This proposal will strengthen umes research teaching and extension capabilities byinvestigating the impacts of contaminants of emerging concern (cecs) specifically microand nano plastics (mnps) on…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Maryland Eastern Shore $599,427 under the 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grants program (CFDA 10.216) on January 1, 2026, for research and educational capacity building focused on micro and nano plastics in seafood and marine systems.

The award funds three integrated objectives. The research component assesses the impact of micro and nano plastics on marine ecological systems and seafood safety, providing hands-on research experience to undergraduate and graduate students who will use the work to fulfill requirements for undergraduate research courses, summer internships, and thesis and dissertation requirements. The teaching objective leverages the research findings to enhance education and capacity-building in marine sciences and toxicology, with faculty incorporating contaminants of emerging concern into their courses and students conducting literature reviews for independent studies and thesis introductions. The outreach and extension objective disseminates research findings through existing community advisory committees and the Maryland Center for Benthic Paleocology's engagement networks with local seafood and farming industries to influence policy and drive industry practices toward sustainability.

Performance occurs at the Princess Anne, Maryland campus. The award period runs through December 31, 2028. The project supports executive orders on restoring American seafood competitiveness and the White House Initiative to promote excellence at historically Black colleges and universities.

This proposal will strengthen umes research teaching and extension capabilities byinvestigating the impacts of contaminants of emerging concern (cecs) specifically microand nano plastics (mnps) on seafood quality, marine health and long-term productivity.specific objectives: objective 1 [research]: assess mnps' impact on marine ecologicalsystems and seafood safety/quality and improve understanding of potential toxicologicalmechanisms. This research will provide hands-on research experience to undergraduateand graduate students. Undergraduate REU and graduate students will use their work tofulfill requirements for their undergraduate research (biol/chem/envs 499) summerinternships and thesis and dissertation requirements respectively. Objective 2 [teaching]:to leverage research on mnps in seafood to enhance education and capacity-building inmarine sciences and toxicology mainly focusing on the dangers of mnps to ecosystemsand human health. Faculty involved will incorporate the impacts of cecs on human andanimal health in the courses they teach. Undergraduate and graduate students willconduct literature reviews to fulfill independent studies (biol/chem/envs 498) andintroduction for the thesis/dissertation section respectively. Objective 3 [outreach andextension]: the research findings on mnps will be utilized to enhance public understandinginfluence policy and drive industry practices toward sustainability. Mcbp has developedan extensive community outreach network including citizen advisory science and technicaladvisory committees. In addition, the education team at mcbp has a long history ofengagement with local seafood and farming industries. These committees provide anexcellent forum to publicize and explain research outcomes. This project supportsexecutive orders on restoring american seafood competitiveness and white houseinitiative to promote excellence at hbcu.