3 projects aim to tackle health and food system challenges

Michigan State University (MSU) AgBioResearch leaders have selected three projects to fund through the newly created Growing Healthy Together Initiative.

The projects align with the initiative’s goal of bringing together MSU scientists and partners from across campus and beyond to solve complex health challenges through transdisciplinary research. Listed below are the titles and summaries of these projects as well as the principal investigators who’ll be spearheading them:

Integrating Hospital Food Waste Valorization with Urban Agriculture to Advance Community Food Systems and Environmental Health in Detroit

Wei Liao, MSU Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering

This project leverages an opportunity at Henry Ford Health, where a newly approved biodigester will process source-separated hospital food waste to develop a circular model linking healthcare operations with urban agriculture. Researchers will evaluate how digestate (nutrient-rich byproducts) derived from hospital food waste can be safely and effectively used in urban agriculture systems.

The Urban Health Pipeline: Growing Detroit’s Future Leaders in Food and Medical Careers

Jenifer Fenton, MSU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition

By utilizing the MSU Tollgate Farm and Education Center as a “living laboratory,” this project connects K–8 students in southwest Detroit to sustainable agriculture, teaching them about growing food, nutrition and pathways into medical careers. The program will facilitate direct interaction between students from southwest Detroit and agricultural and nutrition experts within AgBioResearch and MSU Extension as well as healthcare professionals at Henry Ford Health, to foster curiosity and confidence in pursuing careers in food, agriculture and medicine. Co-collaborators from MSU include Jennifer Marcy, MSU Department of Religious Studies, and Barbie Kellner, MSU Extension.

Natural and Low-Cost Milk Extracts for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia

Chunqi Qian, MSU Department of Radiology

Michigan produces more milk than it can sell locally. Shipping the extra milk elsewhere is expensive and can cut into farmers’ profits. Meanwhile, Alzheimer’s disease, which is closely associated with poor blood flow and inflammation in the brain, remains a major health crisis in Michigan. This project will tackle these two problems at once, by innovatively repurposing extracts from fermented milk into a natural "ACE inhibitor" — like blood pressure medication — to relax blood vessels, reduce inflammation and improve brain blood flow without the side effects of synthetic drugs. The outcomes from this project could create high-value use for excess milk, giving dairy farmers a new, profitable market while providing a low-cost, natural tool to fight Alzheimer’s disease.

Each project will be granted $100,000 and will be funded for the next two years.

AgBioResearch Associate Director Kang Xia, who led the request for proposals, which was announced in February, said supporting this type of interdisciplinary, multi-institutional research is at the core of the AgBioResearch mission to advance agriculture, community resilience, environmental sustainability, food systems and health and nutrition in Michigan and worldwide.

The research funded by this program, she noted, contributes to the priorities set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“MSU scientists never cease to impress me with the ideas they bring to the table to find solutions to pressing needs in areas related to food, health and the environment,” Xia said. “What these projects show is how these systems are connected, and how the problems being experienced by each of them can be addressed simultaneously through collaborative, cross-disciplinary research. This work gets at the heart of MSU’s land-grant identity and is well aligned with USDA priorities. I’m so excited to see how Michiganders will benefit from it.”

Henry Ford Innovation Institute CEO Scott Dulchavsky said Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences, a partnership between the two institutions focused on reimagining the ways in which health and wellness are understood, advanced and delivered upon, is exemplified through these projects.

"It's exciting to see the truly innovative collaborations taking place between MSU and Henry Ford Health through these projects," said Dulchavsky, who also serves as the surgeon-in-chief at Henry Ford Health. "These proposals serve as just another example of the impact that's coming from Henry Ford + MSU Health Sciences, which was designed to grow the health of our state and all those living it. When world-class institutions come together like this to conduct interdisciplinary research that solves today's and tomorrow's problems, we as a state are better for it."

The Growing Healthy Together Initiative was announced by MSU AgBioResearch in February 2026.

Funded projects must have a clear benefit to the state of Michigan and address one or more objectives, including: integrating food, animal and crop agriculture, and human health; promoting environmental health and climate resilience; strengthening community well-being and food access; and enhancing integration across MSU research, teaching and Extension.

This story originally appeared on the AgBioResearch website.