Prof. Lodoysamba of NUM (my main Mongolian collaborator and featured in MMSS #4) and I were pleased to find out a few weeks ago that a grant we wrote entitled, “Determining sources and health impacts of particulate matter in Ulaanbaatar City to aid and assess current air pollution mitigation efforts” has been funded through a new program called PEER. This funding will allow us to better assess and monitor the changes in particulate source appointment in UB. You can check out the abstract here. We’re pretty excited!

PEER – Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research is a joint initiative through USAID and NSF that “allow scientists in developing countries to apply for funds to support research and capacity-building activities in partnership with their NSF-funded collaborators on topics of importance to USAID.” This was the first round of the PEER program, but there will be another grant proposal round this coming fall. The concept of the program is fantastic, and I hope it is around for awhile!