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• Artists, Writers, and Musicians

The Fulbright Program is committed to providing opportunities for American and foreign artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and musicians to showcase their creativity. A large number of Fulbright grants are offered to applicants in the performing and visual arts each year. Please see the program details by country for further information and specific eligibility requirements.

Fulbright Programs for Artists, Writers & Musicians

U.s. student program.

In the creative and performing arts, applicants without a Bachelor's degree may substitute at least four years of professional training or experience.

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The Fulbright Foreign Student Program offers opportunities for foreign graduate students, young professionals and artists from abroad to study, conduct research, and/or teach their native language in the U.S.

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For artists applying to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program from outside academe, projects will be judged on recognized professional standing and substantial professional accomplishments.

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The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program offers opportunities for foreign scholars, artists and professionals to conduct post-doctoral research and/or lecture in the U.S.

Brian Rutenberg - Fulbright Student to Ireland, 1997

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The Literary Writer’s Guide to Getting a Fulbright Fellowship

In Guest Contributors by Guest Contributor July 23, 2012

By Anna Clark

Two myths about the U.S. Fulbright fellowship program that I want to get out of the way:

• Literary writers: you too can get a fellowship. I know the program is best known for work in fields like public health, anthropology, economics, and the hard sciences. But the scope of the Fulbright program is more expansive than you may think.
• No, it is not impossible to decipher the Fulbright program and application procedure. But I agree with you: the various online platforms for the program are utterly bewildering.

Consider this, then, the literary writer’s primer to the Fulbright.

The Big Picture

Fulbright is an international exchange program that has been sponsored by the U.S. State Department since 1946. The Institute for International Education administers it. Fulbright operates in about 155 countries, mostly sending people in the U.S. abroad, but also bringing people from other nations into the U.S. The program boasts that 43 of its alumni have won Nobel prizes and 81 have won Pulitzer Prizes. Another 28 are MacArthur Foundation fellows. The program was created by U.S. Senator William Fulbright (D-Arkansas) for the “promotion of international good will through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture, and science.” There are at least eleven different kinds of Fulbright grants. The one I did — a Creative Writing project in Kenya – is through the “ U.S. Student Program .” This is misleadingly named: you don’t have to be a student to apply for this grant. I got my Master of Fine Arts in January 2007, but I didn’t apply for a “student” Fulbright until the fall of 2010. Offered as ten-month fellowships, Fulbrights through the student program are actually for “U.S. graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists.” More details on the U.S. Student Program below. But first:

Fulbright and the Writer

The Fulbright program is quite clear about being primarily an inter-cultural program. They invest in the person, rather than the project. (Though obviously, the in-country folks in particular are looking for great projects that are relevant and interesting.) Creative Writing fellowships are rare: only fifteen people worldwide have creative writing Fulbrights in the current grant cycle, though they are scattered from India to South Africa to South Korea. But I suspect if word got out, and more great writers applied, this number would increase.

What does the writer do on her Fulbright? In my case, I wanted to divide my time between my own writing — short stories grounded in Nairobi — and facilitating creative writing workshops with young people across the city. I wanted to match my own writing with time in community, having a particular attentiveness to how a literary culture emerges. I wanted to understand how stories are told in a nation that is not yet fifty years old, even as I worked as a teller of my own stories.

Things didn’t go as planned. Thank goodness that the inter-cultural philosophy of the Fulbright leaves room for adaptation. When some of the workshops I wanted to do weren’t happening, I struggled with disappointment and feelings of inadequacy. But I had flexibility to find alternative opportunities to engage with literary communities in Kenya. I ended up doing workshops with iHub , with young children , and with teenage boys in Kawangware . I mentored individual writers in one-on-one meetings at Nairobi Java House. I co-directed an event series for Kenyan and foreign journalists to talk about the intersection of gender and media. I spent time listening in a Saturday morning downtown literary club. I spoke to university students, instead of doing workshops with them. I edited for Kwani , instead of doing workshops with them. (The workshop model, it seems, isn’t quite so ingrained in the practice of creative writing in East Africa as it is in the USA.) And again, instead of workshops, I did editing and proofreading for Kenya Imagine before I left for Nairobi, while I was there, and I will continue to do so whenever they ask. Just about all of this was un-planned — not part of my original project proposal, though in the spirit of it. And that doesn’t even get to the unexpected turns in my own writing: while I did write some short fiction, I also wrote a good deal of narrative nonfiction and poetry.

It was important for me to arrive in Nairobi with a plan, but it was also necessary to be agile. Personally and professionally, navigating the uncertain ground was powerful. And given the high stakes of being a foreigner in another culture — particularly as a white American writer approaching a culture that is too often exoticized — anything less than fluidity would have cut against the Fulbright’s core purpose. If I weren’t willing to change my own habits and expectations of writing in Kenya, I would have perpetuated a kind of cultural brutality. I also would have had fewer unexpected and heart-opening opportunities for joy.

But my experience is only one.

Dana Kroos, a novelist, is in Newfoundland, Canada on her Fulbright fellowship. Nicholas Gulig, a poet, went to Bangkok, Thailand. Both heard about the Fulbright opportunity through word-of-mouth. Gulig, as a University of Iowa MFA student, dated a woman who had done a creative writing fellowship in China. Kroos had seen email postings about it as an MFA student at New Mexico State University, but she “mostly dismissed these, thinking that the type of research supported by the Fulbright was more scientific and academic, rather than creative.” She assumed she’d need to apply for a travel grant for writers that was short-term and would hardly give her the chance to understand the place. Friends of friends eventually let her know otherwise.

Newfoundland was the ideal setting for Kroos’ novel because its culture has “evolved separate from Europe and North America, but tied to and threatened by both. This alienation has created a culture that values secrecy…that will reflect the interactions of my characters.” With a focus on a family that wrestles with different beliefs they draw from shared experiences, Kroos is interested in integrating Newfoundland’s regional folklore and legends. The sea-centered landscape and geographic isolation of Newfoundland is also a driving force. As in my case, Kroos found her plans shift once she got on the ground. She initially intended to live in St. Johns for one semester, and then move to a smaller town to research a specific setting for her novel. But, she notes:

“What I realized when arriving in Newfoundland, was that a three month semester was not enough time in a place to truly dig in and get to know the community and setting. I decided to stay in St. John’s for the entire year. While St. John’s is a sizeable city, it is surrounded by small villages less than a ten or twenty minute drive away. As I learned more about Newfoundland and my novel, I decided to set the story on the outskirts of St. John’s, in a created town that would be an amalgam of several of these villages.”

Gulig grew up in the Midwest as the son of a Thai woman who had moved to Wisconsin for art school, and then married his dad. Engaging more deeply with the Thai culture that had made him different than those he grew up with was part of his inspiration for pursuing his writing in Bangkok. Like me, Gulig was interested in literary culture outside of what he’d been immersed in most of his life: “I write among…writers who are similarly a product of the western canon, which limits us in a variety of ways, makes our thinking more insular than I would like it, pushes our art in the direction of certain inherited concerns.”

Gulig’s intention was to “to create a hybrid manuscript of poems, half here, half there, as a way of addressing formally and thematically” his experience as an artist that feels both connected and separated from Thailand. But he felt cautioned by the tricky legacy of Western writers going abroad to write. Says Gulig:

“There is a long (and oftentimes lazy) tradition in our culture of making myths of external actualities, romanticizing the idea of difference, exoticizing other people, places, idealizing them, often at their expense as well as ours, which is a kind of violence we are want to see instead as being “worldly” or whatever, “culturally diverse.”

“The problem, though, was that I wanted terribly to participate in the amalgamation of cultures without doing ‘violence,’ be the stranger in a strange land, and watch, through art, what happened to me as an individual and to my work, map the subtle transformations. But it wasn’t (and) isn’t easy.”

Gulig finally found that “the project [he] set out to do proved impossible to finish.”

“I realized pretty quick that dropping in out of nowhere into the middle of a place that does not belong to you, no matter who you are, no matter your relationship to that place, doesn’t translate into being able to speak of and for that place with any authenticity or accuracy,” he adds. “I could only be an outsider, looking in, which was (and) is problematic. Most of the books ‘about’ Thailand are written by people who aren’t Thai and they bear the burden of that perspective. A poet I met and worked with in Bangkok explained to me one night how sick she was of people arriving in her country, living there for a relatively short amount of time, and then defining the place and people in terms appropriate to the observer but not the people, not the place itself. After hearing that, I felt my project incredibly ill-conceived, ethically bankrupt, and aesthetically inept. I knew I needed to alter it in a fundamental way. And so I did.”

Gulig changed the focus of his manuscript “away from Thailand as an other I was trying to understand and (instead) document through art (my position in it)…Instead of attempting to do away with ‘middle-ness,’ I decided to embrace it as an actual place, neither here nor there, but still actually existing, actually real.” His manuscript shifted towards prose-poems — half one thing, half another, simultaneously both. He also found a collaborator. “I knew I needed the project to belong to someone other than myself, to a medium other than language,” Gulig said. “And so I found an artist, an illustrator in Bangkok named Kathy MacLeod who began providing illustrations to manuscript. In this way, the book is suspended between the two of us, and between our chosen mediums as well.”

About The U.S. Student Program

This Fulbright category includes the English-teaching assistantships and the travel-only grants designed to supplement another award or individual project; travel-only grants are available only for Italy, Germany, and Hungary. To apply for this grant in Creative Writing, you propose a project for where you want to go. Generally, a set number of grants total are available each year for a particular country. In my year, there were four U.S. Student Program grants available for Kenya. Depending on how politics are unfolding, Fulbright may suspend opportunities in certain countries. For example, you will not be surprised to learn that projects are not available in Syria right now. Some unique project categories are available only as a country-specific award, such as “Slow Foods” and “Deaf Studies” in Italy, or “Irish Language” in Ireland. There are other special programs available within the U.S. Student Program structure. There are special journalism project opportunities available in Germany , Taiwan , and the United Kingdom .

The bulk of the U.S. Student Program, though, is you proposing your individually-designed project through the general program. Whatever project category you apply in, you need to have an affiliation; that is, some local organization or school or library or fill in the blank that says they are willing to cooperate with you to help you do your work. They are not obliged to pay you anything or provide other material support. So, I proposed coming to Nairobi to work on my fiction and to facilitate writing workshops with young people through Kenyan literary organizations (Kwani Trust and the Imagine Company), and the University of Nairobi’s Department of Literature. It is unusual to have three affiliations; most people have one, though it does strengthen your application (and, hopefully, your project) if you have additional support.

In the case of Kroos, the Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive is her affiliation, supporting her research into the folklore of the region. The archive grants her access to its resources and “the wealth of knowledgable faculty.” She also sits in on courses at Memorial University, learning from instructors and students alike. Kroos said, “the most potentially difficult factor is forming some kind of affiliation with a foreign institution where you most likely know no one and have no existing connections.” But, she added:

This is, however, how much research begins. The Folklore Department at Memorial University was immediately excited about my project and willing to become my host institution. Even so, it took awhile for them to formally approve the affiliation through the department and send the letter that I needed as proof for the Fulbright application.

Help is Available

While I haven’t been a student there since 2003, I filed my application through the University of Michigan’s International Institute . Most colleges have a similar institute that helps students and alums with their applications. This was great for me: I got feedback on my application that made it much better and I got help with organizing all the materials. I did have to go through an extra step — an in-person interview with two faculty members — and I did have to turn in my application earlier than the general Fulbright deadline. But it was absolutely worth it for the support I received in return. Kroos reports having a similar experience at New Mexico State University.

I should add that these international institutes often have Fulbright informational sessions starting about this time of year. Whether or not a college near you is your alma mater, you might think about attending the sessions it hosts. With the next round of Fulbright applications due in the early fall, plenty of these will be hosted over the next few months.

You don’t need to apply through a university though; you can also apply “at-large.” This is what Gulig did, with the editorial help of Jane, his girlfriend who had done a creative writing Fulbright in China. “I set aside about three months to work on the application, wrote endless drafts of essays, drafts of poems, all of which she read and edited and shed light on,” Gulig said.

Here’s What Applying Looks Like

For the application, which I filled out mostly online, I needed the following things: a letter from my affiliation (the folks I was doing writing workshops with), a creative sample (10 pages, in a requirement unique to the Creative Writing program), a personal statement, a project statement, and letters of recommendation. It’s not part of the official application, but because the professors that I interviewed with at the University of Michigan also filled out a one-page evaluation of me that was added to my application. I didn’t get to see this before it was submitted. If you are going to a country where you need to know a language that is not English, you will also need to have your language skills evaluated.

Here’s What Acceptance Looks Like

There are two stages to acceptance: one by a panel in the U.S. and one by a panel in the country you are going to. After turning in my application in September, I heard from the first round of cuts in February. I got the final answer in April.

You will have to attend an orientation. My region — Sub-Saharan Africa — had a pre-departure orientation, which meant we all gathered at a Marriott in Washington, D.C., for three days in late June. The people going to South and Central Asia had their orientation overlap with us, but in some regions, you have your orientation once you arrive in-country. A friend of mine who did a Fulbright in family law in New Zealand had an orientation there after she arrived in January.

Practicalities

• The Fulbright will pay for you to bring along your spouse and dependents. Availability of these funds varies from country to country.
• There is not a set Fulbright grant amount: it is calculated differently for different projects in different places, based on cost of living. You will receive it in installments, with most of the funds coming up front. The first installment cannot be deposited into your account earlier than about 4-6 weeks before you leave.
• The grant amount does not allot funds specifically for the costs of visas or vaccinations.
• The Fulbright funds are flexible. While they give you money based on certain categories (research, travel), they basically just deposit it in your account and you can spend it as it makes sense for you. You will, however, report your budget to the program in mid-year and end-of-year evaluations.
• The standard U.S. Student Fulbright grant is for 10 months, though there is room for negotiation. In some cases, you can go for a shorter length of time (I did) and in others you can apply for an extension once you are partway through your grant. I should note that as soon as I arrived in Kenya, I and the other Fulbrighters were told that grant extensions wouldn’t be available at all that year because of budget restrictions.
• The only concrete requirements after you receive the Fulbright and arrive in the foreign country are those two detailed program evaluations. You also will be obliged to stay in touch with the local U.S. embassy, including by attending a security briefing shortly after you arrive in-country.
• You can re-apply if you aren’t initially awarded a fellowship: Kroos was not accepted until the second time she submitted an application, after her novel was more deeply fleshed out.

The Final Word

From Kroos:

“I think that the great thing about the Fulbright program is that it’s flexible. It is, at its core, about understanding and forming relationships with other nations and cultures. We do this through writing in many ways. To be honest, there are few writing projects that share this common goal that would not be fitting to the Fulbright program. I could imagine not only works of fiction and poetry, but also children’s writing, travel writing, translation, adaptation, etc. etc. There seem to be endless possibilities for writers to explore their own styles and interests.”

“…it’s incredibly important to understand specifically how you work. If you need deadlines or affirmation or anything like that, the Fulbright probably is going to be a waste of your time. It’s easy, I think, to overly romanticize having all this freedom/time/security in which to work, but it’s also incredibly lonely, alienating work, which can make it difficult to actually do the work. There are going to be very few people who you can talk with about what you’re doing, which has the effect of creating certain doubts, certain strange anxieties in a lot of artists. This is something one should deal with and get over before arriving in the country. You don’t want to waste three months or more trying to figure these things out. The fellowship is simply too short.”

