From agriculture and health to post-conflict development, Michigan State University has collaborated with Latin American partners in a wide range of disciplines.

Number of Externally-Sponsored Research Projects performed by MSU Personnel by Country in Latin America and the Caribbean, Fiscal Years 2007-2016

This list represents a small portion of MSU's work in Latin America and the Caribbean or on topics related to the region. Please contact Global IDEAS for potential opportunities to partner with MSU and further information on MSU’s hundreds of projects working in Latin America and the Caribbean or with local partners.

Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) supports scholarship on Latin America and the Caribbean by catalyzing interdisciplinary collaborations on campus and forging partnerships with institutions in the region. The center identifies emerging opportunities for research, educational exchanges, and engagement in Latin America and the Caribbean and serves as an information hub for faculty and students with interests in the region. CLACS has nearly 200 Center-affiliated faculty from 65 departments and programs from across the MSU campus. By engaging with this diverse set of faculty, CLACS is able to help MSU personnel connect with external partners from across the region.

Among the recent initiatives championed by CLACS are a student and researcher exchange program with Brazilian scientific institutions, collaboration with Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology, engagement with the Colombian Government to promote sustainable rural development in the post-conflict period, and cooperation with the Peruvian Government to promote agriculture and health research in Peruvian universities.

Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Grain Legumes

MSU has been the home of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Grain Legumes since 2013 (2013-2017) and its predecessor labs since 2000. The Lab is dedicated to the strengthening of agriculture research institutional capacity in USAID priority countries by facilitating and managing multidisciplinary research, technology transfers, and capacity building at an individual and institutional level. The Lab and its predecessors have actively supported multidisciplinary research, institutional capacity building, and outreach activities related to common bean, cowpea, and other dry grain pulses in more than 25 countries throughout Africa and Latin America. MSU has partnered with external US organizations and local partners in Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras in Lab-led projects on plant genetics, impact assessment, and institutional capacity building.

Health Clinic in Merida, Mexico

Since 2015, faculty from MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, in conjunction with the MSU Institute of International Health, have been working with leaders in the Yucatán’s health system to develop clinical programs that benefit the health of the area’s six million inhabitants. MSU physicians lead the on-site work necessary to best meet vital health needs, including the treatment of diabetes and kidney-related illnesses. MSU personnel has assisted in procuring and operating 40 dialysis units and a hyperbaric chamber.