Dr. Pauline Aad, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences (FNAS) and Chairperson of the Department of Sciences at Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU), visited National Academy of Science headquarter in Washington, DC on Tuesday, June 14 to present the updates on her ongoing research at FNAS funded by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As the recipient of the Project for Enhanced Engagement Research (PEER) Cycle 9 Award, Dr. Aad’s talk at the PEER Visiting Speakers' Series relayed her latest research titled, “Assessment of the resilience of local Baladi goats in Lebanon: a viable sustainable solution to a changing climate in a transhumant system.”
Set at the National Academy of Sciences, the Speakers’ Series seeks to give its principal investigators a platform to update their PEER associates on the present state of their research projects. Dr. Aad gave a thorough breakdown of the importance of sustainable farming and goat herding, the welfare of both animals and farmers, and the animal industry as a whole in Lebanon in the face of climate change and other challenges, followed by a lively discussion. Dr. Aad’s venture is in partnership with her U.S.-based colleague, Dr. Joan Burke, of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Dr. Brenda M Murdoch, University of Idaho.
In addition, Dr. Aad emphasized the role of NDU in supporting not only her research efforts, but also the FNAS under- and graduate students who are likewise involved in this project, providing them with advantageous research experience that will accelerate their academic success and later career opportunities.