Faculty in 91ÁÔĆć’s College of Science and Mathematics (COSM) are leading the way in research to help Georgia’s coastal communities navigate growth for years to come.

COSM researchers have secured four Georgia Sea Grants for projects that address issues ranging from preserving local bee populations vital to coastal ecosystems to exploring/investigating the social and environmental impact of economic growth in coastal areas.

Research in Georgia’s “Bee City, USA”

Bees play a critical role in coastal ecosystems by pollinating native plants. Without them, the food web begins to collapse and species begin to disappear. 

Professor of Biology, Isaac Park, Ph.D., says bee populations on the islands off Georgia’s coast are facing increased threats from the growing human population. Land development clears out large areas of native plants and landscaping often involves planting new species that do not provide sufficient pollination benefits.

“Sea islands are particularly at risk, as many are highly developed and have species and ecosystems that are unique to them,” he explained.

Park selected Tybee Island, recently named a “Bee City” by the Xerces Society for local efforts to support bees, for an investigation into whether people can be part of the solution to declining bee populations. His project, “Protecting Barrier Island Pollinators from Effects of Development and Temperature Variability,” will involve recruiting Tybee residents to track when and where plants bloom across the island. The data can be combined with models of bee activity to give warnings when bees may be struggling to find plants for pollination.

Park says the project stems from research started by his master’s student Hannah Brown who assessed flower availability for native bees on undeveloped sea islands from Florida to Virginia.

“The next logical step seemed to be to assess the effects of development on food resources to bees,” said Park.

Park is now working with master’s student Rileigh Leach to expand the work in hopes the data can build a picture that will help locals protect bees and the plants that feed them.

“We want to offer concrete recommendations for managing landscaped vegetation and supporting native bees on Tybee Island and all along the Georgia Coast,” Park said.

Turning Statesboro’s vulnerability into resilience 

The population of Statesboro has grown by about 24% since 2010, bringing many challenges and opportunities to the area. Assistant Professor of Geography Helen Rosko, Ph.D., is working with the University’s Institute for Vibrant and Engaged Communities to give local leaders the data they need to make decisions that address the hidden obstacles citizens face from that growth.

Rosko says she understands the challenges firsthand.

“Shortly after my family moved into city limits, we experienced three significant flooding events in three months,” said Rosko. “We could see it was tied to nearby development. As a homeowner, a mother and a researcher, that made it feel urgent.”

The project titled “Inland rural coastal resilience: Municipal planning for resilient communities and economies” involves collaborating with city engineers to map the areas of highest risk. There will also be a deeply engaged community element of town halls, interviews, surveys and community tabling to hear what the biggest challenges are in our community. 

“Everybody’s lived experience is a little different,” Rosko said. Until I actually chat with people and learn from them, my ideas about vulnerability are just my own understanding.”

Rosko said that kind of dialogue opens up a better understanding that cannot be gained from data and maps alone.

“Two people may live in the same flood zone but because of family issues or something like limited transportation, one of those people may be more socially vulnerable,” Rosko explained. “That kind of input gives our community and its decision-makers a much more robust understanding of who is vulnerable when, where and why.”

Rosko hopes to keep building solutions as the region continues to grow.

“For the average Statesboro citizen, I hope we see real change that reduces vulnerability and builds community,” she said. “Once we identify problem areas I hope we don’t just leave it there. We want to mobilize resources and change people’s lives.”

Investigating Georgia oyster industry’s positive impacts on the coast

As the commercial oyster farming industry expands in Georgia’s coastal waters, biology professors John Carroll, Ph.D. and Steve Vives, Ph.D. are leading research to determine if the farms provide benefits to the ecosystem. Existing research from the shores of other states indicates that oysters farmed on the coast can clean impurities from the water and provide habitat for native species. 

The industry has only existed in Georgia since 2019, so there is little information about how the unique tidal system of Georgia might affect how much benefit oyster farms provide.