I will add that the Fulbright is most worthwhile for writers who are ready to unsteady themselves creatively, emotionally, and intellectually. That’s an easy sentiment to toss out there, but, I assure you, it is intense and difficult. It should be. When it’s time for you to risk it, in most cases, I believe, you know it.

This article is adapted, and expanded, from a post that originally appeared on Isak: http://www.isak.typepad.com .

DISCUSS: What Other Fellowship Programs Do You Recommend for Writers?

About the Author

Guest contributor.

Guest contributors to Publishing Perspectives have diverse backgrounds in publishing, media and technology. They live across the globe and bring unique, first-hand experience to their writing.

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Our Fulbrighters include postgraduate students, academics, senior visiting professors and other professionals across a wide range of disciplines. 

British fulbrighters in the usa, postgraduate award grantees.

Master's and PhD students or visiting postgraduate researchers

Fulbright All Disciplines Postgraduate Award - MA Music and Music Education - Columbia University

Wiktoria Gucia

Fulbright-Alistair Cooke Award in Journalism

Fulbright-BAFTA Postgraduate Award - University of California, Los Angeles

Angus Jackson

MA Liberal Studies - The New School for Social Research

Lydia Johnson

Master of Science in Genetics - University of Arizona

Fulbright All Disciplines Postgraduate Award - MEng Bioengineering - University of California, Berkeley

Caroline Pearsall

Fulbright All Disciplines Postgraduate Award - Doctor of Education in Music and Music Education - Columbia University

Faris Qayyum

Fulbright Postgraduate Award at Indiana University - Master of Laws (LLM) - Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Beth Richards

Fulbright All Disciplines Postgraduate Award - MA Peace and Justice - University of San Diego

Anekha Sokhal

Fulbright - Elsevier Data Analytics Award - Master of Data Science program - Rice University

Navigating through life's bumpy road and uphill climbs often feels like an adventure story; fighting the obstacles of anything that is thrown their way. Teaching is often like an adventure story. We make in the moment actions that stay with a child forever, helping them fight through the monsters of life.

Furthering his passion, Clark trained to be a qualified teacher in England at the University of Reading, studying Primary Education with Music Specialism. In his degree, his devotion to improving children's lives through the power of education and music education enlightened his journey forward. While diving into the world-class education system in the UK, Clark aims to further his knowledge in another leading country in high quality education in the US.

Written in storybooks is the dream of the US and its outstanding commitment to all educational settings. Clark is interested to explore further the difference in educational practice and purpose in the US in order to further his experience which will be used to impact teacher training in the UK: the foundation of education.

Through the power of music, Clark aims to further explore teacher’s knowledge in music education which is a common issue for primary teachers in England. The Fulbright opportunity will give him experience in music education as well as immersing himself in culture and knowledge from world-class educational specialists.

Wiktoria was born in Poland, but spend most of her childhood in Manchester, England. In 2023, she will graduate from University College London with a degree in Social Science.

Wiktoria's interest in the "social" was inspired by observing people, especially during her time as a volunteer for adults and children with disabilities. Volunteering with marginalised communities led Wiktoria to consider sharing the unheard stories of the people she worked with, by writing about them for student newspapers. Since then, Wiktoria has been a content writer for UCL Pi Media Magazine, as well as UCL Cheese Grater Magazine and has written articles that enhance the focus on individual stories.

Wiktoria has previous connections with Fulbright, as she was part of cohort 7 of the Sutton Trust US Programme , and a team leader for subsequent cohorts. This opportunity had given her confidence in her intellectual potential, and she has since used her voice as a conference organiser, bringing attention to women's reproductive rights in Poland.

Wiktoria's experience with the Sutton Trust US Programme had further motivated her to consider graduate study in the US. After her visit to Yale University, Wiktoria became fascinated with the melting pot American society. As a Fulbright Scholar, Wiktoria wishes to delve deep into the multitude of diverse stories that the US has to offer. Through listening, speaking to and writing about people's subjective lived experiences in the US, she wishes to bring real life insights of individuals to the forefront of journalistic practice.

Ellie graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2021 with a first-class degree in Modern and Medieval languages.

After an internship in documentary film distribution in Paris, her curiosity about the industry began to grow, and the notion of becoming a screenwriter began to settle, rather stubbornly, in her head. She dived deeper into this world while working in talent management in London, and began writing more seriously in stolen hours before and after work.

She is now thrilled that she will be pursuing a MFA in Screenwriting at UCLA's prestigious School of Theatre, Film and Television – studying in LA, the industry's beating heart – thanks to the generous support of Fulbright and BAFTA.

Ellie is excited to explore the many different landscapes of California, replacing wintery beach walks in her homeland of Northern Ireland with some far sunnier strolls. She plans on filling her time with coffee, yoga and making new friends who can teach her all about life in America. Maybe she'll even learn the rules of American football, or baseball. But surfing seems unlikely given her total lack of upper body strength.

Most importantly, she’s excited to hone her craft with some of the best in the business; to make friends and colleagues, all journeying into this weird and wonderful industry together, and to have undivided, uninterrupted time to devote herself to doing what all of this has taught her she wants to do most: write

Angus is a writer and activist from South London. Since graduating from The University of Cambridge in 2020 with a degree in English Literature, he has spent three years working for charities in the criminal justice system. His current role involves running a creative writing project aimed at inspiring incarcerated people to tell their stories. Finding meeting points like this between the arts and social justice is a longstanding interest of his; in his spare time, as well as writing, he has done some grassroots organising work supporting community-led resistance to prison expansion, housing injustice and police violence.

Angus is aiming to use his two years in New York and the interdisciplinary Liberal Studies course at NSSR to synthesize his work to date as a critical thinker, creative writer and activist. Specifically, he is looking to explore the abolitionist imagination: the ways in which artists, thinkers and activists have sought to envision a world beyond punishment, prisons, policing and surveillance. He also hopes to learn from like-minded organisers and activists, while developing his writing amidst the thriving arts scene in New York and putting his 6’7 frame to good use on the basketball court at long last (though he worries if he can’t manage this in NYC then there’s not much hope for him…)!

Lydia is a 22-year-old Physiology student currently in her final year of her undergraduate degree at Newcastle University. She applied for the Fulbright scholarship whilst on her placement year in Malaysia; after her initial ventures abroad brought so much joy, she realized there was so much opportunity to learn about and experience life in different cultures. Lydia has lived in Europe and Asia and wanted to cross another continent off the list!  

As a research-based scientist, the opportunity to study in US laboratories and be part of the research team was incredibly appealing, especially for the topic Lydia want to specialise in: epigenetics, primarily the influence of environment on disease. As Lydia is with the IIE Placement services, she’s applied to four potential universities that all have fantastic research groups in this field. Her aim is to create more accessible global education system on how to live a healthy lifestyle and reduce the increasing emergence of disease.  

Whilst Lydia is in the US she can't wait to explore and experience the beautiful nature sights that there is to offer. She’s a big fan of being outside, so she’s already excited to plan road trips to the beach and go on various hikes. Lydia is hoping to really become part of the community and create a home away from home. She’s interested in joining different clubs, potentially get into a new sport and meet lots of new people in the next part of her journey.  

Sydney is a biotech undergrad at Imperial College London completing her final year after an industrial placement at an immunotherapy company in Oxford. This experience solidified her resolve to create scientific solutions for the betterment of the human condition. Her next academic milestone is pursuing a Master’s in Bioengineering in the United States to gain exposure to a culture generating tangible impact from scientific innovation. Her career path is yet undecided – while employing tissue engineering and synthetic biology methods for hacking the immune system is an exciting prospect, she is equally passionate about applying these approaches to commercialising cultivated meat.

Sydney is determined to embody Fulbright’s commitment to educational exchange by involving herself in STEM outreach activities as part of the Society of Women Engineers. She is also keen on exploring the food scene in California. Sydney hopes to connect with people studying a variety of disciplines, and use her foreign language skills to help forge strong bonds with them. As the advent of novel technologies blurs the lines between science, business, and policy, she hopes to come out of her studies with the skillset and confidence to navigate the biotech industry’s ever-changing landscape.

Working mainly in tango, popular and contemporary music, Caroline has toured throughout Europe, in Australia, Argentina, North Africa and the Middle East. She has played on Radio France, Classic FM, BBC TV, ITV, Channel 4, and in many festivals such as the Nice Jazz Festival, Oslo World Music Festival, Buenos Aires Tango Festival, City of London Festival.

In 2011 she finished an MMus from Royal Holloway University of London in ethnomusicology. She won a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2014 to go to Buenos Aires for two months to  work on a book about the history of tango violin. She has performed with many incredible tango musicians such as Juan Jose Mosalini, Victor Hugo Villena, Daniel Melingo, La Chicana, Silbando, Orquesta Imperial and Les Fleurs Noires. She currently plays Argentine Folklore with La Tipica Folklorica in Paris. She graduated with another Masters, this time in Education & Technology from UCL in 2022.

Her group the London Tango Orchestra released their first album Primeros Pasos in 2015 and their second Abrazo Abierto in 2021. In 2017 the Caminito Tango Orquesta Escuela was launched where Caroline teaches amateurs and semi-pros the art of tango music. They rehearse once a month and perform in milongas several times a year. This has now been transformed into the Creative Caminito Community Interest Company and a second orquesta has started in Leeds. She is currently preparing for the third album with her tango orchestra and is learning the art of digital storytelling with Story Center in California.

Faris graduated with a degree in Jurisprudence (Law) from the University of Oxford in 2018, before working in commercial law and qualifying as a solicitor in London. After deciding to return to the academic sphere, he spent time studying Islamic Studies as well as European Law.

Conscious of the growing tides of tribalism and democratic backsliding, Faris sees Law as offering the means to counteract these trends. He is interested in exploring the role that institutions can play in providing checks and balances against these phenomena, as well as considering the design of laws which are culturally sensitive in diverse societies, particularly where religious norms conflict with national legal norms. During his time in the United States, Faris hopes to focus his studies on comparative law, taking advantage of Maurer’s expertise in constitutional design in order to broaden his perspectives. Beyond the classroom, he is looking forward to long trail hikes outside of Bloomington and diving into all the food that the Midwest has to offer!

Beth Richards graduated from The University of Manchester in 2020 with a BSc. in International Disaster Management and Humanitarian response, after spending many years volunteering across global development projects. The course gave Beth the opportunity to explore migration and humanitarian topics through a theoretical lens, and after receiving an academic excellence award, Beth went on to volunteer as trustee for the Welsh Refugee Council.

In 2021, Beth moved to Malta to join the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), where she worked across a range of projects supporting asylum seekers and refugees worldwide. Having worked for MOAS, Beth saw people’s lives completely uprooted by environmental degradation and climatic instability, and the secondary impacts of disasters, including social unrest.  Beth also volunteered as a mentor at Integra, supporting vulnerable asylum seekers, where she was inspired to dedicate her research to highlight the need for extensive action on climate change and migration.

Through the Fulbright project, Beth seeks to highlight the needs of climate migrants which are currently being neglected through a lack of international recognition. Having previously worked to dismantle harmful narratives around migration, Beth is very accustomed to the power of rhetoric and so is extremely interested in exploring how information can be best communicated to bring about positive change. She is excited for the research opportunities that lie ahead in the US!

Anekha’s passion for solving problems led her to pursue a Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics degree at the University of Warwick. She subsequently joined JP Morgan as their youngest Gas Derivatives Trader where she built and managed the business during the green energy transition, she became hyperaware of the importance of energy flexibility, security, and resilient global supply chains. She developed a data-driven mindset to managing a multi-million-dollar portfolio of financial risk and successfully multiplied trading revenues, expanding both the client base and risk appetite.

Anekha recently launched herself into a new challenge combining the interests that shaped her journey so far - entrepreneurial thinking, data-driven decision-making, strategy consulting and social impact and applying them to transforming a growing jewellery business. Moving from energy to retail, Anekha observed the lack of employment of data analytics and the consequential colossal amount of wastage created through consumer returns. Anekha’s ambition with a master's degree is to contribute to climate change solutions by using big data and AI algorithms to transform the global supply chain logistics for organisations and minimise their environmental impact whilst optimising their finances. Alongside studying, Anekha enjoys being outdoors and plans to travel across the various states in the US. As an avid skier, she is excited to explore the mountains in the US.

Scholar Award grantees

Academic scholars and other professionals

Barry Bentley

Fulbright Global Wales Scholar Award - Harvard Medical School

Pragya Agarwal

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award - University of California

Cennydd Bowles

Fulbright Elon University Scholar Award

Gavin Brookes

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award - Northern Arizona University

Alun Hubbard

Lloyd's Scholar Award - University of Alaska Anchorage and Brown University

Dominic Johnson

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award - University of Southern California

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award - The University of Iowa

Eliza McKee

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award - New York University

Gemma Morgan

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award - George Mason University

Benjamin Owen

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award - University of Illinois

Deepika Reddy

Royal College of Surgeons Research Award - Johns Hopkins

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award - Cornell University

Barry Bentley received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Cambridge, where he worked at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. He now leads the Bioengineering Research Group at Cardiff Metropolitan University, and serves as Deputy Director of the EUREKA Robotics Centre.   

Having worked across multiple disciplines, Barry has a diverse set of interests and a passion for problem solving and continuous learning. For a long time, Barry has been particularly interested in the prospect of long-term banking of biological materials, and its potential to increase the supply and accessibility of cells, tissues, and organs for human transplantation.  

As a Fulbright Scholar, Barry will be joining a centre of excellence in biopreservation at Harvard Medical School to learn about the latest research in organ preservation, and work collaboratively with the host to develop a joint programme of research.  

During the visit, Barry is looking forward to exploring the rich and charming history of Cambridge and Boston, and experiencing their thriving academic culture. Schedule permitting, whilst in the US he is also hoping to fulfil a lifelong dream of seeing a rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center.  

Pragya Agarwal moved to the UK from India to study for a Masters and then a PhD from The University of Nottingham, further to which she held a Leverhulme Fellowship and senior academic positions in the UK and abroad. Currently she is a visiting professor of social inequities at Loughborough University and a visiting scholar at University of Oxford. She is the author of four widely acclaimed books on inequalities and bias, and reproductive justice. Her writing also appears in Scientific American, New Scientist, WIRED, The Conversation, The Guardian, Prospect Magazine, among others.   

Pragya is the founder of a research think-tank, ‘The 50 Percent Project’, that examines gender and racial inequities around the world. She is a Fellow of Royal Society of Arts and Royal Geographical Society and recently been awarded a British Library Eccles Centre fellowship to research her next book. She was awarded a Crucible fellowship by NESTA for ‘innovative inter-disciplinary research’, and a Transmission Prize in 2022 for ‘making big complex scientific ideas accessible’.   

Pragya is a highly sought-after speaker and has a strong media profile, and has given talks at the Sydney Opera House, Met Police, British Museum, Royal Society, Google, National Slavery Museum, United Nations, The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Science Museum Boston, and Microsoft.  

