Of 11 graduate students at seven U.S. universities receiving research grants from the U.S. Borlaug Fellows in Global Food Security Program, four are Cornell doctoral students.

The funding comes from the Purdue Center for Global Food Security, which is leading efforts to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers to help solve world hunger. It awarded a total of $175,000 for 11 research grants for student projects in 10 countries as part of the U.S. Borlaug Fellows in Global Food Security Program. The funding for the grants is through a five-year, $5 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“The recipients of U.S. Borlaug grants this year are solidly focused on addressing the challenges of food security globally – from developing disease-resistant eggplant rootstocks in Bangladesh to improving distribution channels in Uganda,” says Gebisa Ejeta, director of the Purdue Center for Global Food Security.

Grants from this round are $8,000 to $20,000 for projects lasting from six months to a year and are intended to provide support for graduate students interested in conducting critical food security research toward a master’s or doctoral degree. The Cornell recipients and their research projects are:

• Matthew Stasiewicz, $14,990: “Local Hammer Mills as the Focal Point for Mycotoxin Control in Kenya”;
• Timothy Gorman, $20,000: “The Tides of Change: Water Access, Livelihood Resilience and Food Security in the Coastal Mekong Delta”;
• Rebakah Minarchek, $16,544: “Creating Commodities in Halimun National Forest (Indonesia): Changing Market Access and the Impact on Food Security and Gender Relations”; and
• Jeremy Schwartzbord, $14,678: “Elucidation of Aflatoxin Exposure Among Rural Haitians and Acceptability of Peanut-Based Animal Feed for Farmers.”