“This creates a need for local data so managers can appropriately make culture lease decisions, growers can receive credit for the services they provide, and to reduce potential user conflicts between oyster growers and recreational anglers who share the same coastal waterways,” said Carroll.

Carroll says low visibility and choppy seas off Georgia’s coast make monitoring species diversity more difficult. To overcome these obstacles, the team will combine traditional techniques like nets, with newer sound navigation and ranging (SONAR) technology. Carroll explained the mixed-methods approach is important for the researchers and the fish.

“Traditional monitoring for coastal species involves some kind of capture with a net, trap or trawl that’s placed in the water and later resampled,” he said. “That gives you great results but it’s cost and labor intensive and can result in some incidental mortality. Unfortunately, SONAR doesn’t yet have the capability to identify species directly, so we’ll still need the nets, but our processes will be much more efficient and safe.”

Vives believes the research can benefit everyone who works and plays along Georgia’s shoreline.

“This work will be beneficial for the coastal communities in Georgia, from resource managers to oyster growers and recreational fishermen,” he explained.  “We plan on developing webinars for the public to highlight our research findings.”  

The project is titled “Examining the role of shellfish aquaculture gear as fish habitat” and is assisted by partners from the University of South Carolina and the University of Georgia Marine Extension.

Feeding the future of Georgia’s oyster farms

As oysters are harvested from farms on the shore, new oysters must be grown to replace them.

Associate Professor of Biology Anthony Siccardi, Ph.D., is leading the project “Optimization of algal turf scrubbers in recirculating systems for the production of oyster (Crassostrea virginica) hatchery seed” to discover new ways to grow young oysters that produce larger crops and reduce costs for farmers.

Commercial farms grow young oysters in tanks and then transfer them to farms on the shore to reach full size. The tanks require a delicate balancing act of feeding the young oysters enough, so they grow quickly without feeding them so much that they produce too much waste that poisons their own water.

“What the oyster hatchery in Georgia currently does is put larval oysters into an unfiltered tank,” Siccardi said. “It’s just larval oysters, and they have to be careful with the amount that they feed because they don’t want waste nutrients building up.”

Siccardi is collaborating with Director of the Institute for Water and Health, Asli Aslan, Ph.D., to explore how algal turf scrubbers (ATS) can be used to clean tank water and feed oysters at the same time. Built from plywood shaped into a slope and lined with a turf matrix, the system grows a diverse algal polyculture that absorbs the waste the young oysters produce. As the algae builds up, it can be harvested and a portion fed back to the oysters to reduce food costs.

To determine ATS’s viability, the team will test three oyster culture systems with algal turf scrubbers over several weeks at the University of Georgia’s Shellfish Research Laboratory on Skidaway Island. Three additional oyster culture systems will have no algal turf scrubbers and serve as a control group. The team will track whether the scrubbers improve water quality enough to let hatcheries feed larval oysters more without risking ammonia buildup. They also plan to test a reverse daylight cycle, using artificial lighting over the algal turf scrubber to help maintain dissolved oxygen levels overnight, when oxygen typically drops.

Siccardi hopes this research will positively impact oyster farming in coastal Georgia and the region’s economy as a whole.

“Oyster aquaculture in Georgia is rapidly growing, with the potential to provide numerous jobs and fresh seafood to the local area,” he said. “Our goal throughout this research has been to provide cost-effective, nature-based solutions to remediating water sources and feeding aquacultured organisms sustainably.”

When senior biology major John Petronis enters Jianzhou He, Ph.D.’s lab at 91ÁÔĆć’s College of Science and Mathematics, he sets his bag down, puts on his headphones and gets to work analyzing water samples. 

“Most of what I research is focused on the communities we live in,” Petronis said. “So a lot of the samples I monitor come from Tybee Island and the Savannah River.”

Petronis uses a Shimadzu particle size analyzer to identify and analyze what He calls emerging contaminants, specifically microplastics.

“Globally, we produce hundreds of millions of metric tons of plastics every year, and only about 9% get recycled,” explained He. “Microplastics are less than five millimeters, but the impact they’re having on the world right now is immeasurable, and it’s growing by the day.”

