For the World: Baylor researchers take a worldwide focus to serving

Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana, Pro Mundo. The addition of those last two words to Baylor’s longstanding motto mirrors the university’s mission statement (“for worldwide leadership and service”), and highlights Baylor’s global impact as a Christian research university.

Baylor faculty have long conducted groundbreaking research with a worldwide bent, and that continues today. For a few examples, let’s take a trip across campus and around the globe:

Global Flourishing Study: It’s fitting that the largest funded research project in Baylor history has a global focus. The Global Flourishing Study, led by Dr. Byron Johnson, distinguished professor of the social sciences and director of Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, is the largest project ever to investigate the causes and influences of human flourishing. The five-year, $43.4 million project released its first wave of data last year, surveying over 200,000 individuals in more than 20 countries.

Supply Chain: The COVID-19 pandemic turned “supply chain” into a common phrase, but that topic has long been at the forefront for professors like Dr. Hannah Stolze, the William E. Crenshaw Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Management, and Dr. Pedro Reyes, associate professor of management. Their work has focused on global supply chain issues: Stolze is focused on transformative supply chain practices to ensure the dignity of all involved in the process, while Reyes has conducted research on issues related to technology around the world.

Fighting Tropical Diseases: Baylor biology researchers such as Drs. Chelho Sim, Jason Pitts and Tamar Carter are leading the fight against diseases caused by mosquitos. Many of these diseases are collectively referred to as “neglected tropical diseases,” and they claim nearly a million lives each year. Sim seeks to understand mosquito genetics to find new ways to kill large populations of the insect. Pitts focuses on the complex biology that spurs mosquitos to bite, with the hopes of manipulating those instructs. For Carter, Kenya has played a key role in her research, which determined that malaria-transmitting mosquitoes were found there, which led to further studies to combat them. Each has his/her own approach to fight diseases impacting millions.

Cancer Screening in Ghana: Cervical cancer is known as the “disease of the poor.” Dr. Matt Asare, assistant professor of public health, seeks to serve women in low and middle-income countries, where women are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer than in other nations. Through the development of home-based, self-collected toolkits, Asare hopes to help women be proactive in their own care and avoid preventable health challenges, beginning in Ghana and with hopes to grow their footprint in nations of need.

These are, of course, just a few examples. But in the STEM fields, business, social sciences and more, Baylor faculty have already set a foundation of significant global research that sees the entire planet as neighbors we are called to serve.

Sic ’em, global Baylor researchers!