Rodrigo Armijos and Margaret Weigel of the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington have been named recipients of the IU President’s International Research Award grant for their epidemiologic study of the impact of prenatal cutaneous leishmaniasis infection on maternal-perinatal immune response, nutrition, and birth outcomes in a highly endemic area of Tabasco State, Mexico. The study findings are expected to provide important new insights into the pathophysiology of this disease, whose global incidence is expected to expand in the near future due to climate change, placing millions more pregnant women at risk.

The IU President’s International Research Award is a competitive, university-wide grant and offers up to $50,000 annually. It was created to support high-impact international research projects that engage one or more of the IU Global Gateway offices and the communities they serve. The Global Gateway Network includes offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, New Delhi, and Mexico City. The projects aim to make a difference in communities around the world and here at home, furthering high-impact research efforts.

“The President’s International Research Award provides IU faculty with opportunities for collaborative research in communities around the world,” said Hannah Buxbaum, vice president for international affairs at Indiana University. “It also demonstrates our commitment to investing in innovation, whether at home or abroad.”

“This funding provides our community of scholars access to key resources needed to engage in international research partnerships addressing important issues with global implications,” said Fred Cate, vice president for research at Indiana University.