As these materials break down, they enter local waterways, rivers, marshland and drinking water, said He. They can be toxic, harming marine wildlife, disrupting food chains and affecting the ecosystem they occupy, making them a major environmental concern.

“There are currently no regulations or standards that monitor the amount of microplastics in our environment,” He said. “So there’s no record of how they behave in a coastal area like ours.”

Studying these chemicals in a more diverse ecosystem helps Petronis and He develop a thorough assessment of the risks they pose and propose practical solutions to reduce their presence. They use advanced technology provided through the Shimadzu Partnership for Academics, Research, and Quality of Life (SPARQ) program to support their research. The SPARQ partnership gives students like Petronis a chance to work with the latest in industry-standard equipment.  

“This research wouldn’t be possible without the tools from Shimadzu,” said He. “My students could not complete their work otherwise.” 

Equipment like the particle size analyzer helps them identify these chemicals on a granular level. They also want to see how environmental (UV) exposure changes them over time, so Petronis uses the sunlight simulator machine to produce results in minutes instead of the 3,000 hours it would otherwise take. But Petronis, a full-time student with a full-time job, doesn’t mind putting in the time. 

“I want to have a deeper understanding of how we exist in our world,” he explained. “The environmental science aspect…I mean, that’s the equivalent to cleaning your room. I look at the Earth and think, ‘I want to clean this place up. I want to take care of what’s been given to us,’ and this research opportunity has done just that.”

Georgia Southern Department of Biology Professor Sara Gremillion, Ph.D., has taken on a cross-institutional, five-year National Institute of Health grant-funded project that aims to create a curriculum and shared knowledge pool for an underutilized, yet widely available organism: Fungi. 

Gremillion, who is also the Interim Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Student Success in the College of Science and Mathematics, explained, “I’m a mycologist, a biologist who studies molds, mildews, mushrooms and things like that. I am really interested in fungi that cause plant disease. I’m also interested in fungi that have medically important characteristics like the ability to produce antibiotics.”

The project, , led by Gremillion, is a culmination of mycological expertise from across the globe designed to increase biomedical knowledge through an accessible, collective database of fungal research. But the project isn’t just an encyclopedia of fungal research; it also centers around teaching strategies for educators who may not have intensive training in mycology.

Gremillion said, “There aren’t many people who study fungi, despite their importance in ecosystems, health and industry. So, our goal is to approach the microbiologist who may be studying bacteria, or the ecologists who may be studying plants in a specific ecosystem and pull them into the project. We’ll train them in a fungal-forward curriculum-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to include in their courses.”

By training fellow scientists to implement a mycology-based curriculum, student and career researchers can work toward contributing fungal genetic information to a free, online database that can easily be accessed and used to further conversations surrounding biomedical potential for a wide variety of fungi, collected from nature by students. 

As a longtime professor of biology on the Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern, Gremillion has long been a supporter of undergraduate research opportunities. For the principal investigator and adjoining investigators, the inclusion of non-graduate-level scholars also plays a major role in the project through the Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) curriculum. 

“When you’re majoring in STEM, your undergraduate laboratory experience is where the intense learning happens. It’s the hands-on activities that help you solidify those concepts. They help you learn how science is actually done. And so, to me, when I take on a research student, it’s just one-on-one teaching. Teaching a CURE is the next best thing; a classroom of students gets that research-intensive experience,” Gremillion stated.

Ultimately, the almost $1.6 million grant will allow educators and scholars to investigate fungi as an innovative resource for beneficial usage as well as potential health risks. Although fungi are widely overlooked despite their natural abundance, the Myco-Ed project will provide training and knowledge to better understand these widespread organisms. With a mycologically literate biomedical workforce, fungi can be studied and leveraged for a variety of uses in the prevention of disease and production of improved, fungal-derived medicines. 

For Gremillion and her collaborators, this project is the outcome of a long-held dedication to the far too understudied world of mycology, where fungi are no longer hiding beneath hidden surfaces or in the dark corners of a basement, but taking center stage in the world of biomedical discovery. 

