Overview of the ASSURE program
The Animal Science Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (ASSURE) program is an initiative that provides under-resourced NC State Animal Science undergraduate students with hands-on research experiences, mentorship and career guidance, and education on communication and leadership practices.
The theme of our ASSURE program is Research Advancing Sustainability in Animal Production with a long-term goal to provide a diverse experiential learning environment that integrates research, mentorship, leadership, and communication to empower Animal Science graduates to be leaders and pursue successful careers in food animal production. One of the greatest challenges in food animal production is a need to meet the dietary demand of an ever-growing population, predicted to be more than 9 billion people in 2050 and reach 11.2 billion by 2100. That’s A LOT of mouths to feed. Since we currently do not have the capacity to feed 9 billion people, in the next 30 years we must dramatically improve food animal resources and increase production. To do this, we need innovation from a coordinated community of agricultural experts that work together to educate and empower future leaders in animal production.
ASSURE Team:
Dr. Melissa Merrill
Dr. Merrill is the Program Director for the Animal Science Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program. She is responsible for overall project management and coordination, including teaching many activities during the Professional Development sessions. She will also be responsible for student recruitment, applicant review, teach the spring Animal Science Safety and Ethics course, and review of the project assessment. She will be responsible for mentorship of returning ASSURE peer mentors as well as maintenance of the ASSURE website.
Dr. Joseph Donaldson
Dr. Donaldson will be responsible for applicant review and implementing the ASSURE’s comprehensive evaluation plan each year. Dr. Donaldson will also be responsible for supervising a summer intern each year who will assist with implementing the ASSURE comprehensive evaluation plan.
Dr. Katie McKee
Dr. McKee will be responsible for applicant review. She will also be responsible for the development and delivery of leadership sessions for Professional Development Fridays and will supervise a summer intern each year who will assist with this responsibility and work with ASSURE student participants on the development of their leadership portfolios. In addition, Dr. McKee will develop online learning modules for faculty mentors and supervise an undergraduate student each year who will assist in this responsibility and assist with assessment of the project.
Dr. Carrie Pickworth
Dr. Pickworth will be responsible for student recruitment and applicant review. She may also serve as a research mentor.