mr. Paul Wolfe is a Program Officer in the Mississippi River program for the Walton Family Foundation. At the Foundation he works on supply chain initiatives, ecosystems restoration, and conservation policy. Prior to joining the Foundation in June 2018 Mr. Wolfe worked for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition focusing on crop insurance, agricultural conservation and climate change. He’s also worked on sustainability and food issues in the U.S. Senate for Senators Maria Cantwell and Tim Johnson. Mr. Wolfe holds a BA in Political Science from Gonzaga University and a JD from the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law.

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SPEAKERS

Mulumbet (Millie) Worku, PhD


Dr. Mulumebet Worku is Professor of Animal Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Her research has contributed to the definition of animal genetic diversity in inflammation including research on the impact of diatomaceous earth, soil microbes and parasites and plant bioactive substance such as polyphenols on innate immune gene expression. Current research interests focus on sustainable approaches for harnessing genomic diversity and development of human capital for global food security and one health. Dr. Worku started working at the US FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and research as Staff Fellow, moving to the USDA Agricultural Research Service in 1996, where she took up the role of Research Biologist. She has pioneered research in animal health-related probiotics and ruminant immune response biomarkers. She is interested in genomic diversity, system approaches to increase natural resistance, food safety and food security. Dr Worku is an affiliate and board member of the Agromedicien Institute. Dr. Worku received her BS in Animal Science from Addis Ababa University. She received her MS and PhD in Animal Science from The University of Maryland.

Catherine Woteki, PhD


Dr. Catherine Woteki is Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University. From 2010-2016, she served as Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area. In that role, she developed the Office of the Chief Scientist, established the USDA Science Council, and instituted the first scientific integrity and open data policies. Prior to joining USDA, Dr. Woteki served as Global Director of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for Mars, Incorporated, where she managed the company’s scientific policy on matters of health, nutrition, and food safety. From 2002-2005, she was Dean of Agriculture and Professor of Human Nutrition at Iowa State University, and also head of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Dr. Woteki served as the first Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 1997-2001, where she oversaw the safety of meat, poultry and egg products. She served in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as Deputy Associate Director for Science from 1994 to1996. Dr. Woteki has also held positions in the National Center for Health Statistics of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1983-1990), the Human Nutrition Information Service at USDA (1981-1983), and as Director of the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences (1990-1993). Dr. Woteki’s research interests include nutrition, food safety policy, risk assessment and health survey design and analysis. She is the author of more than 60 refereed scientific articles and 12 books and technical reports. Dr. Woteki was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, where she has chaired the Food and Nutrition Board (2003 to 2005). She received her BS in Biology and Chemistry from Mary Washington College and her MS and PhD in Human Nutrition from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

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LOCATIONS

FUNCTION ROOM

Conference Office Quorum Board Room

Breakfast (both days) Pinnacle Pre-Function

General Sessions (both days) Pinnacle Grand Ballroom

Breaks (both days) Pinnacle Pre-Function

Lunch (Tuesday) Connection

Reception (Tuesday) Connection

Lunch (Wednesday) Pinnacle Grand Ballroom

Breakout Discovery

Breakout Leadership

Breakout Collaboration

Breakout Inspiration I

Breakout Inspiration II

Breakout Connection I

Breakout Connection II-III

Breakout Council

COUNCIL

INNOVATION

AMBASSADORQUORUMBOARDROOM

MEZZANINE LEVEL LOBBY LEVEL

INSPIRATIONI

INSPIRATIONII

PINNACLEGRAND

DISCOVERY

COLLABORATION

PRE-FUNCTION

LEADERSHIP

CONNECTION

I

II III

SECOND LEVEL

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PLANNING COMMITTEE

Steven Shafer, PhD Soil Health Institute – Lead and Co-Organizer

Andrew Sharpley, PhD University of Arkansas and Soil Science Society of America – Co-Organizer

Jose Centeno, PhD U.S. Food and Drug Administration – Co-Organizer

Eric Brevik, PhD Dickinson State University

Patricia Bright United States Geological Survey

Gregory Evanylo, PhD Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Alan Franzluebbers, PhD United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service

Naomi Fukagawa, MD, PhD United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service

Fred Kirschenmann, PhD Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

James Montgomery, PhD DePaul University

LaKisha Odom, PhD Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

Geoffrey Plumlee, PhD United States Geological Survey

Andrew Smith, PhD Rodale Institute

Brenda Stahl, PhD CropLife America

Ester Sztein, PhD National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Janice Thies, PhD Cornell University

Sarah Zoubek World Food Policy Center, Duke University

Jennifer Zuckerman World Food Policy Center, Duke University

The NationalAcademies of

SCIENCESENGINEERINGMEDICINE

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CONFERENCE on CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SOIL HEALTH and HUMAN HEALTH

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CONFERENCE on CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SOIL HEALTH and HUMAN HEALTH

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