Faculty Seed Grants Awarded for 2025-2026
August 17, 2025
Each year, the Global Change Center (GCC), along with the Institute for Society, Creativity and the Environment (ISCE) at Virginia Tech, invites proposals from its faculty to support interdisciplinary research aimed at generating collaborative submissions for extramural funding. We look for projects that connect multiple faculty programs, harness unique combinations of expertise at VT, have societal implications or a policy component, address emerging global change issues with regional significance, and have strong potential to attract external resources.
Congratulations to the teams awarded GCC and GCC-ISCE seed grants for the 2025-2026 year!
The Eco-Evolutionary Diversity of Grassland to Forest Gradients in the South American Orinoquia
INVESTIGATORS:
- Dr. Valentina Gómez-Bahamón, Biological Sciences
- Dr. Rachel Reid, Geosciences
- Dr. Julie Allen, Biological Sciences
- Dr. Sergio Estrada-Villegas, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia
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General Item
2025 | The Eco-Evolutionary Diversity of Grassland to Forest Gradients in the South American OrinoquiaGrasslands are usually the first targets for land transformation into crops and cities. Such transformations have caused the rates of decline to be much steeper for grassland species than for other habitat types.
Forest composition, ecosystem services, and irreversible tipping points
INVESTIGATORS:
- Dr. Kelly Cobourn, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
- Dr. Jeff Borggaard, Mathematics
- Dr. Haldre Rogers, Fish and Wildlife Conservation
- Dr. Stella Schons do Valle, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
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General Item
2025 | Forest Composition, Ecosystem Services, and Irreversible Tipping PointsOverharvesting of native forests supports local, short-term economic activity at the cost of environmental harm with global and long-term consequences.
*Jointly funded by ISCE and the GCC
Comparative Ecology and Evolution of Salamander Life Histories in Temperate and Tropical Environments
INVESTIGATORS:
- Dr. Holly Kindsvater, Fish and Wildlife Conservation
- Dr. Jen Moss, Biological Sciences
- Dr. Josef Uyeda, Biological Sciences
- Dr. Kevin Hamed, Fish and Wildlife Conservation
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General Item
2025 | Comparative Ecology and Evolution of Salamander Life Histories in Temperate and Tropical EnvironmentsEctothermic (cold-blooded) vertebrates, including salamanders, have been predicted to respond to changed temperature and precipitation patterns by slowing their growth.
