UTIA is dedicated to implementing proactive measures that address the complex challenges facing agriculture. We embrace a holistic approach to foster resilience and prosperity within local, national, and global food systems.

Improving and Protecting a Top Commodity

“Tennessee farmers produce for a global economy that needs food and nutrition security,” says Stefan Maupin, executive director of the Tennessee Soybean Promotion Council. “The more we produce, the more people are fed. It is just that simple.”

That’s hard to dispute. Soybeans are among the most valuable commodities globally. They are a major source of protein and oil for humans as well as for animal feed. Tennessee soybean farmers earn approximately $1 billion annually for their harvest. UTIA plant scientist Vince Pantalone, along with colleagues throughout his twenty-seven-year career, is responsible for a mound of that money reaching the pockets of local producers—$150 million in revenue for Tennessee producers and approximately $1.3 billion benefit to the region.

A plant breeder and geneticist, Pantalone works to protect and enhance soybeans. His lab develops high-yielding cultivars resistant to pests and adapted to the region’s climate, soil, and cultural practices.

In 2024, Tarek Hewezi, also a professor in the UT Department of Plant Sciences, and Pantalone announced the discovery of a new gene for SCN Race 2 resistance. Since then, a team led by Pantalone has been working to develop a SCN Race 2-resistant variety. Field testing is ongoing at two UT AgResearch and Education Centers to determine which might be best for potential commercialization. This work also is supported by the 2025 UT Knoxville Chancellor’s Innovation Award, which recognizes outstanding faculty efforts that might lead to commercial products.

Throughout his career, Pantalone has released twenty-one commercial soybean cultivars and filed fourteen invention disclosures with the UT Research Foundation. He holds three patents, including a utility patent with Hewezi for their recent collaboration.

Improving yields and sustaining the productivity of one of the nation’s top crops—that’s quite a hill, or row, of beans.

Combating Avian Influenza: A Global Threat

Team member Shigetoshi Eda, professor in the UT School of Natural Resources, is working to detect infection before symptoms appear, a critical step in stopping HPAI. Eda and Alaa Sewid, a postdoctoral researcher in his lab, have developed rapid, field-deployable methods that use a novel molecular biological approach. Collaboration is underway with a private company that specializes in the development, validation, and commercialization of such devices.

Another member is Jacquline Risalvato, director of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s virology and immunology diagnostic laboratory, which opened a poultry unit in spring 2025 to support the commercial producers and backyard owners. The lab is working to attain critical certifications to provide approved mycoplasma, salmonella, and avian influenza testing platforms. Following that, the unit can apply to join the National Animal Health Laboratory Network and help respond to HPAI and other health emergencies by testing large numbers of samples.

Yang Zhao, associate professor in animal science who holds the title UT AgResearch Guthrie Endowed Professor in Precision Livestock, models airborne HPAI transmission and studies the use of air filters to prevent the spread of dust particles that could carry the virus. A project led by Zhao, Risalvato, and Liz Eckelkamp, associate professor in animal science, has recently been funded to further these efforts.

For now, biosecurity is the only way to combat avian influenza. UT Extension poultry specialist Tom Tabler promotes biosecurity. Tabler and Shawn Hawkins, professor of biosystems engineering and soil science and Extension engineer, are trained and deployed by the US Department of Agriculture to properly dispose of infected birds in commercial facilities.

UTIA researchers aim to develop more prevention and detection strategies while the HPAI One Health working group pushes research boundaries into combating HPAI through other methodologies in the future, such as novel engineering controls, earlier diagnostic interventions, and vaccine trials.

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