“Fungi are so cool,” she said. “Don’t sleep on the fungi.”

The U.S. National Tick Collection (USNTC) has been housed on 91ÁÔĆć’s Statesboro Campus since 1990, on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. But it’s far more than a nondescript exhibit tucked away in the bottom of a building. It is a living, breathing resource and a primary research hub for scientists, students, physicians, veterinarians and public health professionals from around the world. 

Among its most valuable holdings are type specimens, which are used to identify and describe tick species. They serve as scientific vouchers against which researchers can compare their own samples, resolve questions about species identification and deepen the world’s understanding of ticks and the sometimes fatal diseases they may carry. Lorenza Beati, Ph.D., a Swiss physician, biologist and parasitologist who has served as the collection’s curator for more than 20 years, estimates the 120-year-old collection houses between one-third and one-half of the world’s tick type specimens.

“A lot of researchers come just to see these specimens because they have some taxonomic questions about their own samples,” said Beati.

Researchers study the specimens’ morphology, or physical form and structures, to identify, describe and differentiate species. Beati also conducts molecular research, studying tick genes, population genetics and genomes to explore relationships among species and resolve questions about their classification and phylogeographical evolutive history. Together, these traditional and molecular approaches support the collection’s central work in taxonomy, which consists of identifying, naming and classifying ticks.

Yet the collection, which provides an incomparable foundation for research, is only as valuable as the experts who understand and interpret it.

At the heart of the lab are Beati, who joined the University in 2004, and Dmitry Apanaskevich, Ph.D., a primary global expert in tick systematics who arrived at Georgia Southern in 2006 following his studies in Russia. An annual ranking from Stanford University and Elsevier, which identifies the world’s most-cited researchers, has consistently recognized Apanaskevich among the world’s top 2% of scientists.

Hired as curators of the collection, Beati and Apanaskevich later joined the faculty. Within the last 10 years, they have secured $3 million in research grants, authored 119 research papers and created a teaching and research environment that educates and inspires students and professionals through personal attention, scientific expertise and unrivaled access to the collection.

“We collaborate with a lot of people around the world,” said Beati. “And I would say every single small or large project can be very exciting in one way or another.”

Researchers visit the collection in the Math/Physics Building for access not only to its specimens but also to the expertise of Beati and Apanaskevich. Some come for a few days; others stay for months. During each visit, the curators host, teach and share knowledge derived from specimens that cannot be found in any other modern collection. Beati recalled that some of the best collaborative work emerged at her dining room table, where she and global scientists discussed their research and findings over a home-cooked meal.

Although only a small portion of the world’s tick species transmit disease-causing bacteria, viruses and parasites, their bites can cause serious and sometimes fatal illnesses in humans, domestic animals and wildlife. Because Beati and Apanaskevich know ticks so intimately through their taxonomic research, they also collaborate with scientists studying tick-borne diseases and their effects worldwide.

“The collection is a vital resource for scientists and public health officials, helping us understand and combat tick-borne diseases,” Beati said.

Apanaskevich currently has a grant from the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s medical research agency, to study the taxonomy of Hyalomma ticks. Found primarily in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the ticks transmit some of the world’s most dangerous diseases.

“They are moving into Europe with climate change,” said Beati. “So those are very important tick species in terms of global health around the world, not just for the U.S. The mission of the collection is really international.

“We have samples from every single continent. It’s the largest collection in the world. So we have people constantly coming and working with us from everywhere. Our mission is not just to work on local or American kinds of issues; we have more of an international field with our research collaboration.”

Beati is currently leading a project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that examines an increase in ticks and emerging tick-borne diseases affecting humans and cattle in Uganda. She and her team are also training local students and health personnel to strengthen preparedness for outbreaks caused by previously unknown disease-causing agents.

“The real interest is in understanding the system there,” said Beati. “We have to get interested in systems outside the country. We need to understand how they function. All this research around the world is helping us understand mechanisms of tick-borne diseases.”

