The Cost of Discovery: Q&A

Matthew Moore explores virus-host interactions, detection, and control methods aimed at mitigating the public health and economic impacts of foodborne diseases. But when he’s not tackling infectious disease in the lab, he’s thinking about how he’ll fund his next scientific project—and how he’ll pass that critical knowledge on to the next generation of food scientists.

“One of the key skills in a traditional tenure-track research position is the ability to apply for and acquire funding,” says Moore, associate professor of food science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the 2024 recipient of IFT’s Outstanding Young Scientist Award in honor of Samuel Cate Prescott. “But getting funding is always a challenge.”

Though there never seem to be enough funds to cover all the worthy projects, Moore remains hopeful about change. “[In the United States,] we have first-class research in food science and a first-class food system,” he says. “I think we’re going to start understanding what our strength is and start putting money toward it.” Below, he talks about his work and offers tips for research funding success.

Before we delve into questions of research funding, could you briefly describe your work?

My work investigates human norovirus, a highly contagious pathogen that causes gastroenteritis. Often referred to as the “stomach flu,” norovirus is a leading cause of acute gastrointestinal illness worldwide and the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States. Because of its prevalence, it’s also one of the leaders in foodborne deaths—in fact, it has been estimated to be the fourth leading pathogen related to foodborne deaths.

What’s been your biggest challenge to securing research funding?

Norovirus is an extremely important pathogen with a number of properties that make it difficult to control. It exacts a significant public health and economic burden in the United States. Research funding is critically needed to try and stop its transmission, and yet funding is extremely competitive and hard to get. That’s the biggest challenge: there are so many great food safety and food science researchers out there, but unfortunately not as much money to go around.

What recommendations would you give to up-and-coming scientists looking to fund their research?

I’d tell the next generation of food scientists to lean on their mentors and learn by example. I was lucky to do my PhD [at North Carolina State University] with Lee-Ann Jaykus and my undergraduate research [at Cornell University] with Kathryn Boor—both were amazing mentors. I also had tremendous guidance at the Centers for Disease Control, where I did my postdoc. One of the things I do now as a mentor is periodically check in with my students about their career interests. For those who want to go into academia, I try to get them experience with grant writing. There are a lot of training and grant-writing programs out there, as well as predoctoral fellowships at the USDA, NSF, and NIH, which allow students to practice those skills. A lot of university departments, as part of their doctoral programs, have students write a grant. Here at UMass, your PhD qualifying exam includes writing a grant about a new topic, then proposing it to your committee. It is built into the process of getting a PhD because it is such an important skill.

What can be done to improve the funding situation?

I think amazing organizations like IFT need to continue advocating for increased food science research funding and raising awareness among policymakers about its importance. More lobbying is needed to emphasize the transformative work being done in the field and the challenges of securing adequate funding. Additionally, we as researchers need to cast a wider net by seeking alternative funding sources, such as nonprofit institutions and industry partnerships, to supplement limited public funding. Highlighting the critical research, teaching, and extension activities in the food space can help garner broader public and private support. Finally, public agencies like the USDA need greater funding in order to address the pressing challenges in food systems effectively.

What’s your sense for the future of food science research funding? Are you optimistic?

I would say I’m optimistic in the long term. At the end of the day, food is extremely important, and there is growing recognition of just how important it is. I think at a certain point a light bulb is going to collectively go off—not just for those who make broad funding decisions at the highest levels of government but more broadly in our society—of how do we address the fundamental barriers and emerging challenges to creating healthy, safe, sustainable foods? Economically, it benefits us to double down on our food system, as it is a national strength. I believe we can transform the landscape of food, not just for our country but for our species.

Tune in for an extended version of this conversation with Matthew Moore airing January 27, 2025, on IFT’s Omnivore podcast and read more about the state of food science research in the December/January issue of Food Technology magazine.