Lincoln University Graduate Student Wins Second Place in International Poster Contest

Prabesh Koirala, a graduate student in Lincoln University's College of Agriculture, Environmental and Human Sciences, earned second place for his poster at the ASA-CSSA-SSA International Conference (Canvas) last November.

Lincoln University’s own Prabesh Koirala won second place in a poster contest at an international conference in San Antonio, Texas, last November.

Koirala is a graduate student at LU’s College of Agriculture, Environmental and Human Sciences. He researches industrial hemp in the Molecular Biology and Genomics Laboratory under Dr. Babu Valliyodan.

The ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Conference — also known as Canvas — is an annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America, representing the brightest minds in each field.

Koirala attended the conference from November 10-13 thanks to a travel award from the National Science Foundation, which covered his travel, food and lodging.

At the conference, Koirala joined other attendees in hundreds of sessions to learn about advances in soil, crop, environmental and agronomy sciences.

He also participated in a multi-disciplinary poster competition focused on integrating physiology, genomics, breeding and AI. Koirala’s poster — “Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Greenhouse Gases in Industrial Hemp Farming System” — took second place in the competition.

The poster highlighted industrial hemp’s promise as a resilient, carbon-negative crop and looked at its long-term potential for fuel and feed uses.

Koirala authored the poster alongside Joshua Asiamah, Kusum Raj Tamang, Sakina Mahdi, Christian Carson and Valliyodan.

“Our lab does science stuff mostly on hemp and legumes," Koirala said. "I’m more focused on the hemp side and I mostly look at the viability and sustainability of hemp. Specifically, I’ve been looking at its photosynthesis, carbon capture and fixing mechanisms."

He said industrial hemp has many uses — for phytoremediation, sustainable farming, human health and more.

As was showcased in the winning poster, the team is currently focused on the fiber and grain quality and plant performances of industrial hemp.

Koirala said he and his fellow researchers work hard, and the chance to travel to conferences and present their research is a big source of motivation.

“It’s a really nice opportunity to go out and get some appreciation from faculty, experts and others in the field,” Koirala said.