In the last decade, nearly 30 undergraduate and graduate students have participated in the collection’s global research. Some have coauthored papers with Beati and Apanaskevich, gaining extraordinary access to experiences that have helped them build successful careers in academia and the private sector.

“It’s an incredible opportunity,” said Beati. “Tick-borne diseases are worrying people and so, I think there are going to be jobs around for quite some time.”

Since 2018, Beati has also offered the annual Summer Tick Workshop at the James H. Oliver, Jr. Institute for Coastal Plain Science on the Statesboro Campus, which attracts international public health officials and other professionals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. Army. Entomologists from Fort Stewart attend to learn how to identify and differentiate ticks, mitigating risk for deployed military members.  

“This dedication to education ensures that the knowledge and expertise needed to understand and combat tick-borne diseases will continue to thrive,” said Beati.

Salim Sazzed, Ph.D., a faculty member in 91ÁÔĆć’s Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing, is conducting research that could help scientists better understand the relationship between changes in human cells and serious illness. 

As the sole principal investigator of a four-year, $568,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Sazzed is developing artificial intelligence–based methods and software tools to identify and trace actin filaments more accurately in three-dimensional cellular images. These filaments help cells maintain their shape, move and divide. Their alteration is closely associated with cancer, neurological disorders and heart disease.

Currently, these images are produced using “Cryo-electron tomography (Cryo-ET)”, an imaging technique that allows scientists to see the microscopic actin filaments within the cells. Cryo-ET can provide insight, but the images it produces can also be difficult to analyze, according to Sazzed.

“Through my previous work, I know that these images can be very noisy,” he said. “Manually tracing the filaments can sometimes take hundreds of hours, while existing automated approaches often lack sufficient accuracy.”

 Sazzed expects his AI models and software tools to provide a more accurate automated approach for analyzing these images and to be ready for public use by 2030. While the software won’t provide an immediate treatment or diagnostic test for disease, Sazzed is hopeful about its long-term impact.

“Having a more comprehensive knowledge of how cells function and how actin filaments change in the presence of disease could eventually support the development of new treatments,” Sazzed explained.

Another important aspect of the project is student involvement. Two Ph.D. students and six undergraduates will help develop the software, train the AI models and analyze results. They will also attend team meetings with Sazzed and other collaborators, experts in biology, biochemistry and actin research from the University of Oregon, Ohio State University and Reed College. 

“Working with students is one of the most rewarding parts of this project,” Sazzed said. “They will contribute directly to this  NIH-funded effort while developing as independent researchers.”

Sazzed also plans to host an annual workshop during the project period to promote computational modeling and artificial intelligence in biomedical research.

A new 91ÁÔĆć study suggests that long-standing differences in maternal and child health, specifically breastfeeding rates, may help explain why some communities were affected more severely by COVID-19 than others.

Led by faculty in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, the study found that Georgia counties with lower breastfeeding initiation rates experienced higher COVID-19 cases and related mortalities across the overall county population.

Published in the scientific journal Breastfeeding Medicine, examined COVID-19 cases and death rates across all 159 counties in Georgia, from March 2020 through February 2022. 

“Our findings show a strong association at the community level,” said lead author and Professor of Health Policy and Community Health Joanne Chopak-Foss, Ph.D. “It raises important questions about how early-life health investments, like breastfeeding support, contribute to long-term resilience and health outcomes.”

Counties were grouped by breastfeeding rates and compared after accounting for demographics and public health interventions. The research team, which included JPHCOPH master’s and doctoral students, analyzed more than 2 million reported COVID-19 cases. They found the biggest differences in rural communities, a gap the researchers also link to social factors such as income and healthcare infrastructure.

“COVID-19 exposed structural inequalities that existed long before the pandemic,” said co-author and Professor of Epidemiology Jian Zhang, M.D. “Our work suggests that breastfeeding support may be an underrecognized component of community preparedness, one that warrants further research and sustained public health investment.”