As a Fulbright Scholar at University of California Irvine, Pragya will be investigating judicial bias, especially how bias affects decision-making in the areas of domestic violence, reproductive justice and immigration laws, and the role that maps play in the judicial domain.   

Cennydd Bowles is an interaction designer and technology ethicist based in London.  

Midway through a career in the UK tech sector and Silicon Valley, Bowles grew concerned about the industry’s mounting ethical problems. This growing interest found him drawn back into academia to study practical ethics at the University of Oxford. His book Future Ethics, an examination of emerging technology ethics from a practitioner perspective, has proven popular with technologists and students alike, and Bowles has subsequently lectured at Google, Facebook, Stanford University and the Royal College of Art on the topic.  

As a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Elon University, Bowles will research anticipatory ethics, investigating how technology teams can pre-empt and mitigate social and ethical impacts of innovation. Drawing on ideas from futures thinking, safety engineering, and practical moral philosophy, the research will form the backbone of his next book, What Could Go Wrong? Outside of study and teaching, Bowles plans to immerse himself in college sport fandom and share his passion for chess with the local community.  

Gavin is a UKRI Future Leader Fellow in the Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University. He is a linguist, with a particular interest in how people use language in relation to health and illness, in contexts such as the news media and public health communication.   

Gavin’s expertise has given him a deep appreciation of how fundamental language use is to the ways in which we communicate about health, and the implications this can have for how particular illnesses and health issues are understood and indeed experienced. While at Northern Arizona University, Gavin will work with world-leading linguists to explore how news media in the US communicate about dementia to the general public. Also working with project partners from public health and media organizations, it is Gavin’s hope that his work can help to raise better awareness among public communicators in the US about the potential implications of their language use and the choices they make when writing or talking about dementia. This ambition is a personal one for Gavin; he and his family have been directly affected by dementia, and during his studies Gavin worked part-time in dementia care.    

Outside of his research, Gavin enjoys travelling, science fiction and old horror movies, and watching and playing football (or soccer!). When in Arizona, he’s looking forward to hiking, sampling local craft beers, and exploring the Grand Canyon.  

Alun is an applied glaciologist and geophysicist primarily interest in the response of glaciers and ice sheets to atmospheric, oceanic and geological forcing.   He holds an Arctic Five Chair at The Arctic University of Norway - Tromso with a remit to understand the long-term stability and legacy of the Greenland ice sheet and its impact on the environment, landscape, carbon-cycle, and broader commitment to global sea-level rise and impact on society. His approach encompasses the collection of innovative field-data to improve process understanding and to constrain numerical models.  As well as Greenland, he has ongoing research projects across the Arctic, including Alaska, Svalbard and the High Canadian Arctic with additional interests in Patagonia, Asia, New Zealand and Antarctica. He has over 70 months continuous experience working on the Greenland ice sheet and as many successful research/exploration expeditions across far-flung remote regions of the planet, many conducted from his own steel sailboat and a helicopter logistics non-profit that he set up. He is an active commentator on the environment, and has presented for and supported many gong-winning documentaries including BBC's Frozen Planet 1 & 2, Operation Iceberg, Netflix "Our Planet", National Geographic "Chasing Ice" to name a few.  He is excited for the Fulbright year ahead, to be shared between Anchorage and Rhode Island.  

Dominic Johnson will be based at the Roski School of Fine Art, University of Southern California in Downtown Los Angeles for four months from January 2024. His larger project is to produce the first scholarly study of the work of the British South Asian artist Hamad Butt, in the context of art and HIV/AIDS. Butt made a series of sculptures that used toxic or noxious materials in volatile-seeming setups, creating environments that threaten or provoke fear in those who encounter them. Johnson is also curating the first comprehensive retrospective exhibition of Butt's work, which will tour to major museums in the UK and Europe in 2024-25. While in Los Angeles, Johnson will research how artists, scholars and curators approach ‘recalcitrant’ art that can be difficult to make, show, or acquire, and that rethinks what art does and why it matters.   

Johnson's research to date has tended to focus on performance art and live art, generally from a queer perspective. He is an art historian based in a Drama department, and looks forward to the new challenges of being based in a fine art context. Johnson is also looking forward to enjoying the esoteric histories of Los Angeles and Southern California. Outside of his research, he plans to spend time in Joshua Tree and the Morongo Valley region, to see the iconic Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Art, and to visit The Integratron, a structure designed by ufologist George Van Tassel as a vehicle for time-travel.  

Adnan is a clinician-scientist in ophthalmology. At the University of Southampton, he recently completed a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded Clinical Lectureship. His research interests include sight-threatening ocular inflammatory and retinal diseases. Adnan qualified from UCL Medical School, combining his medical degree with a PhD in transplantation immunology from Imperial College London. He underwent ophthalmic surgical training in Aberdeen, Scotland.  

There is increasing evidence that an age-related decline of immune system regulation, known as immunosenescence, contributes to degenerative diseases of the macula (the central part of the retina). A UK-wide shortage of donor eye tissue makes it difficult to undertake the most innovative retinal research. Adnan will use his Fulbright year to translate areas of good practice from the novel partnership of The University of Iowa with Iowa Lions Eye Bank. He will use ground-breaking technology to further investigate immunosenescence in macular diseases as a basis for translation into curative therapies. Outside of work, Adnan has a wide interest in music traditions and travel. He hopes to attend as many college football games as possible, not only for the sport, but to experience the great marching bands of the Big Ten athletics conference!  

Eliza’s interest in the relationship between clothing, identity, poverty, vernacular culture and folklore was nurtured through the community and family folklore told to her by her grandmothers who were part of a family of linen mill workers and clothing manufacturers from the Linen Triangle in Ulster. Eliza took this interest into her academic studies, first studying fashion design and design history, then completing a BA in Modern History, an MA in Archives, and an MA in Irish History, fusing her passion for Irish history and the history of clothing into her Ph.D, which she completed at Queen’s University Belfast in 2022.   

Eliza is now a social historian specialising in dress, consumption and the material culture of poverty in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Ireland. As Fulbright Scholar, Eliza will be joining Irish Studies academics at Glucksman Ireland House, New York University. Her Fulbright project entitled ‘Irish and Scots-Irish dress, migration and identity formation in the United States of America, c. 1800-1900’ will explore how clothing was used by lower-class Irish immigrants as an expression of community identity and to create belonging. Eliza is looking forward to the opportunities the Fulbright award will give her to share her work internationally and to engage with the Irish diaspora and the community of Irish studies and dress scholars in the US.  

Gemma is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Swansea University. She was the winner of Swansea University’s Research & Innovation Rising Star Award, 2022 and a finalist of the Criminal Justice Alliance ‘Outstanding Individual’ award, 2022 and Digital Leaders 100 – ‘Young Digital Leader of the Year’, 2021. Gemma’s research interests are: desistance/rehabilitation, digital technology in desistance-orientated work, youth justice, evaluation methodology, and co-production. Her underpinning research ethos is collaborative, emphasising the importance of interdisciplinary and impactful work. She works closely with several public, private, and third-sector organisations to advance knowledge transfer between academia and practice.    

Her most recent work focuses on developing digital technologies for people and organisations in the criminal justice system to support desistance and other positive outcomes. She is the lead inventor of the innovative ‘My Journey’ app which aims reduce re-offending and improve the social of inclusion of people who have offended. During her Fulbright Scholarship at the Centre for Advancing Correctional Excellence - George Mason University, Gemma will be examining how My Journey can be adapted for the US context and will explore the development of other digital technologies. Gemma is excited to immerse herself within different cultures and is looking forward to watching the Washington Wizards!  

Benjamin completed his Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering and Ph.D. studying computational fluid dynamics at the University of Manchester in 2019. He was awarded an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship and upon completion of the fellowship, joined the University of Edinburgh as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Ben applies his knowledge of fluid mechanics to blood flow in healthcare settings. Ben’s research surrounds fluid flow dynamics of particles in blood samples – for cardiovascular disease applications during his Ph.D. and for diagnostic devices as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Having worked closely with clinicians, he understands the need for rapid and accurate diagnosis and novel treatments.  

During his Fulbright Fellowship, Ben will collaborate with Prof. Ian Papautsky at the University of Illinois, Chicago to combine his expertise in blood flow simulations with state-of-the-art experimental methods to investigate how the high cell concentration of whole blood affects the separation of abnormal or diseased cells. This will allow for the creation of inertial microfluidic devices that can separate cancer cells from whole blood, reducing labour, time, and cost, in clinical settings. From cancer alone, over 1 million people die in the UK and USA each year and early detection is crucial to increasing survival rate. During his time in Chicago, Benjamin is looking forward to immersing himself in American culture, experiencing the stunning architecture, watching the Chicago Bulls, and joining a local rugby team.  

Deepika Reddy is a full time Urology Surgical Trainee in London with an interest in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. Dr Reddy has completed a PhD in this area investigating the use of focal therapy treatment for localised prostate cancer. The result of this work has culminated with the completion of a pilot trial assessing the feasibility of recruiting to a randomised control trial comparing focal therapy to traditional whole gland treatment. Focal therapy is a treatment modality aimed at treating specific areas of disease in the prostate with a surrounding margin in order to minimise the side-effects of urinary and sexual function often seen following surgical removal or radiation to the whole prostate, but is not yet widely available in the NHS.  

With the support of the Fulbright- RCS England Scholar award she will spend 6 months in the USA, based out of the world famous Johns Hopkins, Baltimore to further establish outcomes following radical prostatectomy (surgical removal of the whole prostate) and focal therapy under the supervision of Dr Arvin George. The work will include multi-institution collaboration aimed to collect data across centres that provide both forms of treatment and promote collaboration between these centres and those in the UK.   

Dr Reddy is passionate about pelvic cancer treatment, directing better understanding of the treatment benefits and risks to optimise patient-centred decision making. She is also motivated in promoting diversity with the medical and surgical field, becoming a Fulbright Scholar and representing both the USA and UK in such a field is an invaluable experience.  

David is a Rural Geographer who works on aspects of farm extension – engaging, listening, and responding to farmer and other stakeholder views about changes in policy, innovation, or technology. Topic areas include farmer mental health, technology adoption, sustainable transitions, technology ethics, and responsible innovation.  

Distinguished Awards in Teaching grantees

Teaching professionals

Harriet Piercy

Distinguished Teacher, Vanderbilt University

Jill Somerville

Harriet is in her eighth year of teaching English at Haggerston Secondary School in Hackney, London. Most recently as a head of faculty, Harriet has led curriculum design and staff development in the English department. Throughout her career Harriet has expanded educational opportunities for students through enrichment activities, including theatre trips, workshops with political speechwriters, and lectures from university academics. Harriet’s hobbies include drawing and printmaking and she regularly draws on visual culture in her lessons. 

Harriet’s inquiry project explores best practice in classroom oracy and seeks to identify the most effective, engaging and inclusive methods for developing students’ public speaking skills. On her return, Harriet hopes to apply lessons and ideas from her time in the American classroom to improve outcomes for students with the greatest barriers in the school community.

Jill Somerville is a highly motivated Nursery and Primary school teacher, currently based in Northern Ireland. After obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from Queens University, Jill embarked on a career in teaching by completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and more recently, a Masters in Early Childhood Studies at Stranmillis University.

Jill has always been passionate about exploring different education systems around the world, which has led her to visit Iceland, Slovenia, and Norway to observe and implement new strategies to ensure the best possible learning experiences for the children in her class. She strongly believes in constantly evolving her teaching practices to meet the changing needs of her students. Jill is a trained Forest School leader, which enables her to incorporate nature-based learning experiences into the curriculum. She is also a passionate advocate for Play to Learn More, a methodology for learning through movement. Jill strongly believes in the benefits of outdoor play and how it can create an inclusive environment for all children in the 21st century world.

In her classroom, Jill can often be found exploring different seasons and learning new skills with her students, regardless of the weather. Her passion for teaching extends beyond her classroom as she is also interested in how American educators create inclusive environments for their students. She is excited to travel to America, visit famous geographical landmarks, and attend some CrossFit gyms during her trip.

American Fulbrighters in the UK

Denise Becker

Fulbright-University of Leeds Award

Fulbright-University of Sussex Award

Rachel Blankenship

Fulbright-University of Stirling Award in Health, Well-being and Sport

Maggie Brooks

Fulbright-University of Southampton Award

Catja Christensen

Fulbright-University of Roehampton Award in Dance

Katharine Cognard-Black

Fulbright-University of Birmingham Award

Madelyn Correllus

Fulbright-University of Sheffield Award

Eddie Custy

Fulbright-University of Strathclyde Award

Rayleigh Deaton

Fulbright-Royal Holloway, University of London Award

Patricia Garcia

Fulbright-University College London Entrepreneurship Award

Lucy Grimshaw

Fulbright-University of Manchester Award

Melissa Heald

Fulbright-Global Wales Visiting Student Researcher Award

Connor Herbert

Fulbright-Durham University Award

Olivia Jakabosky

Fulbright-University of Exeter Award

Jessi Johnson

Fulbright-King's College London Award

Anders Knospe

Fulbright-University of St. Andrews Award in Arts & Humanities

Francine Leung

Fulbright-Loughborough University PhD Award

Bilal Memon

Fulbright-London School of Economics and Political Science Award

Joshua Miller

Fulbright-Lancaster University Award in Faculty of Science and Technology

Fulbright-Cardiff University Award

Tanajia Moye-Green

Mariama Mwilambwe

Fulbright-Newcastle University Award

Fulbright-SOAS, University of London Award

Bridget Patterson

Fulbright-Global Wales Postgraduate Award

Brian Price

Fulbright-John Wood LAMDA Award in Classical Acting

Kate Redmond

Fulbright-IOE-Faculty of Education and Society at University College London

Asael Rodriguez

Fulbright-University of Kent Award

Kheyal Roy-Meighoo

Fulbright-Open Study/Research Award

Fulbright-University of Bristol Award

Claire Shao

Fulbright-University of Warwick Award

Andrew Song

Fulbright-Imperial College London Award

Julia Tokish

Fulbright-University of Leicester Award

Neil Tracey

Fulbright-University of East Anglia Award

Joan Tremblay

Fulbright-University of Glasgow Award

Mary Velazquez

Fulbright-Manchester Metropolitan University Award in Creative Writing

Juan Ventura

Fulbright-Trinity Laban Award in Music & Dance

Selina Vickery

Fulbright-Queen Mary, University of London Award

Fulbright-University of Nottingham Award

Emma Willette

Fulbright-Queen’s University Belfast Award in Global Security and Borders

Sophia Williams

Fulbright-University of York Award

Aiden Winters

Fulbright-Royal Veterinary College Award

Michael Yang

Fulbright-University of Reading Award in Food Security

Fulbright-Northumbria University Award in Art & Design

Kaitlin Zablotsky

Fulbright-University of Edinburgh Award

Denise Becker grew up in Middletown, Delaware and graduated from University of Delaware in 2023 with a B.S. in Marine Science and concentration in oceanography. Throughout her undergraduate education Denise has worked on several research projects, including her honors thesis studying the North Atlantic Current during a geologic warm interval. Her research area, paleoceanography, often studies the connection between oceans and climate throughout Earth’s history.  

