Kean University Forges Research Partnership in Brazil, Furthering Global Reach

Kean University is partnering with an institution of higher education in Brazil to conduct applied research focused on sustainability and the bioeconomy, offering students opportunities for international collaboration.

The partnership between Kean and SENAI CIMATEC, a science and technology institution located in Salvador, Brazil, will focus on research in areas such as sustainable agricultural products; drug discovery for therapeutics to combat the Zika virus and neglected tropical diseases; and the development of healthy, sustainable housing.

“Kean University is a leader in research opportunities both in the U.S. and globally, and this exciting partnership expands our portfolio,” said Kean University President Lamont O. Repollet, Ed.D. “As an R2 research university and an anchor institution, we support conducting research that will improve our world, while at the same time helping prepare students for future careers in emerging areas.”

The partnership is designed to involve students in many academic disciplines, said Kean University Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost David Birdsell, Ph.D. The collaboration will include business plan competitions and other commercialization efforts involving students and faculty in business and management, architecture and industrial design, as well as the sciences.

“Kean and SENAI both care deeply about performing research that has a direct impact on the communities and institutions we serve. That is one factor that makes us natural partners,” Birdsell said. “Our students, researchers and business partners will benefit enormously from the complementary expertise and wide range of opportunities this partnership will produce in two countries.”

The partnership began with two courses co-taught at both campuses this semester. The first, Healthy Housing: Diagnosing and Solving for Housing Inadequacies in Brazil and New Jersey, is taught by faculty in architecture and design at Kean’s Michael Graves College; and the second, Health Application of Natural Products, is a research-intensive biology course taught by faculty in the Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics and Technology Department of Biological Sciences. In May, Kean students are expected to travel to Brazil, and in the fall, students from Brazil will visit the U.S.

The partnership will give undergraduate students the opportunity to engage in broad-based authentic research experiences early in their academic careers. Specific research topics will include sustainable bioproducts sourced from Brazilian agriculture, including agave and Licuri palm; drug discovery for vaccines designed to combat the Zika virus; ways to provide safe, healthy housing for agricultural workers; and sustainable building materials.

Going forward, additional courses will be co-taught by faculty instructors from Kean and from Brazil. Graduate research assistants will help lead the courses.

“The long-term goal of the partnership is to play a role in developing robust bioeconomies in Brazil and the U.S., and around the world, as well as products for food, pharmaceutical and industrial uses,” said Kean Associate Provost for Science and Technology Keith Bostian, Ph.D. “This will lead to new uses for renewable materials and support climate and energy goals through sustainability.”

"The collaboration will also help students develop confidence, vision and the skill to navigate across cultures and borders in a global economy,” said Marshall Hayes, Ph.D., executive director of the Office of Science and Technology at Kean.

“We’re offering our students invaluable opportunities to learn and grow through international research experiences, and our partnership with SENAI represents a perfect example of what the Office of Science and Technology is promoting at Kean,” Hayes said. “By providing opportunities for students and faculty to step beyond the familiar borders of the Kean community, we encourage them to gain not just knowledge, but the cultural fluency and growth mindsets that are necessary for them to develop into leaders.”

Sarah Ruel-Bergeron, a lecturer in Michael Graves College School of Public Architecture is a faculty member teaching the "Healthy Housing" class. The year-long class explores the design of objects and the built environment as it relates to architecture and urban environments, with a goal of developing a healthy housing assessment tool for use in both "favelas," or impoverished neighborhoods, in Brazil and urban environments in New Jersey. Each week, classrooms at Kean and in Brazil are linked remotely.

"We are actively making a course work across both campuses, transcending the barriers of time differences, different languages and different academic calendars,” she said. "At the same time, we are convening around the problem of healthy housing which is of universal concern."