Spotlight on Research and Collaboration
Given an increasingly difficult funding climate, finding the research strengths of the university and focusing resources on those areas is a priority for Tufts. After a year-and-a-half consultative process involving researchers from across the university, five thematic priority areas emerged.
To mark the beginning of this new phase of research at Tufts, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research is hosting an all-day event on October 29 in Boston to bring researchers from across the university together to network and brainstorm on these key thematic areas.
Last year the university conducted a process to develop a strategic plan for research and scholarship. The main objectives were to identify priority areas based on existing strengths that would “have great social and global impact, and were innovative and forward looking,” said Simin Nikbin Meydani, vice provost for research, and “to identify barriers and infrastructure needs across the university.”
The nature of research funding has changed in recent years, said Meydani, along with the types of problems that researchers are studying. “People across the globe face many of the same challenges, and funders want to focus on areas that can have an impact that translates into a benefit for society,” she said. Those types of problems and issues require multidisciplinary teams, she added.
Coming out of the strategic planning initiative, the five priority research areas were identified: climate, food, energy, and water; comparative global humanities; equitable society; living technology; and one health. Collaborative groups were formed to develop research projects in these areas, and eight were recently funded by the university.