She will be pursuing a Master’s by Research degree at University of Leeds, under the guidance of Dr. Natasha Barlow. She will study the rate of sea level rise in the North Sea during the Last Interglacial using tephra from distant volcanos. Her data will be used by other scientists on the RISeR (Rates of Interglacial Sea-Level Change, and Responses) project to help predict future sea level rise in Northwest Europe beyond the year 2100.   

Denise has never travelled abroad and is excited to join an international research project. In her free time, Denise plans connect her love of earth science with art by painting British landscapes. She is also a Chelsea fan and hopes to attend many football matches.  

Timothy graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a BA in Political Science and Africana Studies. As an undergraduate, he was very interested in the LGBTQ+ expenses abroad. He has worked in academic, government, and non-governmental settings where he built a strong appreciation for advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights. In his free time, he loves baking, traveling, and spending quality time with his husband and his cat Eve.  

Timothy will be pursuing a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Sussex, one of the leading development research centres in the world, where he will be seeking an MA in Migration Studies. Over the course of the grant, he hopes to learn more about the legal challenges that LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers face in the UK, US, and European legal systems. Following his experience in the UK, Timothy strives towards a career in diplomacy.  

Rachel Blankenship, of Memphis, Tennessee, graduated from East Tennessee State University in 2019 with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design after completing her four years as a student-athlete with the women's soccer program. Following graduation, Rachel travelled to Skövde, Sweden where she played one season of professional soccer before returning to the United States to pursue a graduate degree at Florida State University.   

At Florida State University, Rachel gained a Master of Science in Art Therapy. Throughout her time in this program, Rachel provided art therapy services to adolescent girls in a residential treatment facility, older adults in an assisted living and memory care facility, and adults admitted to an inpatient behavioral health unit. As Rachel learned more about art therapy and what it has to offer, she realized there was an exciting opportunity to merge two of her biggest passions: art and sport.    At the University of Stirling in Scotland, Rachel will be studying sport psychology as she intends to integrate art therapy theory into the mental health treatment of athletes. Rachel is eager to witness the rich history and culture of sport in Scotland and plans to get involved with local sports teams, both as a player and a volunteer coach.  

Maggie Brooks started her academic career by earning an International Baccalaureate Diploma at Kenmore East Senior High School in Buffalo, NY. During this time, she traveled to Haiti where she saw a lack of medical resources available and the difficulty that Haitians had in receiving quality care. This experience moved her to study biomedical engineering at RIT where she enrolled in a class partnered with Engineering World Health, which allowed her to visit Guatemala to help repair medical equipment.   

Since graduating with a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology, she has been working in the medical device industry as a Quality Engineer.  

At the University of Southampton, Maggie will be pursuing a MSc in Amputation and Prothetic Rehabilitation. The program focuses on understanding the amputation and rehabilitation process from a holistic, patient-centered view. The multidisciplinary group of students will explore the patient's needs physically, psychologically, and emotionally. After graduation, Maggie hopes to combine what she learns with her engineering background to improve access to low-cost, quality prosthetic devices for people in low-resource areas.  

Maggie is honored to be a Fulbright recipient and is excited for the opportunity to launch into her dream career.  

Catja Christensen of Dunn Loring, Virginia is dancing her way from New London, CT to London, UK. After double majoring in Dance and English at Connecticut College, she will continue her research into the ethical preservation of performance and the impact of multiculturalism on dance production today at the University of Roehampton's Dance Practice and Performance M.A.  

Christensen trained at The Washington School of Ballet in DC before expanding her practice and research scope in college. Among many performance highlights, she trained and performed around Ghana in March 2023 with Connecticut College's Dance Department, exploring how dance interconnects with cultural preservation, challenges stereotypes about the African continent, and serves as a model for intercultural integrity. Additionally, Christensen is a journalist; she was Co-Editor-in-Chief of The College Voice in 2022-23 and wrote for Pointe Magazine and The Oslo Desk.  

At Roehampton, Christensen plans on continuing her research into dance as a link between cultures and as a critical link to identity and community. Outside of the classroom, Christensen is an avid Tottenham Hotspur supporter and looks forward to exploring the UK as much as possible.  

After seeing her first performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at age five, Katharine Cognard-Black fostered her love of Shakespeare by acting in productions of his work, becoming a Folger Shakespeare Fellow, and pursuing undergraduate majors in theater and creative writing at Bucknell University. Through her studies, she came to see that while Shakespeare’s plays feature misogyny and imperialism, they’re also cautionary tales against greed, hatred, and power.  

For her honors thesis, Cognard-Black wrote and directed an original adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew, called “Taming of the Shrew(s).” In “Shrew(s),” she distilled Shakespeare’s original text to portray three distinct interpretations—a comedy, a tragedy, and a love story—while asking how Taming might be produced in the #MeToo era. This past summer, “Shrew(s)” was performed at a women’s prison in Missouri, an experience that transformed how Cognard-Black imagines herself as a future director and educator.  

Cognard-Black’s Fulbright award to pursue a master’s degree in Shakespeare and Creativity at the University of Birmingham will support her efforts to use theatre to advocate for social change. Cognard-Black intends to become a theatre professor and director, remaking Shakespearean productions into ones that empower both actors and audiences to confront injustice.  

Madelyn graduated from Susquehanna University in 2022 with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and music. She became involved in social psychology research, working as a research assistant as well as conducting her own research on social norms and ideologies regarding family structures and relationships. During her junior year, she spent a semester in Prague, learning about cultural differences and taking classes in gender studies and politics of music. Inspired by her time abroad, she wanted her investigation of diverse identities and backgrounds to extend beyond only American experiences.  

At the University of Sheffield, Madelyn will pursue an MA in sociology where she will study emergent ideas and theory and their application to today’s pressing sociological challenges. She is particularly interested in qualitative research methods and sociologies of gender and sexuality.    

Aside from her studies, Madelyn plans to continue playing flute in ensembles, explore Sheffield, and travel around the UK.  

Originally from Lone Tree, Colorado, Edward Custy graduated from the United States Military Academy with a B.S. in Economics. Edward’s inspiration to serve and attend West Point stemmed from a desire to learn among peers who shared the same values of loyalty, selfless service, and humility that were instilled by his family. As a former Chemistry major, Edward first pursued research on countermeasures to neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and PTSD. Recognizing a global lack of research into the distribution of promising, cutting-edge treatment, he shifted his focus to understanding the economics of drug development and commercialization.   

In the United Kingdom, Edward plans to continue this multi-disciplinary research to facilitate efficient, equitable distribution of treatments for both neurodegenerative disorders and orphan diseases to the world’s most vulnerable populations. As a cadet, Edward was involved with the Peace & Dialogue Leadership Initiative, was a captain of the Alpine Ski Team, conducted open-source military research for Special Operations Command, and led 144 New Cadets through Cadet Basic Training where he was recognized as Best Company Commander. Apart from school, Edward can be found golfing, fishing, or exploring the mountains.   

Edward will study for an MSc in Health Analysis, Policy, and Management at Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow, Scotland. Following completion of postgraduate study, he will serve in the United States Army as an Engineer Officer, eventually pursuing service in Army Special Operations Forces.  

Rayleigh Deaton of Charleston, South Carolina, graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2023 with degrees in media communication and political science. While at UK, she served as two-time editor-in-chief of the award-winning independent student newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel. She also studied abroad at Oxford's Exeter College as part of the university's English Literature Summer School program as an English-Speaking Union TLab scholar during the summer of her junior year. While at Oxford, she fell in love with England and knew she wanted to receive her graduate education there.  

Rayleigh will be earning her MSc in Media, Power and Public Affairs from Royal Holloway, University of London, in Egham, England. This master's program focuses on the interconnected relationship among those making the news, those reporting it, and those impacted by it. The program perfectly combines her two undergraduate degrees and will prepare her for her future career in international political reporting, helping her gain a better understanding of the exchange of power on each level of the news industry.  

When not writing, Rayleigh enjoys vintage shopping, singing in choir, reading, hiking, and discovering new coffee shops. She is thrilled to go from UK to the UK — exploring London and the surrounding countryside, learning more about life in England, and drinking innumerable cups of tea.  

Eli is from Concord, New Hampshire and graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2023 with a B.S. in Bioengineering and minors in Philosophy and Sustainable Energy. His experiences leading the UNH Energy Club and hiking the New Hampshire 4000 Footers inspired him to work toward a more sustainable energy future.

While at UNH, he cofounded the UNH Energy Club and Apropos Energy Initiative to create a community of students who are curious and passionate about a sustainable energy future. He successfully competed in several idea and entrepreneurship competitions with these peers. He also conducted antibody optimization and biomaterials characterization research at the University of Kansas, Ragon Institute, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Outside of academics, Eli hikes, runs long-distance, reads science fiction, plays soccer, and meditates.

At Strathclyde, he will pursue an MSc in Sustainable Engineering: Renewable Energy Systems and the Environment at the University of Strathclyde. His studies will focus on energy systems analysis and energy policy and include an individual thesis tentatively centered around the impacts of widespread vehicle-to-grid charging on grid stability and efficiency. After Fulbright, he intends to earn a PhD applying computational modeling techniques to energy storage research and embark on a career decarbonizing society through electrification and renewable energy.

Eli looks forward to engaging with the broader Glasgow community by Munro-bagging with the Glasgow Walking and Hillwalking Club and volunteering with the Scottish Communities Climate Action Network.

During Patricia’s early undergraduate years, she traded the traditional Miami swimsuit for a lab coat as she traveled over a thousand miles from home for summer research positions at renowned institutions in the US. From engineering 3D skeletal muscle tissue at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to developing a piezoelectrect sensor to detect pressure changes of the radial artery at the University of California Berkeley, she came to understand the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to produce more innovative solutions.     In her journey to be more than a one-dimensional engineer, she came across the world of entrepreneurship. She decided to nurture her entrepreneurial spirit and begin working towards solving a problem she was experiencing as a college student that would then become her award-winning company- unithrifts®. Aside from winning over 25 national pitch competitions, rerouting over a thousand pounds of waste from landfills, and receiving national press from organizations like NASDAQ and Forbes, she has ultimately demonstrated that profit and purpose are not mutually exclusive.     This Fall, Patricia will embark on the MsC in Entrepreneurship at UCL as the recipient of the Fulbright/University College London Entrepreneurship Award. A recent master’s graduate of the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, Patricia hopes to combine her engineering skill set with a world-renowned business education at the UCL School of Management.  

Lucy Grimshaw is a data-driven activist with dual degrees in Public Policy and Social Work from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis. As a Black Woman and transracial adoptee, she brings a unique perspective to how race affects mental health and society. At 12, she read Les Misérables and was moved by its redemptive and poverty-crime correlation themes. After visiting a Haitian prison and witnessing events in her hometown of Ferguson in 2014, she became heavily involved in leading protests and equity initiatives.  

Grimshaw has interned with legal/community organizations, researched US/UK incarceration rates for her thesis, and has spoken about social/racial justice from campus-wide events to NPR. She mapped the socioeconomic inequality of The Delmar Divide, a gentrified neighborhood near her hometown, and presented her findings at her local NGA. Her Chancellor gave her the Newman Civic Fellowship, and she now works at a psychiatric rehabilitation home, aiding those affected by inequity coming out of institutions.   

While at UofM, her Criminology MRES will examine the intersection of race, poverty, and crime through a mental health and trauma-informed lens. She aims to reduce incarceration/institutionalization rates for this demographic while maintaining public safety. Grimshaw plans to volunteer with refugees, connect with British family and friends, travel, and enjoy London's theatre scene. Her goal is to become a civil rights lawyer with a JD/PH.D. degree, empowering these marginalized communities through empathy, hope, and redemption.  

Melissa Heald, from Houston, Texas, is a Doctor of Nursing Practice student at Baylor University studying to become a pediatric nurse practitioner with dual certification in primary and acute care.   

In addition to her studies, Melissa has worked as a bedside nurse at Texas Children’s Hospital for six years, experiencing COVID-19 and subsequent healthcare worker burnout firsthand in the nation's largest and busiest pediatric intensive care unit. She also works in an educator role on unit and serves as a student ambassador for the National Association for Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Her Doctoral Project focuses on healthcare transition from pediatric to adult providers for youth with medical complexity.  

Through her Fulbright award and partnership with Swansea University, Melissa will research resilience in pediatric advanced practice nurses across the UK following COVID-19. This study aims to inform retention and growth of the Welsh advanced practice nursing workforce while fostering international collaboration and connectedness in a time of continuing global healthcare provider shortages. Melissa will conduct her Fulbright research from February through August of 2024 and will be joined in this adventure by her husband and newborn daughter!  

Connor Herbert graduated in 2022 with a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of Cincinnati.  

Since returning to Lincoln, Nebraska, Connor now serves on the city's Pedestrian Bicyclist Advisory Committee, volunteers at the Lincoln Bike Kitchen, and works at both a Starbucks and a local bike store. He also works remotely for the League of American Bicyclists. Treating the last year as a gap year, he wanted to make the most of it by exploring his community and developing a few skills along the way through his rekindled passion for biking. He hopes to continue this pursuit in Durham.  

He is eager to immerse himself back into a school environment. Inspired by his participation in the American Bar Foundation’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in 2021, he has developed a profound appreciation for interdisciplinary approaches to studying law. Connor envisions that his experience with research methods in geography at Durham will invigorate his scholarship on international and domestic government, business, and military relations as he pursues his goal of becoming a professor and practitioner of international space law. Following his Fulbright experience, he plans to enroll in a Political Science PhD program and earn his JD.  

Olivia grew up in California and graduated from Montana State University in May 2023 with a B.S. in Conservation Biology and Ecology with minors in Sociology and Global Studies. She is a Udall Environmental Scholar, Truman Scholar finalist, Garden Club of America Scholar, and an AmeriCorps alum with the Prickly Pear Land Trust.   

As an undergraduate researcher, Olivia has been involved in multiple research projects across many MSU labs that center on the human-wildlife interface, such as the Wildlife Habitat Ecology Lab. For her Honors thesis, Olivia partnered with Paraguayan non-profit, Para La Tierra, to conduct a socio-ecological study on urban howler monkeys. Apart from research, as a second-generation Filipinx American, Olivia is dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion and spearheaded MSU’s first Pan-Asian association.    

Combining her passions for science and community, Olivia aims to bridge the divide between humanity and the natural world through community-based approaches. Olivia will be attending the University of Exeter to obtain an M.S. in Conservation and Biodiversity to cultivate the cross-cultural dialogue needed in community-based conservation. As an outdoor enthusiast and an art fanatic, Olivia is excited to discover the UK's natural as well as historic landscapes and visit the Royal Opera House.  

Jessi never thought she would leave the sunshine of Los Angeles – but the privilege of a PhD had her packing winter coats for London! For 12 years, Jessi was a Professor of writing, law & social justice, and inclusive education. Her research on anti-oppression and student collaboration has been presented at international conferences; her policy recommendations for inclusive hiring practices are in use at universities; and she was the chair of her department’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee. In 2022, she was named a USC Master Teacher. She was also a tutor and anti-bias consultant for the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Youth Center.   

Jessi is a first-generation student who experienced systemic exclusion, academic gatekeeping, and imposter phenomenon; and she works hard to ensure her students have much more empowering experiences. With the Fulbright community, she hopes to define education justice as a public health and global sustainability issue. Her Education Policy PhD is trying to answer an important question: how can equitable grading practices help narrow the “academic achievement gap” in higher education?   

