International Institute at Ļć½¶Ö±²„announces 2026 Global Development Seed Grant cohort
Contact: Chance Carden
STARKVILLE, Miss.āUnder the umbrella of the universityās International Institute, Mississippi State is launching a new round of globally focused research through the International Research Development Office and its Global Development Seed Grant program.
The 2026 GDSG cohort includes six awardees initiating projects spanning climate resilience, community health, sustainable agriculture, mineral innovation and social development across the world. The program continues MSUās commitment to building impactful international partnerships and positioning faculty for competitive external funding.
āWe are excited to support faculty as they launch work that strengthens MSUās international engagement and creates new opportunities for collaboration,ā said International Institute Deputy Director Masey Smith. āThis cohort demonstrates how Ļć½¶Ö±²„researchers are advancing practical, globally relevant solutions in collaboration with partners around the world.ā
The 2026 awardees are:
āGeorge Awuni, Extension Specialist I, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. āSurvey of Smallholder Farmers on Challenges and Opportunities of Soybean Production and Weed Management Practices in Ethiopiaā with Ļć½¶Ö±²„co-principal investigator Amadeo Panyi, Department of Agricultural Economics. Awuniās project will gather muchāneeded economic and safety data comparing manual weeding and herbicide use among Ethiopian soybean farmers. Findings will inform future extension programs, policy decisions and sustainable weed management strategies.
āPadmanava Dash, Professor, Department of Geosciences. āIntegrated Satellite Observations and System Dynamics Modeling to Advance the Resilience of Chilika Lakeā with Ļć½¶Ö±²„co-principal investigator Prakash Jha, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. Dashās team will expand MSUās longāterm water quality and ecosystem resilience research in Indiaās Chilika Lake by integrating satellite data, vegetation modeling and system dynamics frameworks. Working with partners in the UK and India, the project will enhance predictive tools used for climate adaptation and lagoon management.
āRinat Gabitov, Associate Professor, Department of Geosciences. āRare Earth Uptake by Apatite: Implications for Critical Mineral Formationā with Ļć½¶Ö±²„co-principal investigator Vaughn Reed, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. Gabitovās interdisciplinary project will explore how apatite incorporates rare earth elements under hydrothermal conditions. Findings will strengthen international collaboration with Austriaās TU Graz University of Technology and will contribute to global understanding of critical mineral formation needed for cleanāenergy technologies.
āCaroline Kobia, Associate Professor, School of Human Sciences. āA ThreeāPhase Initiative for Sustainable Menstrual Hygiene, Education Access, Community Development, and Economic Innovation in Kenyaā with Ļć½¶Ö±²„co-principal investigator Kristen CockrellāBarnett, Department of Communication, Media and Theatre. Kobiaās team will implement Phase 2 of a multiāphase initiative in Kenyan communities, delivering reusable pad production training, menstrual hygiene education and baseline data collection.
āLeyla Rios de Alvarez, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences. āNatural Control of Coccidiosis in Small Ruminants.ā Rios will develop an international research partnership to strengthen natural approaches for controlling coccidiosis in goats and sheep. The seed grant will support laboratory training in Canada and collaborative groundwork that will prepare for a larger in vivo study with industry partners.
āAnna Grace Tribble, Extension Specialist I, Department of Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion. āBuilding a Community Mental Health Assessment and Screening Framework in Dhading District, Nepal.ā Tribble and partners at WEāNepal and Stanford University will pilot digital and ināperson modes of depression screening while training local health volunteers and community facilitators. This work will lay the foundation for a scalable rural mentalāhealth assessment model.
As the sole awardee in the 2025 GDSG cohort, Assistant Professor Lourdes Cardozo Gaibisso, who specializes in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages within MSUās Department of English, led a major TESOL teacher development initiative. She used the competitive internal grant to launch a cross-national professional development model designed to strengthen English language instruction in both Mississippi and Uruguay. In partnership with Universidad ORT Uruguay, the project blended in-person workshops, virtual communities and transnational collaboration to create a scalable, theoretically grounded approach to ESOL teacher professional learning.
āESOL teachers are often doing the best they can within very complex systems,ā Cardozo Gaibisso said. āWe wanted to build a professional space where they felt connected, supported, and grounded in strong pedagogical principles, regardless of whether they were teaching in Uruguay or in Mississippi.ā
To learn more about the Global Development Seed Grant program, contact Ļć½¶Ö±²„International Institute Project Manager Chance Carden at ccarden@international.msstate.edu and visit .
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