Global Programs

2020 MSLAO Seed Funds

MIT faculty and staff made use of their seed funds from last year to conduct research projects in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. In 2020, the MSLAO received the most applications ever for seed funds. The following six projects were awarded seed funds from the MSLAO for research starting in 2021:

  1. Professor: Mercedes Balcells-Camps, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)
    Project: "Study to measure, monitor and manage major anxiety and depression disorders in chronic disease with mobile remote measurement technology in a minority-focused population"
    Country: Brazil
  2. Professor: Moshe Ben-Akiva, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Project: "Microdata of emotions for the analysis of public transport Systems"
    Country: Chile
  3. Professor: Natalie Artzi, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)
    Project: "Accessible point-of-care device for early detection and monitoring of Cancer"
    Country: Mexico
  4. Professor: David Rand, MIT Sloan
    Project: "Fighting Online COVID-19 Misinformation in Latin America"
    Country: Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil 
  5. Professor: Alex Slocum, MIT Mechanical Engineering
    Project: "Small Modular Device for Invasive Sargassum Cleanup in the Caribbean"
    Country: Dominican Republic, Caribbean 
  6. Professor: John Fernandez, MIT Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP); Bradley Olsen, Chemical Engineering
    Project: "An Amazonian Institute of Technology to Promote Conservation and Sustainable Development"
    Country: Brazil, Colombia, and Peru  

Also, a special highlight from the COVID crisis was the MSLAO’s work with MIT Professor Alex Slocum and Research Scientist Nevan Hanumara to bring the MIT-designed Emergency Ventilators (E-Vents) to Chile. The Advisory Council — in conjunction with the Chilean Ministry of Health; Chilean Ministry of Science; the U.S. Embassy in Santiago; and LATAM Airlines — worked diligently to get two MIT-designed E-Vents produced in New York City on a plane to Chile before flights to the region were stopped. The E-Vents were delivered to the Ministry of  Science so local fabricators could replicate the devices and begin production.