If you run into Jessi at a party, she’s the one talking about the dramatic history of the Graham cracker, anime, or rock climbing. Her favorite human is her partner Kenny. She is grateful to the community that champions her on this journey. And despite the snow (something very confusing to an Angeleno), she is thrilled to build a home in London.  

Anders Knospe, of Charlottesville, Virginia, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Dartmouth College in 2023 with a B.A. in Philosophy and Computer Science.   

After taking a Philosophy course on a whim his Freshman fall, Anders fell in love with the discipline and became a Philosophy major. For the next three years, he spent his time researching Conceptual Engineering with Prof. David Plunkett and working with political scientist Yascha Mounk on his forthcoming book, The Identity Trap.  

As a Fulbright Scholar, Anders is excited to continue his academic journey studying Philosophy at the University of St. Andrews, where his research will focus on Conceptual Engineering. While he’s there, he plans to explore Scotland and (maybe) learn to golf. Anders is also interested in satire and comedy, and hopes to be involved with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  

Francine graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2023 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an additional major in Biomedical Engineering. During her time at Carnegie Mellon, she was a member of the varsity track and field team, competing in the long jump and triple jump. She also worked as a part-time route setter at a local climbing gym. Her passion for sports inspired her to pursue research in biomechanics.  

While working as a research assistant in the Human Movement and Balance Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, Francine collaborated on a project to predict slips and falls during ladder climbing using a motion capture system and inertial measurement units (IMUs)  

At Loughborough, her research will focus on investigating the effects of running shoes and surface properties on running performance using forward dynamics musculoskeletal simulation. After the completion of her Ph.D., she hopes to apply her knowledge at a sports equipment or shoe manufacturing company and improve equipment for athletes in a way that enhances both safety and performance.   

Outside of academics, she plans to continue climbing through Loughborough’s mountaineering club and volunteer as a track coach in the local community with the university's Coach and Volunteer Academy.  

Bilal Memon was raised in Norwalk, Connecticut. He graduated from Brown University in 2022 with a B.A. in Economics and Applied Math. During his time at Brown, he was an assistant to Professor Jesse Shapiro, researching political polarization and governments’ tolerance to protest. He also wrote and edited for the joint RISD-Brown alt weekly, The College Hill Independent, covering antitrust regulation and labor rights. For his senior thesis, he collected novel data from Civil War recruitment lists to analyze how different experiences of enslavement, such as occupation while enslaved or owners’ wealth, impacted how freedmen experienced the transition to freedom.  

On his Fulbright, Bilal will continue leveraging data to study the past, particularly the history of slavery. As a master’s student in the Economic History department at LSE, Bilal is excited to pursue such research ideas as the effect of the transition from slavery to indentured servitude in the British Caribbean and a comparative analysis of the effect of malaria on European development in the early modern period.  

Josh Miller is twenty-three years old and from Johnson City, TN. Since a little kid, he’s always been fascinated by mathematics and nature, which is why his research has largely centered around biological/environmental modeling. Since artificial intelligence has improved by leaps and bounds in the past few years, he has made it his goal to leverage machine learning to study the environment, specifically climate change. Thus, he believes Lancaster University will be a great place to put this into practice. His project will involve using AI to estimate the amount of ozone produced by wildfires in Europe, and he believes that the Lancaster faculty's expertise in academic chemistry and geospatial data analysis will synergize well with his programming skills. When he’s not busy studying and conducting research, he looks forward to exploring the beautiful countryside in Lancaster and going on lots of hikes.  

Lily Mott, of Evergreen, Colorado, graduated from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia as a Johnson Scholar with a B.A. in Journalism and Politics. She spent her junior year studying politics at the University of Oxford as a participant in the Mansfield College Visiting Student Programme.  

Lily is interested in exploring the intersection between politics and the media and believes in the power that comes from sharing other people’s stories. She is the host of the weekly podcast, “Be the change.”, on which she amplifies the voices of Gen-Z activists, advocates, and changemakers from around the world.  

As the daughter of two public school teachers, Lily enjoys volunteering in local schools and plans to continue to volunteer in Cardiff schools. In her free time, Lily loves exploring new restaurants and coffee shops, hiking, and curling up with a good book.  

At Cardiff University, Lily will pursue an MA in Digital Media and Society to study the intersections between social media, civic participation, politics, and journalism. She ultimately hopes to work as an international correspondent between the UK and the US.  

Tanajia Moye-Green (Washington and Lee University) is a sociology major with minors in data science and poverty and human capability studies. She is especially interested in criminal justice reform and the work involved in antiracism overall. She hopes to do research that will draw awareness to the consequences of mass incarceration on Black communities—regarding educational, social, and health outcomes—and how these consequences can span across generations in the absence of much-needed interventions. Since enrolling at W&L, she has served on the Community Anti-Racism Effort board, where she has supported local efforts to visibly oppose racism and discrimination as a community. She has also researched how the criminal legal system historically facilitated racism and negatively impacted the local Black community, and she has worked as a research assistant for multiple professors.  

Mariama became interested in public service at a young age by spending summers helping her Dad, Mboka – the Mayor of her hometown of Bloomington, Illinois –  walk through the neighborhoods of his ward, solving local municipal issues and connecting with community members.   

Mariama graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, with minors in global health, and legal studies. In her time at the University of Illinois, Mariama served as student trustee, Charles P. Wolff Intern for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Vice President of Undergraduate Law Review, Office of Government Relations Fellow, and in her favorite role as a farmhand at the Student Sustainable Farm. Most recently, Mariama joined the 2022 cohort of Harry S. Truman Scholars.   

Mariama is passionate about employing sustainable agriculture methods to improve food security, and increasing corporate accountability in agriculture and food production. She feels she found the perfect fit to support her interests in improving health outcomes by revisioning food security with the MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security degree program at Newcastle University.  

Mariama is excited to experience all that the UK has to offer, from the rich history, beautiful agricultural landscapes, and diverse culinary traditions. She is confident that her time in Newcastle will prepare her well for a lifelong career in sustainable agriculture and food justice advocacy.  

Wynn is from Maryland and graduated from Goucher College in 2021 with a BA in International Relations and French Transnational Studies. His Burmese-American background fostered a deep interest in the politics of Myanmar, and his undergraduate research centered around post-conflict justice and reconciliation, responses to genocide and mass atrocities, and the legacy of colonization on nation-building in the Global South.  

Wynn now works in the international development and humanitarian aid sector as a consultant focusing on race, (in)equity, and “decolonizing” aid: re-imagining how NGOs approach their work with affected communities, as well as evaluating the structure of aid itself. He has also supported the DEI workstream at InterAction, the largest alliance of US-based international NGOs, where he was instrumental in the development and launch of a coalition-wide DEI Compact.  

At SOAS, Wynn will study the relationship of violence and conflict with conflict interventions and aid. He looks forward to examining the UK’s role in leading aid as a former imperial power and reflecting on what American and British actors in the sector can learn from each other to utilize in their peace and development work. After the Fulbright, Wynn plans to continue his work in the development community with an emphasis on peacebuilding and conflict transformation. He is excited to take in London’s vibrant history and multiculturalism while also practicing film photography.  

Graduating from Bowdoin College with a Biology major and Oceanography minor, Patterson’s Fulbright will enable her to continue her education with an MSc in Marine Biology from Bangor University. In Wales, Patterson plans to forge connections between researchers and local fisheries to protect essential seagrass meadows, building on the interest in science communication and seagrass ecosystems.   

Passionate about marine ecosystems from a young age, Patterson attended Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki, where she was able to engage deeply in place-based learning and field science. This experience encouraged her to attend Bowdoin College, where she investigated eelgrass epifauna’s adaptations to temperature. A year later, she was awarded a National Science Foundation Research experience for Undergraduates to study eelgrass genomics at UC Davis.  

As a capstone to her research, Patterson engaged in an honors project on how the diversity of species’ characteristics within eelgrass communities can help predict eelgrass ecosystem response to disturbance. Patterson has shared her research not only with the scientific community but has also worked with shellfishers and coastal communities to expand the impact of her science. Upon her return to the US, Bridget plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Marine Ecology.  

Brian is a member of the Navajo Nation and was raised on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. After the 9/11 attacks Brian felt obligated to serve his country and Native community so he joined the U.S. Navy shortly after graduating high school.  Brian became the first member of the Navajo Nation to become a U.S Navy SEAL. He completed 140 Combat Operations and was awarded 10 medals and three ribbons for Combat Valor and Merit. He also met President Obama due to his exemplary service.

After the Navy Brian was accepted into Columbia University in NYC and is a first-generation student. He received his BA in Drama and Theatre Arts with a concentration in Acting. Since graduating in 2020 Brian has acted in scores of productions in theatres in AZ and NYC, and was cast in Transformers The Last Knight. He is grateful for Fulbright giving him the opportunity to continue to give back to the world through art and to further serve as a representative of the United States and the Native American people. He is excited to train in LAMDA's acting program and visit museums. Upon completion of the Fulbright, he plans to continue acting and start a scholarship company that gives opportunity to indigenous high schoolers and veterans in the fine and dramatic arts.  

Kathryn (Kate) Redmond will soon graduate from Amherst College with a B.A. in Psychology. Afterward, she will pursue an M.A. in Education, Health Promotion, and International Development at the Institute of Education at University College London.   

Growing up with disabled parents, she spent many hours in the American healthcare system and became passionate about helping others obtain access to exceptional healthcare. Her passion for healthcare extended across the globe when she joined the club Health for Humanity at Amherst. Through a close partnership with an NGO based in Rwanda, Heart and Sole Action (HASA), Kate learned about podoconiosis, a chronic disease that permeates the country, and the difficulties Rwandans face in treating the condition. She hopes to continue this partnership with HASA through her M.A. dissertation in which she will examine how education can be used to increase health and well-being in a lower-income country.  

Kate is excited to be a part of Fulbright as it will help her achieve her goal of becoming a physician and improving healthcare access across the globe. While in London, she hopes to volunteer with the NHS, tutor children at the Cardinal Hume Centre, and explore the vibrant literary scene!  

Asael Rodriguez, of Brownsville, Texas, graduated from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a minor in Sociology.    

During his undergraduate career, Asael worked for NOAA as a research assistant focusing on projects in the Rio Grande Valley and Lower Laguna Madre. Through his experiences, Asael worked with white-bellied pangolins, one of the most trafficked species in the world, which kindled his drive to fight against wildlife crime. He hopes to become a representative for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in his country. Asael attended the Conference of the Parties to CITES in Panama City, Panama as an international visitor and got his first taste as to what his future could hold. His greatest accomplishment to this day is being licked by a pangolin.   

As a postgraduate student for the University of Kent, Asael will be studying Conservation and International Wildlife Trade in the Canterbury campus. Along with focusing on research and his studies, Asael will prioritize outreach and communication with his community to promote the growth of animal welfare and conservation. Asael hopes to visit local attractions and locations that he was introduced to by films and novels. Other interests of Asael include reading, video games, longboarding, football, and chess.  

Kheyal Roy-Meighoo graduated summa cum laude from Emory University with a BA in Film and Media and History.  Her passion is bringing together social justice and film, and she has made it her mission to think critically about diversity through art, discover new forms of storytelling through animation, and uncover histories that have not yet been told.  

Kheyal will be pursuing an MA in Animation at the Arts University Bournemouth to create a stop motion animated film that discusses themes of identity, loss, and resilience in the Asian diaspora. She was drawn to Bournemouth because the university includes both theoretical and practical coursework that will allow Kheyal to explore social justice filmmaking.  

Kheyal has chosen to study in Bournemouth because the field of diaspora studies is highly developed in the UK due to the long history of British colonialism in Asia and patterns of Asian immigration. Her MA project will foster a cultural exchange between the US and UK by drawing connections between the legacies of empire in both countries. Kheyal also looks forward to entering the thriving stop motion and experimental animation environment in the UK.  

Zia grew up in Pasadena, California, and graduated with honors from Williams College, majoring in Political Science and Economics.  

She has worked for over three years as an advocate for progressive political policies, helping to train and empower women and candidates of color to run for office, and to increase transparency in the Massachusetts State Legislature. In 2020, she published original research on poverty and income inequality in South Africa, and subsequently collaborated with a nonprofit in Kenya on data collection and analysis for public policy and interventions that would protect widows. In addition to her academic and advocacy work, she also has also led interfaith life on campus, fostering connections across communities.   

For Fulbright, she will study at the Bristol Policy Institute, and examine the intergenerational impact of cash transfers as a poverty-fighting mechanism. She hopes to analyze how anti-poverty programs affect intergenerational outcomes and explore solutions to the trap of cyclical poverty. She is excited to study in a policy environment remarkably different from that of the U.S., especially with regard to the transformative climate policy Bristol is famous for. In her free time, she looks forward to reading in the Clifton Downs overlooking the suspension bridge and is especially excited about the powerful art (Banksy and beyond) that has shaped Bristol’s culture.  

Claire Shao graduated in 2022 from Williams College, Massachusetts, with a BA in Chemistry and History. As an undergraduate, Claire developed a foundation in the biological sciences and an interest in medicine, while simultaneously pursuing an enduring love for history.   

At the University of Warwick, where she will be a postgraduate student in the History of Medicine program, Claire hopes to unite her dual interests in science and history to explore the history of 20th century immigration and the development of the NHS. She is eager to learn from the community of scholars at Warwick’s Center for the History of Medicine.   

Outside of the university, Claire plans to make the most of her year in the UK by exploring as many places as possible and being involved in the local community. After her Fulbright year, Claire hopes to attend medical school in the US, where she will pursue a career in medicine and continued work in the medical humanities.  

Andrew, originally from Yorba Linda, California, recently graduated from Stanford University with a B.S.H. in Human Biology and a minor in music. He is deeply passionate about advocating for patients with disabilities and their families. For his honors thesis, he researched the mechanism of mitigating deleterious neuroimmune responses by delaying axonal degeneration after ischemic stroke. In his free time, he enjoys leading art workshops for stroke patients at Stanford Hospital, working at music festivals as a volunteer EMT, playing golf and tennis with friends, and surfing along the west coast.   

At Imperial College London, Andrew will be pursuing a Master's in Bioinformatics and Theoretical Systems Biology and will conduct research in axonal regeneration and restorative neuroscience. In high school, he opened the first ACEing Autism clinic in Orange County, a program dedicated to teaching tennis to children with autism. While in London, he plans on spending his free time coaching tennis at the London ACEing Autism clinic, hosting art workshops and music therapy sessions at hospitals, and attending music concerts and sporting events, including Wimbledon. Ultimately, Andrew aspires to become a practicing physician-scientist while continuing academic research in stroke recovery.  

A proud resident of Ramsey, New Jersey, Julia Tokish (she/they) graduated from Bucknell University in 2022 with a B.A. in International Relations, Arabic & Arab World Studies, and Theatre.  

As a student at Bucknell, Julia worked on three research projects: conducting research on South Asian-American playwrights, serving as dramaturg for Bucknell’s 2022 production of Fun Home, and translating Mamdouh Adwan’s play Night of the Slaves from Arabic into English for their honors thesis. Inspired by her coursework on international human rights, particularly in regard to immigration, Julia also interned at the Artistic Freedom Initiative and International Rescue Committee, two nonprofit organizations assisting displaced individuals worldwide.  

