On International Women’s Day, CRDF Global Announced Grant Competition for Middle East and North African Agriculture Scientists Collaborating with U.S. Researchers
ARLINGTON, VA (PRWEB) March 09, 2016 -- CRDF Global and the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) announced a new agricultural science grant competition for female early-career scientists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at CRDF Global’s 2nd annual Breaking Barriers in Science: Women in International Collaborations reception. In partnership with ICBA, the competition will be for women scientists in the MENA region collaborating with U.S. researchers. Applications are due June 15, 2016. The full Request for Proposals will be available on the CRDF Global website.
CRDF Global is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources, training, and services. CRDF Global’s competitions enable cross-border collaboration and strengthen international research by implementing peer-reviewed research grant competitions.
ICBA is an international, non-profit organization that aims to strengthen agricultural productivity in marginal and saline environments through identifying, testing and facilitating access to sustainable solutions for food, nutrition and income security.
“Women are the driving force behind rural and economic development. Empowering them is the key to ensuring food and nutrition security, and increased incomes. Through this joint competition we are providing a diverse platform that will promote innovative ideas and offer agricultural research, partnership and leadership opportunities for Arab women scientists in the MENA region,” said Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, ICBA Director General.
The competition is open to proposals predominantly focused on the following disciplines:
• Breeding/genomics around important food crops and resiliency for climate change and salinity
• Water, soil and nutrient management to enhance resiliency to climate change and salinity
“With MENA’s high rates of population growth and constrained water and land resources, it’s urgent to address challenges facing the agriculture sector, such as natural resource allocation, climate change, crop productivity, diversity, and aquaculture,” said Siri Oswald, CRDF Global Director of Research Partnerships. “These international collaborations will bring global expertise and vision to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. By focusing on Arab women, we are ensuring a critical voice is given to talented scientists that are too often underrepresented,” said Oswald.
The competition seeks to promote the advancement of women in research and facilitate international research partnerships between U.S. and MENA scientists that may form the basis for sustained scientific engagement. Joint research teams, chosen through a competitive application process, will receive up to $100,000 USD, in support of one to three-year projects.
The announcement of the grant competition was made by Paul Longsworth, Chair, CRDF Global Board of Directors and Vice President at Fluor Corporation, at the Breaking Barriers reception, CRDF Global’s celebration of women in science and technology. Among the distinguished speakers were Kellina Craig-Henderson, Ph.D, National Science Foundation, Deputy Assistant Director, Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; Lauren Paige, L’Oréal Vice President, Public Affairs & Strategic Initiatives; and Mona El-Shokry, MD, Ph.D., CRDF Global Robin Copeland Memorial Fellow & Assistant Professor, Ain Shams University, Cairo, U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit 3, Infection Control Unit, Clinical Microbiologist.
About CRDF Global
CRDF Global is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1995 to promote international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources, training, and services. CRDF Global has 20 years of experience managing international research funding programs and supporting emerging science and technology infrastructure in more than 40 countries in Eurasia, the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
About ICBA
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) is an international, non-profit organization that aims to strengthen agricultural productivity in marginal and saline environments through identifying, testing and facilitating access to sustainable solutions for food, nutrition and income security.
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Becky Sheetz-Runkle, CRDF Global, http://www.crdfglobal.org/news-and-events/press-room, +1 (703) 501-0533, [email protected]
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