Although the study does not prove that breastfeeding directly prevents COVID-19 infection, it adds to growing evidence that breastfeeding may provide health benefits that extend beyond infancy. 

“Breastfeeding is one of the earliest and most sustainable investments communities can make in health,” said Nandi A. Marshall, DrPH, MPH, JPHCOPH associate dean and president of the American Public Health Association. 

“These findings remind us that support for breastfeeding may generate benefits that may contribute to stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities over the long term.”

Building on this research, the team looks to expand its work beyond Georgia to examine whether similar patterns exist nationwide and how these results can guide future public health planning.

“Looking at data across the country helps us see the bigger picture,” Chopak-Foss said. “We hope our findings will provide new insights and contribute to the national conversation.”

There’s a new resident on campus, housed in the University’s Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing (AEPCEC): a cutting-edge humanoid robot designed to serve as a cornerstone for advanced research and applied, hands-on classroom learning for students.

The humanoid robot expands the University’s robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives. Unlike traditional industrial robots, the platform is designed to interact in human environments, giving students and faculty opportunities to study human-robot interaction, machine learning and autonomous navigation. 

“This is more than just a piece of equipment; it is a catalyst for innovation at Georgia Southern,” said Rami Haddad, Ph.D., former interim dean of AEPCEC and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. 

Students across multiple disciplines, including computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and information technology, will collaborate on programming, maintaining and optimizing the platform. 

“By integrating this humanoid robot into our classrooms and research laboratories, we are giving students hands-on experience with the technologies that are transforming engineering, computing and industry across the world,” said Haddad. 

Those capabilities position Georgia Southern graduates to help meet the growing demand for talent at the region’s logistics centers, automated ports and advanced manufacturing facilities. 

“Investments in advanced technologies like this humanoid robot reinforce Georgia Southern’s commitment to preparing students for the future of work while strengthening the University’s impact on the region,” said Avinandan Mukherjee, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs.

“Providing students and faculty with access to state-of-the-art robotics and AI platforms, we are expanding opportunities for innovation that will help support the continued growth of advanced manufacturing, logistics and intelligent automation throughout Coastal Georgia and the broader region.”

The humanoid robot will be housed in a specialized, multidisciplinary laboratory that will serve as a shared resource for undergraduate projects, master’s theses and faculty-led research. 

“Our new robot will enhance interdisciplinary research, strengthen experiential learning and equip our graduates with the knowledge and expertise needed to lead in the rapidly evolving fields of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence,” said Abhijit Bhattacharyya, dean of AEPCEC.  

The campus community may also catch a glimpse of the robot going to class, working in the labs and walking around campus.

For more information about the AEPCEC and its robotics programs, visit .

How often do you notice Spanish in your community? A group of student researchers sought to discover the sociolinguistic uses of the Spanish language throughout two of 91ÁÔĆć’s communities: Statesboro and Savannah. Through this research, students gained valuable undergraduate research skills while also raising awareness of the linguistic landscape of the communities the University serves. 

For Miguel García, Ph.D., who taught the course, research isn’t just a means of concluding; it’s also an invaluable learning opportunity for students.

“These experiences build confidence, develop transferable skills and prepare students for graduate study and professional careers. At the same time, student research showcases Georgia Southern’s commitment to innovation and experiential learning, strengthening its academic reputation,” he said. 

According to 2023 Census data, , respectively. With thousands of potential Spanish-speaking residents, GarcĂ­a wanted to create an opportunity for his students to participate in research beyond the classroom.

“We grounded our study in five recent investigations that examined the presence of Spanish in the linguistic landscape of the United States,” García said. “Specifically, we drew on studies conducted in Orlando, Los Angeles, Tuscaloosa, Philadelphia and Dallas. These studies provided a useful framework for analyzing how Spanish appears in public spaces while allowing us to explore how the linguistic landscape of two Georgia cities compares with those of other regions of the country.”

The research focuses on accessible public texts found in community spaces, including public signage and online publications. Students then analyzed writing styles and linguistic patterns in these texts across Statesboro and Savannah.