While at the University of Leicester, Julia will pursue an M.A. in Human Rights and Global Ethics, again gearing their studies toward issues of immigration and displacement. In Leicester, Julia intends not only to immerse herself in the city’s cultural diversity, but to take advantage of the city’s arts scene – especially its theaters.  

Originally from Arlington Massachusetts, Neil is a recent graduate from Georgetown University where he double majored in Government and Economics. He will be pursuing an MSc in Economics with a special focus on competition policy at the University of East Anglia for the 2023-2024 academic year.   While there, he plans to work as a Research Assistant for the Centre for Competition Policy where, among other things, he will help to construct a database of merger decisions for the internal use of the European Commission. Outside of economics, Neil is interested in political theory and wrote his senior thesis on the limitations of the dominant historiography of the relationship between property and democracy.  

Joan Tremblay has two lifelong interests: animals and stories. She values her connections to other living beings, and imaginatively exploring the worlds of others through literature. Joan has pursued these interests in two fields, graduating from the University of Connecticut with dual bachelor’s in English and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. But her proudest efforts – including volunteering at a natural science center, conducting wildlife surveys in her Connecticut hometown and sharing her thesis on the effect of Covid-19 lockdowns on carnivorans in the eastern U.S. – have all involved helping people to connect with and care about wildlife around them.   

Joan is thrilled to pursue both interests simultaneously at the University of Glasgow. The Fulbright will allow her to compare U.S. and U.K. conservation efforts and explore influences of folkloric traditions on conservation approaches. She is particularly interested in relationships between humans and nature in Scottish folklore, and how stories can connect people with their immediate ecosystems. Joan hopes the insights she gains will help build greater awareness of and support for wildlife among Americans. While in the U.K., Joan will volunteer with conservation organizations and personally connect with Scottish natural landscapes. She especially hopes to catch a glimpse of Nessie, or at the very least, a European badger.  

Coming from a Puerto Rican household, Mary’s cultural background has greatly influenced her creative endeavors. A fan of reading and writing fantasy and science fiction literature, Mary intends to write a collection of short stories in these genres spotlighting Latino characters, culture, and folklore. She attended Loyola University of Maryland where she earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Writing, and minored in Studio Arts. During her time at Loyola, Mary was a dedicated member of the university’s Writing Center, serving as a tutor there for two years. The unwavering support and guidance of the Loyola writing department encouraged her to go forth and pursue a MA in Creative Writing, where she will continue developing her highly fantastical, passion project stories focused on Latino representation.  

Having become very close and involved with her undergraduate writing community, Mary hopes to do the same during her time at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is thrilled to be earning an education and honing her literary skills at this prestigious institution with such admirable faculty. Additionally, Mary looks forward to connecting with fellow creatives and learning about the stories of others. Outside of her written work, Mary loves to paint, go bike riding, and explore new places.  

Juan is a first-generation Salvadoran American, queer dance artist, and fourth-year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch. He is passionate about research, performing arts medicine, and arts in health, especially regarding the utilization of dance/movement in those living with chronic conditions for improved physical and mental well-being.   

Juan's research experience includes investigating treatment-related outcomes in cancer patients and risk factors for adverse events in aging Mexican Americans, made possible through funding from the National Institutes of Health, Sealy Center on Aging, and the Robert A. Winn Clinical Investigator Pathway Program. Alongside his academic pursuits, Juan has danced with several dance companies including Open Dance Project, Noble Motion Dance, and Galveston Ballet, among others. He has also had the honor of performing in the Super Bowl LI Halftime Show with Lady Gaga.   

While at Trinity Laban, Juan will pursue an MSc in Dance Science where he will learn methods and techniques related to dance research and its applications. His project involves assessing dancers’ understanding of musculoskeletal injuries and providing informative workshops to empower dancers and promote safe practices for career longevity. Juan is eager to study abroad, experience the culture, and connect with other creatives and scientists.  

Selina is from Houston, Texas and graduated from the Honors and Scholars Program at The Ohio State University in 2020 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and minor in Medical Humanities. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she was member of OSU’s varsity soccer team, conducted cancer research, and virtually volunteered with internationally based non-profit organizations. Selina then began medical school at OSU in autumn of 2020. Her passion for global health and health disparities grew as she completed advanced competencies in Interdisciplinary Case Management for Working with Underserved Populations and Interdisciplinary Studies in Global Health alongside clinical experience. She will be pursuing a Master’s in Global Public Health and Policy at Queen Mary University of London to grow in the field of public health advocacy and learn how to best serve the world’s most underserved populations as a physician. Upon return to the US, she will finish her final year of medical school.  

As a Fulbrighter, Selina plans to immerse herself in the UK’s single-payer healthcare system to learn of its intricacies that make it unique from that of the US. While in London, she will work with research faculty at Queen Mary’s Cancer Prevention Unit. In her free time, Selina looks forward to hiking in the UK countryside, cheering on Premier League matches, and attending orchestra performances.  

Max Wang grew up in the California Bay Area and moved to Chicagoland to study at Northwestern University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering in 2022. His interests lie at the intersection of biomedical research and clinical practice.  

Academically, his interests in engineering, neuroscience, and statistics have led him into the interdisciplinary field of MRI neuroimaging, where he has conducted methodological research leading to a first-author publication. Currently, he works on a clinical neuroimaging trial and is motivated by his desire to translate methods that are used in research into day-to-day clinical practice. He was first inspired to pursue clinical work from volunteering with sick children in the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford. Following this passion, he worked as an Emergency Medical Technician in Chicago and continued to volunteer in local nursing homes.  

Through the Fulbright Scholarship, Max will pursue a Master’s of Research at the University of Nottingham, using multimodal MRI analysis to evaluate the effect of a novel transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol for treating chronic knee pain. In the future, he hopes to continue to advance the translation of neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques into clinical practice as a physician-scientist.  

As a lifelong football fan, he is also looking forward to joining the crowds of Nottingham Forest fans at the City Ground!  

Emma graduated from Siena College with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish. Within her undergraduate coursework, she focused on migration, policing, and gender, completing her degrees with a semester-long research paper on the crisis of femicide within the United Mexican States.  

As an undergraduate student, Emma volunteered as an education facilitator at Rochester Refugee Resettlement Services, working with students from refugee families as a mentor and educator, as well as interned with The Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington D.C. As an intern with the Woodrow Wilson Center, Emma aided in the editing of their quarterly publication on global displacement and provided event coverage for their academic and international political discussions. Emma also spent a semester studying at Universidad de Deusto in Bilbao, Spain, where she witnessed the cultural and societal impacts of borders between the Basque region of Spain and the rest of the county. At Queen’s, Emma intends to continue focusing on the gendered experience of migration and displacement by studying the adverse impact borders and security policy have on women and girls. Following her time at Queen’s University Belfast, Emma plans to continue to work with non-profit and non-governmental organizations to provide community aid and work in an advocacy role to support displaced women and girls. She looks forward to living in Belfast and exploring the city, visiting museums and historical sites, and making new connections and friendships as she integrates into the Belfast community.  

Sophia Williams graduated summa cum laude from Rochester Institute of Technology with majors in Anthropology and Criminal Justice and a concentration in Biology in 2023. Profoundly deaf and bilingual in American Sign Language and written English, Sophia is committed to breaking down barriers for marginalized deaf communities in the States and abroad. She was heavily involved in several movements on campus addressing inequity and accessibility for the deaf and hard-of-hearing student body. She has presented at several conferences and worked as a Chief Research Assistant at RIT/NTID’s Deaf Health Care and Biomedical Science Hub.   

An aspiring medical anthropologist and bioarchaeologist, she seeks to bridge the experiences of the ancient body and the modern body regarding disability and access to healthcare. As a 2021 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow, she analyzed centuries-old letters that focus on the English colonization of health. In the summer of 2022, she explored yet another aspect of health and social identity as a student archaeologist in Romania. Through her undergraduate thesis, she learned from deaf Haitian immigrants and their experiences navigating the American healthcare system.  

She is extremely thrilled to be pursuing a MA in Medical History and Humanities at the University of York through Fulbright. She is eager to engage with other scholars at the intersection of historical, literary, social, and cultural perspectives on illness and health. She is very much looking forward to collaborating with the deaf community in the UK (and hopes to improve her BSL fingerspelling reception skills), visiting bookshops in Yorkshire, and eating as many scones as she can.  

Aiden Winters, of Cary, North Carolina, is a first-generation graduate of North Carolina State University. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and worked as a Tick Ecology Research Assistant for the Reiskind Lab.  

During his time at North Carolina State University, Aiden was an active member of the Goodnight Scholars Program, a STEM Scholarship designed to empower low-to-middle income students from North Carolina to become transformative leaders in their industry. While in the program, Aiden studied abroad in Adelaide, Australia and Poznan, Poland and participated in two environmental education trips to Trinidad. Upon graduation, Aiden completed a year-long, ORISE Fellowship at the CDC focused on tick surveillance in the United States.  

Aiden is an avid traveler that has been to twenty-two countries and five continents, so he is ecstatic to spend a year in London. He plans to earn a Master of Science in One Health at the Royal Veterinary College during his Fulbright experience. Using the skillset gained from this, he hopes to pay forward the investment made by the Goodnight Scholars Program by working with governmental organizations to help build a future with a reduced burden of vector-borne diseases globally.  

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Michael graduated from Tulane University in 2023 with a B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Public Health.   

At Tulane, Michael developed a passion for addressing diet-induced diseases, and he dedicated weekends to volunteering in local community gardens and helping lead cooking classes at the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine. Michael’s honors thesis detailing his ophthalmology research on diabetic macular edema further explored the relationships between nutrition, physical activity, and chronic disease progression. Michael’s proudest accomplishment though was founding the “New Orleans Elementary School Cooking Class Initiative,” a cooking and STEM program aiming to increase early access to health and wellness education that has reached 100+ local primary school students to date.   

In the UK, Michael will pursue an MSc in Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Reading while conducting cardiometabolic research at the Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition and creating an initiative to share information and research on food security between the US and UK.   

Upon returning to the US, Michael will attend Tulane University School of Medicine and pursue an MD/MPH in an effort to help continuously address and prevent diet-induced diseases on both the individual and community level.  

Julia Yi graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2022 with a B.S in International Trade and Marketing and a minor in History of Art.  

Throughout Yi's undergraduate career, she studied the fashion industry in relation to society and culture as a whole. Her major courses focused on sourcing and operational functions within the global trade of apparel goods while minor courses examined the history of costume and textiles.  While enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Yi interned with various organizations to support local textile designers and sustainability focused designers in New York City. These roles informed Yi's interest in sustainable fashion’s development and research potential.  

At Northumbria University, Yi will pursue an M.A in Fashion Design (Sustainable and Ethical) dedicating her studies to the use of natural dye in textile print and construction. Yi will focus on local sourcing of organic materials from nearby grocers and florists within the city of Newcastle Upon Tyne. On campus, Yi hopes to cultivate a community by joining gardening club and meeting others interested in ecologically conscious creative practices.  

Hailing from sunny California, Kaitlin first visited the UK in 2012 on Fulbright’s Summer Institute at Durham University where she worked on an archaeological dig at a Roman fort, made lifelong friendships, and set a goal to pursue postgraduate studies in the UK.   

Kaitlin studied Finance, Biology, and Theatre at Santa Clara University. After her undergrad, she worked in cancer research for six years at Stanford and the University of California, San Francisco. Kaitlin has worked extensively with cancer patients from vulnerable populations in the SF Bay Area, helping to address economic/social/geographic factors which can prevent patients from accessing healthcare.  

Kaitlin is ecstatic to begin the Master of Public Health degree at University of Edinburgh. Her research will focus on cancer health inequalities in the rural Western Isles. Through direct interviews, she will characterize common experiences with disparities faced by cancer patients and shed light on unmet needs faced by this community. The MPH will help launch her into a career in health policy where she hopes to focus on healthcare system reform.  

She is a performing artist and can’t wait to dive into the vibrant arts scene in Edinburgh. She also looks forward to exploring Scotland’s great outdoors.  

Fulbright-University of Roehampton Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

Anna Beresin

Fulbright-University of Sheffield Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

Jenny Browne

Fulbright-Queen's University Belfast Scholar Award (Irish Literature)

Fulbright-Loughborough University Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

Christopher Campbell

Jess Chloros

Fulbright-University of Dundee Scholar Award (Art and Design)

Luis Alfonso Dau

Fulbright-University of Leeds Distinguished Scholar Award

Kelly Davis

Fulbright-University of Birmingham Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

James DiLellio

Fulbright-Lancaster University Scholar Award (STEM-Science and Technology)

Colleen Doherty

Fulbright-University of York Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

Carol Elkovich

Fulbright-Scotland Distinguished Scholar at the Glasgow School of Art

Karen Giuliano

Fulbright-Edinburgh Napier University Scholar Award (Nursing)

Edith Gonzalez

Fulbright-British Library Eccles Centre Scholar Award (North American Studies)

Heather Green

Fulbright-Cardiff University Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

Aida Hozić

Fulbright-Oxford-Pembroke Distinguished Scholar (Politics and International Relations)

David Koons

Fulbright-University of Exeter Scholar Award

Kyle T. Mays

Fulbright-Scotland Distinguished Scholar at the University of Edinburgh, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (All Disciplines)

Ellen Millender

Fulbright-University of Nottingham Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

Joanne Myers

Fulbright-Durham University Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

Fulbright-University of Manchester Distinguished Scholar Award (Humanities)

Jason Schneiderman

Fulbright-University of Nottingham Scholar Award

Jacqueline Shea Murphy

Fulbright-Queen's University Belfast Scholar Award (Creative Writing)

Matthew Winters

Fulbright-University of Birmingham Distinguished Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

Changqing Wu

Tiphanie Yanique

Fulbright - British Virgin Islands Scholar Award at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC)

Lee Arnold is a visual artist whose practice is an exploration of how we perceive and represent the natural world. As a Fulbright scholar, Arnold will explore how British scientists in the 18th and 19th centuries investigated natural phenomena in the context of today’s climate crisis. Of particular interest is William Playfair, the founder of graphical methods of statistics.  

Arnold looks forward to pursuing his research in the British Library and the Wellcome Center in London, and further afield at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, the History of Science Museum in Oxford, and the National Museum of Scotland.  

He will be hosted by the University of Roehampton's School of Arts, and he looks forward to discussions with colleagues about developments in the digital humanities and the influence of new media on the interpretation and visualization of information.  

Arnold is a professor of art at Drew University and lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.  

Anna Beresin is professor of psychology and folklore at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the US. She holds two simultaneous PhDs from the University of Pennsylvania with a specialization in children’s folklore. She serves as co-editor of the Taylor and Francis publication, The International Journal of Play, and her newest book is Play in a Covid Frame: Everyday Pandemic Creativity in a Time of Isolation, coedited with Julia Bishop of the University of Sheffield. Anna Beresin’s book Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling won the Opie Award in Children’s Folklore from the American Folklore Society, and she has recently contributed to a book on Play and Social Justice. She has studied primate play, play and art, mock violent play, and breaktime in schools. All of her research asks: How is play a window into creative thinking and social life? Visit her at the globalrecessalliance.org and annaberesin.com.  

