1999 Research
When Dr. William Dooley asked for Maryland soybean
checkoff funds to support a small study last year, he hoped to plant a
seed that would yield an increased interest in the benefits of dietary use
of soy within the medical community.
A year later, he has done just that.
"When I spoke to you last year," he reported, "soybean research and phytochemical research was in its infancy and still not widely accepted at many of the major centers.
"Since that time, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Mayo and UCLA have all developed or are in the process of developing phytochemical centers to test the effect of dietary supplements on common diseases such as breast cancer and heart disease."
The interest has lead to two separate upcoming clinical trials in Maryland " one to test the effects of soybean products on the growth rate of breast tumors in women diagnosed with premalignant disease, and the other to test soy protein's ability to control post-menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, which Dooley says often plagues women after completion of breast cancer therapy.
Dooley, who is chief of breast surgery for Johns
Hopkins Hospital and director of the Comprehensive Breast Center for the
Johns Hopkins Oncology Center in Baltimore, received $14,841 in checkoff
funds to support his work.
Maryland soybean farmers contribute to the checkoff
fund at the first point of sale for their soybeans. The assesment rate is
one-half of one percent, which is distributed by the Maryland Soybean
Board to support research, marketing and education projects.
The checkoff board funded a total of $75,413 in
upcoming research projects.
Here’s a rundown of the projects:
•$3,200 to Dr. Robert Kratochvil and Dr. William
Kenworthy to evaluate edible soybean varieties and production practices
for Maryland crop systems and investigate market potential;
•$5,680 to Dr. Mark Holland to continue to study
the effects of a naturally occurring bacteria on the fertility of soybean
seeds;
•$4,500 to Carol Holko of the Maryland Department
of Agriculture to continue work that will establish natural parasites of
the corn earworm. The corn earworm migrates to soybean crops during the
growing season, becoming known then as soybean podworm;
•$9,870 to Deborah Cohen to continue to work on
commercially viable formulations for soy-based tortillas and flatbreads;
•a total of $10,500 to weed control specialist Dr.
Ron Ritter for three projects: to continue to study the use of genetically
engineered soybeans in Maryland for weed control; the control of ALS-resistant
weed species in beans; and control of newly introduced grass species.
•$10,692 to Dr. William Kenworthy to continue a
cooperative research project to develop soybean cultivars for Maryland
growers which will produce oil with low saturated fat and low linolenic
content;
•$10,130, also to Dr. Kenworthy, to hold annual
variety trials and to support his soybean development breeding program;
and
$6,000 to Betsy Gallagher, Dorchester County
Extension ag agent, et al, to continue to study the viability of remote
sensing technology to “scout” fields for insect, fertility, weed and
drought stresses.
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