Cornell Atkinson postdoctoral fellows aim to improve food security, climate, clean water

The 2025 cohort of Cornell Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellowsseek to protect seaweed farms in the Philippines, improve food security in the African Sahel, map the climate benefits of New York state wetlands, and develop novel technologies that can co-create clean energy and desalinated water.

The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability has announced its newest Postdoctoral Fellows - early career scholars who conduct research under the mentorship of a Cornell faculty member and an advisor from an external partner organization. Fellows hold three-year appointments, and this is the program's 11th year.

Marwa El Graoui, one of this year's new postdoctoral fellows, completed her Ph.D. at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco, and will be studying strategies to improve food security in the 10 countries that make up the African Sahel.

"What I liked about the Atkinson programcompared to other programs I considered is that it's very focused on impact. You're working directly with farmers and communities and governments so that the research you produce really makes a difference for people," El Graoui said. "Atkinson is also equipping us with tools we'll need to be successful, but that nobody really teaches us in school. As an academic, we're always in our labs, at our computers, in our fields. But if you want to take your research to the next level, you're going to be managing a team and working with non-academic partners. Here, we're developing communication skills, leadership skills, team management, and learning to write policy briefs. It's been incredible so far."

The 2025 Cornell Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellows are:

Marwa El Graoui: Leveraging Diversity for Climate Resilience and Food Security in the African Sahel

Higher temperatures and extended droughts are already decreasing productivity of staple crops like maize, wheat and rice, and climate change is expected to worsen these outcomes. This problem is particularly acute in the African Sahel, where roughly 70% of people rely on agricultural livelihoods, and food insecurity contributes to social and geopolitical conflict. El Graoui will evaluate underutilized crops that may be better suited for future climatic scenarios, such as the legumes cowpea, mungbean and bambara groundnut, which are drought-tolerant, high in protein, and well-suited to harsh conditions, and drought-resistant sorghum varieties. Using crop growth modeling, species distribution modeling, farmer surveys, field trials and remote sensing, she hopes to support additional production options for farmers and nutritious choices for consumers.

Cornell faculty mentor: Andrew McDonald(College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) / SIPS and Global Development)

External advisor: Bouba Traore(International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics)

Andrian Gajigan: Development of Disease Biomarkers for Sustainable Seaweed Farming

"Ice-ice" disease (IID) - which causes seaweed to harden and whiten - is growing worse as ocean temperatures rise. Evidence suggests the disease is triggered by some combination of environmental factors, such as changes in temperature and salinity, and harmful microbes. This project seeks to uncover the disease agents of IID, develop molecular markers to detect disease agents in real time, and help forecast future emergence and spread of the disease. Gajigan will monitor IID in several key regions in the Philippines, with a robust network of partners, local researchers, government agencies, seaweed farmers, and NGOs. He will survey for bacterial, viral,

and eukaryotic parasitic agents as well as disruption of normal microbiota. Gajigan will develop tests to detect the disease before large-scale breakouts occur, and collaborate with local farmers' organizations and governments to standardize tests and promote adoption.

Cornell faculty mentor: Ian Hewson(CALS / Microbiology)

External advisor: Anicia Hurtado(Integrated Services for the Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries)

Jintong Gao: Synergetic Green Hydrogen and Clean Water Production From Seawater and Natural Sunlight

Green hydrogen is created by using renewable electricity to extract hydrogen from water. Because it can be used to reduce fossil fuels in hard-to-abate sectors like transportation and heavy industry, demand for green hydrogen is rising and is expected to provide 23% of global energy needs by 2050. However, existing green hydrogen technologies consume huge amounts of water (over 9 liters of water per kilogram of produced hydrogen), and are expensive ($10 per kilogram). Meanwhile, billions of people lack access to clean drinking water. Gao proposes an all-in-one solution to tackle the water-energy nexus by enabling co-production of green hydrogen and clean water, utilizing the two most abundant resources on Earth: solar energy and seawater. Gao seeks to improve a novel technologyhe helped develop, to enhance efficient co-production of solar energy and clean drinking water. It is expected to cost $1 per kilogram of green hydrogen and to produce, rather than consume, potable water.

Cornell faculty mentor: Lenan Zhang(Cornell Engineering / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)

External advisor: Ryuichi Iwata(JERA Co., Inc.)

Lydia O'Meara: Health of oceans and humans: integrated methods to monitor marine biodiversity and food security of climate-vulnerable groups across seasons

Biodiversity loss threatens food systems, the ecosystems that support them, and the vulnerable populations on the frontlines of marine degradation and climate change.

O'Meara seeks to leverage innovative technologies to integrate monitoring of marine ecosystems and climate change alongside food security in vulnerable coastal communities. She will recruit approximately 150 mother-child pairs from climate-vulnerable, fisheries-dependent communities in Timor-Leste, the small, island nation in Southeast Asia. She will collect data over a year, including self-reports of consumption of food from the ocean, tracked via participants' voice recordings on mobile phones. She'll also conduct bi-monthly surveys on dietary data, and merge that fish consumption data with high-frequency environmental datasets on fishing intensity and harvests. Findings will inform policy development to improve conservation efforts and food security.

Cornell faculty mentor: Kathryn Fiorella(Cornell Vet / Public and Ecosystem Health)

External advisor: David Mills(WorldFish)

Anthony Stewart: Uncovering the Natural Climate Solution Potential of Inland Wetlands in New York State

Forests and peatlands are often targets of conservation efforts, as ecosystems that can help combat climate change by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere while also protecting biodiversity. Inland wetlands also store substantial amounts of carbon, and should be considered as additional Natural Climate Solutions (NCS). Using field measurements of greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon accumulation rates, remote sensing data, and machine learning models, Stewart will build highly detailed maps of wetlands in New York state and quantify wetlands' net carbon balance and GHG climate impact. Then he'll assess the viability of protecting inland wetlands through established NCS conservation programs, informing strategies for communities and individuals. Collaborations with The Nature Conservancy, Naturebase, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and local landowners and communities will ensure that findings are relevant and impactful.

Cornell faculty mentor: Meredith Holgerson(CALS / Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)

External advisor: Samantha Yeo(The Nature Conservancy)

Krisy Gashler is a writer for the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.