Fidisoa Rasambainarivo

Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences
Assistant professor

When Fidisoa “Fidy” Rasambainarivo learned he had been named one of only five winners worldwide of the Maxwell-Hanrahan Foundation Award in Field Biology, he was humbled.

He said the award, which included a $100,000 cash prize, was something he didn’t even apply for.

Instead of using the money for himself, Rasambainarivo, who joined ECU’s Department of Biology in 2023, is giving it all away — half to ECU and half to Mahaliana, a research lab he co-founded in his native Madagascar. At ECU, his $50,000 gift created the One Health Research Fund, which will support faculty, students and international research collaborations.

Rasambainarivo’s work focuses on the places where humans, wildlife and domestic animals meet — and where diseases can spread among them. Much of his research takes place in Madagascar, where he studies lemurs, wild carnivores and the role of cats and dogs in transmitting parasites such as toxoplasmosis. He also investigates zoonotic diseases in eastern North Carolina, with the goal of informing conservation and public health.

Equally important to him is sharing those discoveries with students. He mentors undergraduate, master’s and doctoral researchers at ECU and hopes his gift will open doors for student exchanges between Greenville and Madagascar. “I hope students will see how we are connected to the environment. How our actions, both at the individual level and at the societal level, may impact the environment and our own health,” he said.

For Rasambainarivo, who grew up loving the wildlife of Madagascar, the award is about more than recognition. “My intention with this gift and award is to take students there but also bring students and scientists from Madagascar to North Carolina to increase the exchange and experiences of both of the worlds I live in and now call home.”

– Lacey Gray

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