ISR Community: Scientists without Borders

The ISR Science Community is a network of leading scientists from around the world working together to accelerate research to address complex global crises. In addition to spanning continents, the community is multi-disciplinary with researchers from life sciences, physical sciences, data and technology, behavioral sciences, and social sciences.  


A Global Community

The ISR science community is made up of 1,000+ researchers from 90+ countries. Explore our interactive map below to see our community makeup.

A Multi-Disciplinary Community

The ISR science community is made up of scientists from a wide range of research disciplines. 

Meet the Community

To celebrate the ISR Science Community, we are pleased to feature a few of the members who contributed to crisis simulations. 


Malik Padellan
United States of America

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Bioengineer
I love exploring new scientific ideas, and the ISR Readiness Exercise was the perfect opportunity to do this. It was a great feeling to contribute some of my ideas to scientific preparedness, while learning a lot more than I already knew about wildfires in the process.

- Malik Padellan

Daniel San Martin
Chile

Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
Computer Science
Growing up in a cold Chilean town, at a young age, I learned to love fire as a way to stay warm. I felt very differently as I grew older and learned about forest fires, and what happens if we can’t prevent them. In my work, it is difficult to access certain essential data. We need something like the ISR to help us with that, and for scientists to better learn from each other regardless of their geographic location.

- Daniel San Martin

Roberto Dias
Brazil
Scientific Director of Microbiote
Fundação Arthur Bernardes/Petrobras, Universidade Federal de Viçosa,
Microbiology
As scientists, we can prevent real crises. I participated in the ISR Readiness Exercise because this type of exercise makes our research matter by allowing us to think in advance, think about the future. When a crisis arrives, we can have strong projects or concepts that are ready to help mitigate disasters.

- Roberto Dias

Fulya Aydin-Kandemir
Turkey

Hydropolitics Association (HPA), Ankara & Akdeniz University
Climate Science
We are scientists. We have no nations. It is crucial for us to collaborate across international borders, through organizations like the International Science Reserve. Readiness exercises are an important way to do this. My hope is that maybe the global scientific community will be able to solve some issues that cannot be solved on a national level.

- Fulya Aydin-Kandemir

Daisy B. Badilla
Philippines

Independent Researcher
Environmental Engineer
I was impressed by the inclusive way that the ISR opened its readiness exercise. This is a big reason I wanted to participate. I also wanted the Philippines to be represented in this exercise. The issue of air quality in public health, as part of crisis preparation, is very important and yet understudied in my country. I couldn’t pass up submitting a proposal.

- Daisy B. Badilla

Tracy Marshall
Trinidad and Tobago

Department of Geography, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
Behavioral Science
I observed how the 2007 earthquake off the coast of Martinique changed people’s perceptions in Barbados towards earthquakes. Then, I thought about natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires that people know are coming, and wanted to find out more about why populations act or do not act. Understanding the human element is vital in preparing for a crisis and reducing its negative impact. This requires building a level of understanding of local communities prior to impact. By participating in the ISR readiness exercise, I could see the usability of my work and its impact on a real-life situation—a phenomenal feeling.

- Tracy Marshall

Matthew Adeleye
Australia

The Australian National University
Paleoecology
An aspect that is still missing in the field of Paleoecology, especially in developing countries, is the use of paleoecological data to address present-day ecological challenges. Participating in the ISR wildfire readiness exercise was a way for me to expand my research impact. I want my research to also help people, to contribute to humanity, because directly or indirectly ecological crises affect people’s lives. The readiness exercise also gave me a way to think about my research interests and areas of expertise from another perspective that explores multidisciplinary approaches.

- Matthew Adeleye

Vinicius Albani
Brazil

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Mathematics
In the ISR Readiness Exercise, we are training ourselves to answer a crisis. It is also a way for scientists to come together and brainstorm on a model and the tools you will need. Like in our regular research, this is an opportunity for us to use our research tools and our knowledge—but to directly help society.

- Vinicius Albani

Role of the ISR Science Community

During a declared crisis, the ISR will send out an urgent call to the scientific community to submit proposals. These proposals offer researchers the chance to seek collaborators and resources that will accelerate their crisis-related research.

To prepare for a crisis, the ISR conducts readiness exercises including simulations of proposal submissions by scientists. By leveraging the knowledge and relationships developed in these exercises, the members of the ISR science community and network will be able to leap into rapid response when a crisis is declared. The ISR will also use the readiness exercises to identify critical gaps in the scientific resources available to address complex crises, and will work with the scientific community to develop roadmaps to collectively address these gaps. 

The ISR was founded on the belief that the preparation that occurs before a crisis incident is critical to reducing response times, improving coordination, and mitigating impact.  By joining the ISR Community: Scientists without Borders,  scientists become part of an international network committed to rapid crisis response. Join us in ensuring science during a crisis is not science as usual. 


Reasons to Join

Join the Scientists without Borders @ ISR Community

  • Gain access to resources to accelerate your research.
  • Receive global exposure and be valued for your contributions to crisis resolution.
  • Contribute to crisis solutions through real-world application of your research. 
  • Access a borderless global network of experts.
  • Develop in your field through knowledge sharing, networking, and community connections.
  • Ensure you do not miss any critical crisis communication updates.

Nicholas Dirks (New York Academy of Sciences) and Dario Gil (IBM Research) introduce the ISR

Blog Feature: Why Wildfires Were Chosen as the Pilot Crisis for the International Science Reserve

The ISR engages in the three-stages of crisis response (preparation, response, and recovery)