Jenny Browne is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Trinity University and the author of four books of poems. Her most recent collection is Fellow Travelers: New and Selected Poems (TCU Press, 2020). A former James Michener Fellow at the University of Texas in Austin, she has received the Cecil Hemley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry and two Literature Fellowships from the Texas Writers League. Her poems and essays have appeared widely, most recently in American Poetry Review, Bennington Review, Copper Nickel, Oxford American, The Nation and The New York Times.  She served concurrent terms as the 2016-2018 City of San Antonio Poet Laureate, and the 2017-2018 State of Texas Poet Laureate.  

Erik P. Bucy is the Marshall and Sharleen Formby Regents Professor of Strategic Communication in the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, where he teaches and conducts research on visual and nonverbal political communication, news literacy, disinformation, and public opinion about the press. Bucy is the author of Image Bite Politics: News and the Visual Framing of Elections (with Maria Elizabeth Grabe, 2009), editor of the Sourcebook for Political Communication Research (with R. Lance Holbert, 2013), and past editor of Politics and the Life Sciences, an interdisciplinary journal published by Cambridge University Press. Bucy was recently named a Belfer Fellow by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Technology and Society to study the visual dimensions of hate speech. He has held research fellowships and visiting positions at the University of Oxford, London School of Economics, University of Michigan, UCLA, and Dartmouth College.  

Christopher M. Campbell, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor for the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Portland State University. He focuses on a number of criminal justice related issues, with his recent work focusing on policies impacting people who use substances. As nations recognize the harmfulness of incarceration, many localized jurisdictions aim to divert the lowest-level, and particularly drug offenders, away from custody. Consequently, it is a critical time to examine the role of public and officer perceptions as it relates to diversion efforts. Dr. Campbell was selected for a Fulbright Scholar position at Loughborough University in England to study diversion efforts for people who use substances, and the acceptance of such efforts by law enforcement and the public. His project implements mixed-methods, using surveys and interviews of citizens and police to examine how perceptions of similar efforts differ between the US (Oregon), and England (West Midlands).  

Jessica Chloros is an Objects Conservator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA and a Visiting Lecturer at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. At the Gardner Museum she focuses on the conservation of sculpture and decorative arts. She also carries out technical research, mentors emerging professionals and conducts implicit bias training to support the museum’s DEAI work. Recent projects include technical studies of European and Asian polychrome sculpture and the research and treatment of a Roman marble sarcophagus.   

As a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Dundee, Jessica will explore ways to increase the accessibility of two-dimensional works of art for blind and partially sighted museum visitors. Jessica holds an MS in Art Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation and a certificate of Advanced Training in Objects Conservation from the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies at the Harvard Art Museums.  

Luis Alfonso Dau is an Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy and the Robert and Denise DiCenso Professor at Northeastern University. He is also a Buckley Visiting Fellow at University of Leeds and a Dunning Visiting Fellow at University of Reading. His research focuses on the effects of institutional processes and changes on the strategy and performance of emerging market firms. His research has won numerous awards and has appeared in top journals in the field, including AMJ, JIBS, JMS, JWB, MIR, GSJ, ETP, and JBV. He has served on the Executive Board of the Academy of International Business as Vice President of Administration, as well as Representative-at-Large for the Strategic Management Society’s Global Strategy Interest Group. He is a member of the editorial boards of JIBS, JIBP, JWB, GSJ, and JIM. Please see luisdau.com for full CV.  

As a rape prevention educator and rape crisis center volunteer during college, Davis saw first-hand the ubiquity of alcohol consumption during sexual assault. Her curiosity piqued, Davis began her research program into the study of alcohol-involved sexual assault during graduate school. Since then, Davis has led numerous research projects related to sexual violence, with grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, including the prestigious NIH MERIT award. Her projects include an evaluation of Safer Bars, a sexual violence bystander intervention program implemented within alcohol serving establishments, as well as laboratory-based studies of men’s alcohol-facilitated sexual aggression. While at the University of Birmingham, Davis will work with her UK colleagues to translate scientific knowledge regarding alcohol-involved sexual assault from research settings to routine practice.  

Dr. James A. DiLellio was recently promoted to professor of decision sciences, effective in the 2023-24 academic year, at the Graziadio Business School at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Northwestern University and an MBA (finance) from Pepperdine. His current research interests are primarily in nonlinear optimization, simulation, and Kalman filtering techniques to model a variety of investment problems. The application of this research covers portfolio management, retirement planning, commodity price modeling, and the analysis of investment strategies. He has published over 20 research papers, most recently in Energy Economics, Decision Sciences, the Journal of Economics and Finance, Financial Services Review, and the Journal of Investing.  Dr. DiLellio also has over a decade of domestic and international experience in the aerospace and defense industries at Raytheon, Boeing, and The Aerospace Corporation.    

Can plants help the transition to clean energy? Colleen Doherty is an Associate Professor in Biochemistry at North Carolina State University. Her lab studies how the plant circadian clock helps plants adapt to stress. However, the severe impacts of changing climates on plants have motivated her to use the incredible power of plant biochemistry to fight climate change. A significant limitation in the clean energy transition is the availability of rare earth elements essential for lightweight electric vehicles and durable batteries. Doherty uses plants to accumulate these elements from coal and energy wastes. At the University of York, in the Center for Novel Agricultural Products, she will research ways to alter the chemical form of these elements in the plants to make them valuable for downstream industrial uses. Her Global Scholar period will be from January- April. Doherty’s ten-year-old daughter will join her and despite being told otherwise, she hopes to meet the Nac Mac Feegles.   

Carol Elkovich is an installation artist. In Scotland, Ms. Elkovich will undertake the Motherland Project, exploring textiles traditions and landscapes to produce paintings and textiles. Her research ruminates on the Scottish diaspora and the loss of textile traditions stemming from Scotland. As an Associate Professor of Art at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, California, Ms. Elkovich is active in developing innovative arts pedagogy. Her research invents equitable critique techniques and explores the impact of gamification on the creative process. She has presented her research at art education conferences and is a contributing author in Let’s Talk About Critique; Reimagining Art and Design Education, University of Chicago Press, 2023. Working with students and faculty at Glasgow School of Art, she will engage in conversations and games on topics of Reading the Landscape and Instilling Creative Confidence in Art Students.  

Karen is Co-Director of the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation, and Professor, Institute for Applied Life Sciences and the College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Karen is also a nurse scientist at Baystate Medical Center, Springfield MA. With a clinical background in critical care, a passion for research at the point-of-care, and 25+ years of global experience in the medical product development, Karen’s focus is to improve the delivery of care for nurses, and the experience of care for patients and family.  Her expertise includes human-centered design and clinical outcomes research. In addition, her own interdisciplinary program of research is focused in two main areas: non-ventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia and IV infusion safety using IV Smart Pumps.    

Karen is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, holds a BSN and PhD (Boston College), an MBA (Babson College) and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship (Yale University).  

Dr. Gonzalez is an Assistant Professor of Archaeology and Critical Museum Studies at University at Buffalo – State University of New York. Her background is in museums with leadership positions at informal learning institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History and the Long Island Children's Museum. She has a deep commitment to life-long learning and creating low stakes learning environments so that researchers can share their work and visitors can discover their passions. Her research focuses on the historical archaeology of the English speaking Caribbean, transatlantic slavery, bio-prospecting, and cultural heritage. She is a current Research Fellow at All Souls College - Oxford University and in 2024, will be a Fulbright Scholar at the British Library - Eccles Centre for American Studies, delving into a vast collection of 18th-century documents to learn about the mysterious past of the island of Barbuda, West Indies.  

Heather Green’s Fulbright will take her to the mudflats of the Severn Estuary from Feb–June 2024, where she will work with the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences and the Severn Estuary Partnership at Cardiff University to realize the full scope of Tidal Timespace: Imprints & Palimpsests, an interdisciplinary art project that examines and celebrates the ecology and culture of the Severn Estuary. She will map the visible remains seen at low tide and capture them in a series of casts recording the still-wet, intricate patterns inscribed by snails, currents, and other beings, and gather images and stories about the Estuary for an artist book detailing the diversity and signature of this vital landscape that borders both Wales and England. Green is an Associate Professor of Printmaking and Book Arts at Arizona State University. Her work explores the historical and ecological narratives of the Gulf of California in Sonora, Mexico, a place she has known since childhood.  

Aida A. Hozić is Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Florida. Her research is situated at the intersection of feminist political economy, cultural studies, and international security. She is currently writing about merchant capitalism in Southeastern Europe, visual representations of race in international politics, and diffusion of global art markets.  She is the author of Hollyworld: Space, Power and Fantasy in the American Economy (Cornell University Press, 2002) and co-editor (with Jacqui True) of Scandalous Economics: Gender and Politics of Financial Crises (Oxford University Press, 2016). She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her work has been supported by the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation, IREX, Institute for Turkish Studies, Open Society Institute, Fulbright and other fellowships. Her public writing has appeared in Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera, Politico Europe, Le Monde, Phenomenal World, Guernica, etc.  

Professor David Koons is the James C. Kennedy Endowed Chair of Wetland & Waterfowl Conservation at Colorado State University. He is a population ecologist with > 20 years of experience studying migratory birds. His additional interests include natural resource management, population dynamics, life history evolution, and aging. He is also a decorated educator with extensive experience advising students and teaching both quantitative and field courses. Before his most recent position, Professor Koons was on the faculty at Utah State University where he was awarded several teaching awards and in 2013 he received the Robins Award for best researcher across all disciplines. He conducted post-doctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany, attained a Ph.D. degree from Auburn University, and attained M.S. and B.S. degrees from Montana State University. He is also a proud member of the British Ecological Society.  

Kyle T. Mays (he/him) is an Afro-Indigenous (Saginaw Chippewa) scholar of Afro-Indigenous studies, urban history, and contemporary popular culture. He is an Associate Professor in the Departments of African American Studies, American Indian Studies, and History at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of three books, including: City of Dispossessions: Indigenous Peoples, African Americans, and the Creation of Modern Detroit (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022); An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States (Beacon Press, 2021), and Hip Hop Beats, Indigenous Rhymes: Modernity and Hip Hop in Indigenous North America (Suny Press, 2018). He is also the co-author of a forthcoming book, Rethinking the Red Power Movement (Routledge, 2023).  

Ellen Millender is the Omar & Althea Hoskins Professor of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Humanities at Reed College, Oregon, US, where she has taught since 2002. She publishes broadly on the ancient Greek city-state, Sparta. Her research includes investigations of Spartan austerity, leadership, literacy, kingship, military organization, gender mores, and emotional practices. She is currently completing a series of studies of the role that spectacle and performance play in fifth- and fourth-century accounts of Sparta.  

Professor Millender will be spending her Fulbright at Nottingham University's Center for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies. She will be completing a monograph on the role that Athens' democratic ideology and hegemonic rivalry with Sparta played in fifth- and fourth-century constructions of Sparta as a peculiar society similar to Athens' barbarian enemies to the East.  

Joanne Myers has long been fascinated by archival materials, but that interest remained in the background of her scholarly work until, in 2017, a chance encounter with a manuscript prayer book from the 1720s reignited her interest. The anonymous prayer book spurred a series of questions: Who wrote it? Why would someone create a handwritten book over two centuries after the arrival of the printing press? Was the work tedious? How did the nun who wrote this book understand the meaning of her labour? That serendipitous encounter spurred her current interest in English Catholic devotional culture in the 1600s and 1700s, with a focus on scribal practice in English continental convents. At Durham, Myers will be spending most of her time in Palace Green Library, surveying the manuscript and print libraries of the Poor Clares of Rouen, which include many books penned by the same nun who created that prayer book Myers encountered years ago.  

How does a philosopher who writes about historical explanation account for his intellectual journey that results in applying for and receiving a Fulbright fellowship. In short, a fortuitous set of events brought to Roth’s attention how his interest in the altered relation of the history and philosophy of science that occurs in the 20th century connects with how conceptions of logic have morphed in that time. Scholars at The University of Manchester pursue this very particular innovative and exciting work in the history of logic, and so it is off to Manchester he goes.   

Roth’s specific Fulbright project attempts to forge the hitherto untold story of how philosophy of history, philosophy of science, and philosophy of logic have mutually influenced and altered one another. The heart of the narrative concerns how logic, and especially the logic of science, has reshaped the logic of explanation, and so ultimately reconfigured what to count as a rational understanding of ourselves.  

Jason Schneiderman is the author of five poetry collections, most recently Hold Me Tight (Red Hen, 2020), and including the forthcoming Portrait of Icarus as a Country on Fire (Red Hen, 2024). He edited the anthology Queer: A Reader for Writers (Oxford UP 2016). His poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies; he is a longstanding co-host of the podcast Painted Bride Quarterly Slush Pile. His awards include the Emily Dickinson Award, the Shestack Award, and a Fulbright Fellowship. He is longtime co-host of the podcast Painted Bride Quarterly Slush Pile and a guest host for American Public Media's The Slowdown. He is Professor of English at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and teaches in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.

Jacqueline Shea Murphy is professor of dance studies at the University of California Riverside, and prize-winning author or editor of several books, including Dancing Indigenous Worlds: Choreographies of Relation. She writes about Native American and Indigenous dance artists creating in but beyond coloniality. Her first Fulbright took her to Aotearoa where she learned about Māori contemporary dance. This Fulbright, at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University, Belfast, allows her to explore her Irish roots, asking: what constitutes “Indigenous” in Ireland and in Irish dance? How do bodies in physical relation, bodies in ancestral relation, and centuries of bodies emigrating and immigrating affect that question? She will study what Irish contemporary dance shows about negotiating space with each other. Following Indigenous scholars who cite storytelling as ‘decolonizing methodologies,’ she will also finish a YA speculative fiction novel set in 1846 Ireland, based on family history.  

Matthew S. Winters is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois. His research interests include the allocation and effectiveness of foreign aid, the political-economy of governance, and voter attitudes toward corruption. He has conducted research in Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Malawi, Mali, and Uganda. Winters has published articles in Journal of Politics, World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and World Development, among other outlets, and has worked as a consultant for USAID, AusAID, and the World Bank’s Independent Evaluations Group. Winters received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University, was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University, and has held a Council on Foreign Relations / Hitachi International Affairs Fellowship in Japan.   

Dr. Changqing Wu is a Professor of Food Toxicology at University of Delaware. Her research is on toxicities and bioactivities of natural and synthetic phenolics, with a focus on developing new methods to understand toxicity of emerging food contaminants such as nanoplastics. With unique physiochemical properties, nanoplastics have big toxic risks to life on Earth. Food intake is a key route of human exposure to nanoplastics. Huge knowledge gaps exist on the health impacts of nanoplastics-containing foods. During the visit at the University of Birmingham, she will leverage facilities and resources to study the health impacts of nanoplastics within foods. The research will identify the fates of nanoplastics in common food preparation steps and evaluate the dynamics of nanoplastics during digestion to understand its role on human health. She is excited to know more of UK and enhance institutional collaboration on fundamental and applied research regarding the nanoplastics within foods.  