One student researcher, Kaidence Phillips, said that the opportunity to participate in community-based research was not only a positive experience, but a transformative one as well.

Variations in formality and the commercial focus of Spanish-language content reflect the needs and diversity amongst the two cities as well as highlighting space for improvement when it comes to consistency and informed translation. 

“This research project taught me the importance of conducting research within our local spaces,” Phillips explained. “Studies like these open up new conversations that have the power to create change. By making people aware of language use in our communities, we can work together to create solutions to make media more consistent and better.”

After gathering dozens of photos from each city, students then began looking at similarities and differences in how Spanish was utilized among businesses, community service organizations, informal spaces and digital media. 

Phillips represented the class’s research at CURIO Undergraduate Research and Intellectual Opportunities (CURIO) and GS4 symposiums highlighting student research projects. 

The findings revealed both similarities to previously reported , particularly with respect to the diversity of the Spanish language.

“In our project, students collected and analyzed original data from two Georgia cities, making the research personally meaningful and relevant. They were also able to connect what they learned about the Spanish language in the classroom to real-life contexts by observing how Spanish is actually used in public spaces. That connection between academic learning and everyday life made the experience particularly rewarding,” García explained.

Previously, García published a book project centering around Spanish poetry, “Voces, poemas e historias,” and believes student work is critical to furthering understanding of community, language and research both inside and outside of the classroom.

However, research opportunities soar beyond methodology and findings alone. For students, it’s a chance to contribute to a greater pool of knowledge while also getting involved off-campus. For Georgia Southern faculty, opening doors to new experiences is one of the many ways they encourage students to engage outside of the classroom.

“My favorite part was hearing how the project changed the way students think and observe the world around them. One student on the data analysis team told me that he had started applying some of the analytical techniques we used in the project to his current job,” GarcĂ­a said. “Knowing that the project changed the way they perceive their everyday environment, including its language use, was incredibly gratifying.” 

Matthew Flynn, Ph.D., professor of international studies and sociology in 91ÁÔĆć’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, has been awarded a 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant. Flynn will spend four months in Brazil researching how developing nations build innovation systems capable of addressing major public health challenges through the creation of new medicines and treatments.

“Dr. Flynn’s Fulbright recognition reflects the kind of globally engaged scholarship that defines academic excellence at Georgia Southern,” said Avinandan Mukherjee, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “His work demonstrates how faculty research can address complex global challenges while creating meaningful opportunities for international collaboration, student learning and institutional growth.”

According to Flynn, his selection is both a professional milestone and the culmination of a personal journey that began decades ago.

“Brazil has been a constant in my life for many years. I’ve lived there, reported there and built my academic career around understanding its institutions,” he said. “Getting the chance to go back as a Fulbright Scholar and do this research feels like everything is coming full circle.”

Flynn first traveled to Brazil as a Rotary Ambassadorial Fellow at the University of São Paulo, immersing himself in the country’s language and culture. There, he became proficient in Portuguese while building a deeper understanding of Brazil’s political and economic systems.

He later returned to work as a local newspaper journalist and a foreign correspondent, experiences that gave him firsthand exposure to the country’s institutions, industries and social challenges.

Flynn’s connection to Brazil eventually became the foundation of his doctoral research, spending months in the country conducting fieldwork while earning his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin.

His work focused on pharmaceutical policy and access to medicine that later became the basis for his 2015 book, “Pharmaceutical Autonomy and Public Health in Latin America,” which examined Brazil’s efforts to expand access to AIDS medications.

Despite his deep ties to Brazil, Flynn said applying for the Fulbright still felt daunting. The highly competitive program required not only experience, but a compelling vision for how his work could create broader impacts globally.

Flynn credits David Weindorf, Ph.D., Georgia Southern’s vice president for Research and Economic Development and former Fulbright Scholar, with helping demystify the process.

“It was incredibly helpful to have his guidance and support,” Flynn said. “Dr. Weindorf’s insight gave me a better understanding of how to frame my own project.”

The mentorship helped transform an idea Flynn had been developing for years into a unique proposal that targeted real-world needs.

“Dr. Flynn’s Fulbright award reflects years of meaningful scholarship and international relationship-building,” Weindorf said. “His work addresses complex global health challenges while creating opportunities for international collaboration that align directly with Georgia Southern’s growing research mission. We’re incredibly proud to see his work recognized on this level.”

Flynn chose Brazil to conduct his field research because the country presents a particularly complex case study due to its significant investments in both public health initiatives and pharmaceutical production; yet it continues to face challenges developing new treatments for both infectious diseases and chronic illnesses forcing the country to rely heavily on importations. 

His work will examine what happens when universities, private industry and government agencies attempt to work together to solve those challenges.

“When those partnerships work well, innovation can happen quickly,” according to Flynn. “When they do not, important medical breakthroughs can stall.”

An important aspect of his research will be interviews with scientists, policymakers and pharmaceutical leaders, as well as site visits and archival research aimed at understanding why some innovation efforts succeed while others fail.

Flynn’s research impact will extend far beyond Brazil. Many middle-income countries face similar challenges balancing economic growth, public health needs and dependence on imported medical technologies.

His goal is to help policymakers better understand how countries can build stronger domestic health innovation systems while expanding access to affordable treatments. The findings could help shape future policy conversations surrounding vaccines, chronic disease treatments and pharmaceutical access worldwide.

His experience will also directly benefit Georgia Southern students as he will bring insights back to his classroom and infuse them into courses focused on global health, world cultures and Latin American studies.

He hopes that the Fulbright experience will strengthen institutional partnerships between Georgia Southern and Brazilian universities, creating future opportunities for collaborative research and study abroad experiences.

“Dr. Flynn’s Fulbright award reflects the kind of meaningful global engagement we’re continuing to build at Georgia Southern,” said Danielle Smith, assistant provost for Global Engagement. “These experiences create opportunities for faculty collaboration, student learning and international partnerships that strengthen our University’s global presence in powerful ways.”

Throughout his extensive résumé of international research and travel, Flynn said what continues to draw him back to Brazil is simple: its people.

Over the years, he has lived in SĂŁo Paulo, Ouro Preto, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, building relationships that extend far beyond professional collaborations.

“This work is about research,” Flynn said. “But it’s also about relationships, cultural exchange and understanding how countries can learn from one another.”

91ÁÔĆć instructors are always looking for opportunities to bring research into the classroom, even when classes aren’t in session. That’s why Assistant Professor of Biochemistry Mark dela Cerna, Ph.D., jumped at the chance to spend time with the Malate Dehydrogenase (MDH) CUREs Community (MCC) cohort during summer break. 

CUREs (Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences) bypass traditional canned lab experiments by bringing a research experience into the classroom. The idea is to engage students in research topics that will pair with their classroom and lab instruction, giving them the chance to contribute to knowledge generation. Dela Cerna says the program focuses on MDH, an essential enzyme found in all living organisms.   

“Dr. Sue DeChenne-Peters, a previous member of the program, looks at MDH in cancers,” he explained. “However, I want to frame it from the biophysicist’s viewpoint and explore the structure-function dynamics.” 

Each member of the cohort is expected to develop and run a CUREs program at their home institution. Dela Cerna intends to pair it with the biochemistry curriculum, specifically upper-level bioinstrumental and biophysics courses on the Armstrong campus.  

“This is an opportunity to modernize our curriculum,” dela Cerna explained. “We have a lot of students in our program who are very interested in research. CUREs allow us to increase our research capacity in the classroom.” 

The program also lowers the barriers to entry for students who might not be able to participate in faculty-led research. Dela Cerna believes it will lead to increased interest in structural biology and molecular biophysics. Implementing the program will come with its own challenges, but dela Cerna said he has his cohort to rely on for support.

“CUREs programs are very difficult to implement properly,” he said. “But the MCC has a great community and support system. They really care about bringing educators who are passionate about research in the classroom, and that’s what matters most to me.”