Tiphanie Yanique will be the inaugural Fulbright Scholar to the BVI, working within the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. She will teach a decolonial and environmental studies literature course and a fiction workshop.  She is the author of the novel, Monster in the Middle, which was published in 2021 and on numerous best of the year lists.  Monster in the Middle was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and is a finalist for the Townsend Prize.  She is also the author of the poetry collection, Wife, which won the Bocas Prize in Caribbean poetry and the United Kingdom’s Forward/Felix Dennis Prize, the novel, Land of Love and Drowning, which won the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Award, the Phillis Wheatley Award, and an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award.  In the BVI she will be researching for her collection of essays on how the Black body stays safe in the outside world.  Tiphanie’s family, which includes her three small children, will be outdoors whenever possible.  

Ahmad Elabbar

All Disciplines Award - University of California, San Diego

Oluwagbemisola Anifowose-Eso

All Disciplines Postgraduate Award, Columbia University (2022-23)

Adam Boggon

All Disciplines Award - MPH in Health Management at Harvard University

Robert Bray

All Disciplines Award - Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Kieran Carty

Sir Cyril Taylor Memorial Award for Social Entrepreneurship - Master’s in Business Administration at Stanford University

Thomas Copeland

Alistair Cooke Award in Journalism - Master's degree in Journalism at Columbia University

Melissa Danvers

All Disciplines Award - MA in International Education at George Washington University

Phebe Ekregbesi

All Disciplines Award - Master’s in Molecular Microbiology at Johns Hopkins University

Kerris Dunn

Executive Master of Public Administration Award – Innovation and Policy Development at NYU Wagner

Peter Gracey

All Disciplines Award - Master's in Food Science and Technology at Cornell University

James Hong-En Kang

Fulbright-Elsevier Data Analytics Award - Master’s in Public Health at University of California, Berkeley

Christina Last

All Disciplines Award - Master’s in Urban Studies and Planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Rizwaan Malik

All Disciplines Award

Temitope Mayomi

All Disciplines Award - Gallatin's Master of Arts Program at NYU

Vankshita Mishra

Fulbright - BAFTA Postgraduate Scholarship

Hassan Qayyum

Fulbright Global Wales Postgraduate Award - Master's of Human Resource Management at Ohio State University

Sharif Kazemi

All Disciplines Award - Master's of Public Policy at The School of International Public Affairs at Columbia University

Fulbright Postgraduate Award - LLM Law at Indiana University

All Disciplines Award - Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literature at Stony Brook University

Carmen Villa

All Disciplines Award - Visiting Student researcher in Public Policy at the University of Chicago

Hayden Godfrey

All Disciplines Visiting Student Researcher at Harvard University

Ahmad is a PhD student in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, researching the role of justice in global climate assessments.

Having grown up between cultures and countries, moving as a child from Leicestershire to Medina and back again, Ahmad developed an interest in global issues that cross borders and present challenges to diverse communities and ways of life. As such, climate change soon became Ahmad’s focus of study, a common thread throughout his academic journey, which began with a Master’s in Physics from Loughborough University, followed by a Master’s in Philosophy from the University of Oxford and a Master’s in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine from the University of Cambridge.

Along the way, Ahmad noted a separation in popular and ethical debates over climate justice, which insulate climate science from questions of justice, giving the impression that justice is not a concern for science. Ahmad’s project at the Institute for Practical Ethics at the University of California, San Diego, aims to bridge this separation, placing justice at the heart of climate assessment. He is delighted to join the Fulbright community and experience the joys of discovering the U.S. 

Gbemisola is a recent first-class graduate from the University of Warwick where she studied Politics and Sociology.

Through her experience growing up between Nigeria and the UK, Gbemisola recognized that despite the cultural, political, and economic distinctiveness of these countries, they are affected by and responding to the same global issues. Supported by the Fulbright Scholarship, Gbemisola will pursue the MA in Global Thought at Columbia University, where she hopes to conduct an interdisciplinary study of critical global issues – from pandemics to climate crises and social injustice – with the aim of developing practical interventions to address these. She is particularly interested in learning about how urban areas have evolved in the global era and hopes to investigate the contestation of public space in global cities across the world.

Outside of her academics, Gbemisola is looking forward to immersing herself in New York’s iconic jazz scene and exploring the city’s vast culinary offerings.

Adam is a psychiatry trainee in London and an honorary lecturer at UCL. He grew up in West Fife playing youth professional football and spent time at NASA through the Scottish Space School. He studied Medicine at St Andrews (BSc), Aberdeen (MBChB), and in East Africa with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (DTM&H) – winning national medals and awards for medical debating, steeplechase, and Scottish traditional singing. He’s practiced in Edinburgh, Inverness, Orkney, London, and at the MRC-Unit The Gambia. During the Covid-19 pandemic he worked in acute medicine and intensive care, helped establish an early vaccination centre, and coordinated the redeployment of over 300 doctors and medical students at the Royal Free Hospital. He believes decisive, collaborative clinician leadership is integral to the future of the NHS and the morale of its workforce. He will undertake a MPH in Health Management at Harvard.

Adam’s writing has been shortlisted for the John Byrne Award, the Lancet Wakley Prize and won the Mountaineering Scotland mountain writing competition. He looks forward to exploring the US national parks in his fell running shoes and chatting enthusiastically to strangers.

Rob is a PhD student at Ulster University having completed the International Masters in Fire Safety Engineering, an Erasmus Mundus course organised by the Universities of Ghent, Edinburgh and Lund. Prior to this, whilst completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Central Lancashire, he was part of a unique program dedicated to finding future leaders of the fire and rescue service. This offered him the opportunity to work as a firefighter in Blackburn for two years.

Whilst in Massachusetts he hopes to broaden his understanding of the world. Rob is a lover of history and how it shapes art and architecture. He is keen to explore some great museums including returning to the place where he proposed, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  

Rob will attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. He aims to explore experimental methods of quantifying material burning behaviour with the intention of improving fire science scalability. He would like to contribute to improving accountability and integrity in the construction industry so that all communities are afforded the right to safe homes. He also hopes to promote fire engineering as a career with the aim of eliminating one of the profession’s major challenges, the deficit of engineers.  

Kieran is from South London, and has worked globally as an investment professional in the private equity and investment banking industry for the past six years. During this time, he has been fortunate to work in both the private and non-profit sectors, for the likes of Credit Suisse and Open Society Foundations. He has also enjoyed traveling extensively, investing across 12 different countries located across East and West Africa, as well as India and the Middle East.

Kieran’s career began at Credit Suisse, where he interned for a number of years as part of the Steps to Success Scholarship program. Post-graduation, Kieran joined Credit Suisse full-time as an Investment Banking Analyst focused on M&A (mergers and acquisitions) for financial institutions. In 2015, Kieran co-founded a non-profit, [Black British City Group (https://www.blackbritishcitygroup.com/), and earned a first-class degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Manchester. Prior to that, he went to an underperforming state school in Lewisham.

Kieran is extremely excited to explore entrepreneurship whilst completing my MBA at Stanford GSB. Moreover, he’s honoured to represent Black British culture as a Fulbright Scholar and share a perspective that is often forgotten, overlooked, or misunderstood within the UK and US.

Thomas Copeland is from Northern Ireland and will graduate from Queen’s University Belfast in 2022 with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

Thomas’s passion for public service journalism began at the age of 16 when he set-up Challenges NI, a platform for young people’s voices on the issues affecting their lives. As Head of News at Queen’s Radio, Thomas has won student journalism awards in the UK and Ireland. He also works as an Assistant Producer with Third Street Studios on BBC current affairs programmes and is a freelance broadcast journalist for Sky News and BBC Radio 5 Live. Thomas is Chair of the Royal Television Society NI Futures Panel, a member of the US Embassy Dublin Young Leaders’ Council and an alumnus of the Washington Ireland Program.

Thomas is excited to be undertaking a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University. He intends to learn new broadcast and multi-media skills and to develop innovative investigative techniques in the dynamic journalistic landscape of New York City. Thomas’ ambition is to harness the power of journalism in order to make a meaningful impact on the lives of audiences in Northern Ireland and across the Globe.

A Londoner of Ghanaian and Jamaican heritage, Melissa is an aspiring international educator with a first-class degree in Modern Languages from the University of Warwick. Upon graduating in 2018, she moved to Japan to work as an Assistant Language Teacher, specialising in English and Global Citizenship Education. This position not only reaffirmed her belief in the value of education and cultural exchange, but also enabled her to explore her own identity as a member of the global African diaspora. Since returning to the UK, Melissa has worked in higher education, supporting widening participation initiatives at the University of Cambridge and study abroad programming at the University of Reading.

At the George Washington University, Melissa will combine her interests in education, cross-cultural exchange and diasporic African communities through an MA in International Education. Harnessing the knowledge that she obtains from this degree programme, she hopes to coordinate Anglo-African educational initiatives that promote access to learning and facilitate intercultural interactions.

Outside of academia, Melissa enjoys volunteering, outdoor activities and dance. While in the US, she is excited to contribute to her local D.C. community, explore the Appalachian Trail and visit New York to experience the city’s unique On2 salsa scene!

Phebe graduated with a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Bath in 2018. Phebe’s passion for malaria research was crystalised during a year-long internship at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where she worked in collaboration with NHS partners to publish a report into causes anaemia during sepsis.

Since 2019 she has been a research technician in various immunology labs within at Imperial College London. Phebe has contributed through technical support and training to ongoing research projects ranging from infectious diseases to asthma. While at JHU, Phebe aims to investigate the immune consequences of pregnancy-associated malaria from the maternal, foetal, and infant perspectives. This Fulbright will give them the opportunity to integrate learning from the classroom, laboratory, and community settings to encourage better dialogue between scientists, participants, policy-makers, and the general public.

Outside of the laboratory, Phebe volunteers with multiple organisations promoting STEM field to under-represented groups – whether mentoring young girls and non-binary people through the Stemettes; or celebrating black voices with the Black in Immuno Hub -  and is excited to expand this work within Baltimore.

Kerris is a UK diplomat and experienced policy and programme management professional, with a focus on international development and corporate management in fragile and conflict-affected states. She has spent 12 years in the UK government, first as a policy analyst at HM Treasury. She then joined the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where she served in UK High Commissions (i.e. UK embassies) in Freetown and Nairobi and UK embassies in Khartoum and Kabul, as well as a range of roles in London.

Her experience overseas has given her a deep appreciation of the contribution public services and an independent civil service make to public well-being. While at NYU and UCL, Kerris hopes to learn from expert policy practitioners and build a network of public servants. She also hopes to identify ways to increase the engagement of communities traditionally excluded from the policy making process, an ambition influenced by her work and inner-city London upbringing.

Kerris was educated at King’s College London and the Grey Coat Hospital Church of England Comprehensive School for Girls. Outside of work, Kerris has trekked to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and currently volunteers as an assistant coach at Athletic Football Club Lewisham. She can’t wait to experience New York’s live music scene.

During his bachelor’s in food quality, safety and nutrition at Queen’s University Belfast, Peter researched plant-based diets and their impact on nutritional adequacy, with an interest in influencing sustainable diets for the western population.

His interest in food began at A-level where he learned about the impact of food on athletic performance, which later resulted in him pursuing an internship with a leading UK retailer in 2019. This experience demonstrated the impact of research on not just retailers but on customer eating habits, this prompted Peter to pursue further study into vegan meat analogues, which highlighted the challenges that the food industry faces in terms of population growth, protein demand, and sustainability. With the Fulbright scholarship, Peter hopes to further his learning about consumer perception of food, and how these conceptions can be more positive towards sustainable diets.  

Outside of his studies, Peter has a passion for running and has been selected to represent Northern Ireland. As an elite athlete, Peter enjoys competing and has a personal best of 14.36 for running a 5K.

James is a Gastroenterology doctor interested in the use of epidemiology and ‘big data’ analytics to improve healthcare delivery and equity. Since qualifying from the University of Oxford, James moved to the East of England to work as an Academic Foundation doctor and later as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow, Specialist Registrar and Chief Resident at his hospital. Between hospital shifts, James learned to work with large epidemiological datasets as part of a European cohort study examining the role of nutrition in cancer development.

At the University of California, Berkeley, James will learn methodologies that will be foundational for his future research career. Although he is currently interested in using big data to develop risk prediction models for early cancer detection, such methodology will be applicable to many different health problems. After his return to the UK, James hopes to use the knowledge and expertise that he gains abroad to complete a PhD and eventually become an academic clinician.  

Outside of the classroom, James aims to explore California’s national parks. He looks forward to experiencing graduate school life including attending a college football game. In turn, he plans to share his passion for (English) football and specifically Tottenham Hotspur F.C

Christina Last is a Data Scientist using advanced analytics to understand our built environment. Having grown up with a passion for understanding urban inequality, she's helped build software, and plan cities in Harvard, London, and NYC. Christina attended the University of Bristol, graduating with a First Class in Geography with Quantitative Methods. 

Christina has collaborated with a number of city governments and international organizations as a Research Data Scientist at The Alan Turing Institute, (the UK's National Institute for AI and Data Science), where she built machine learning techniques examining the human impact of the industrial revolution. She has led various international research projects using cutting-edge machine learning to solve humanitarian challenges, most recently as a Senior Data Scientist collaborating with UNICEF to model air quality during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Christina's ambition is to be a world leader in artificial intelligence, informing the actions of governments and developers as they transform built environments. During a master's in Urban Science at MIT, Christina aims to develop software and hardware solutions to lay the groundwork for permanent and long-term improvements to walking conditions on the city’s streets.

Rizwaan is deeply passionate about improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children. He began his career as a maths teacher in Bradford, where he also held responsibilities for improving student attendance as Assistant Head of Year. After leaving the classroom, he worked in Uganda and Sierra Leone for an education social enterprise, and then most recently, for the Behavioural Insights Team - the UK Government's 'nudge unit'. In this role, he designed, implemented and evaluated interventions to increase student engagement with online learning and catch up tutoring following covid-related school closures. Rizwaan also volunteers as a community governor for a large secondary school in East London. Rizwaan holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford, an MA in Educational Leadership from the University of Manchester, and a PGCE from Sheffield Hallam University. 

Informed by this experience, Rizwaan believes that data science and technology has the potential to significantly improve public education systems around the world, and will be exploring this topic further whilst at Stanford. 

Outside of work, Rizwaan is obsessed with food, spending most of his time cooking for friends or eating out in London. He's particularly excited to try lots of good Mexican food in California, and plans to sample every taco in the bay area.

Tope is an anti-violence worker and researcher with an abolitionist vision of justice. As a Black disabled person, their experiences with psychiatry pushed them towards abolition where they found community as a grassroots organizer and educator with the transformative justice collective, Cradle Community. 

Tope is a co-author of Cradle’s first book, 'Brick by Brick: How We Build a World Without Prisons (2021)'. Tope has worked with both perpetrators and survivors of violence in prisons and in the community and recognises the structural roots of normalized violence. After completing a BA in Social Sciences at King’s College London, Tope will be studying a Master of Arts in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University to analyse the role of psychiatry in legitimizing incarceration by naturalizing violence within individual psychology. Tope aims to use their scholarship to continue exploring alternative modes of accountability that do not reproduce harm or treat individuals as disposable through future work in criminal defence mitigation. Tope is looking forward to the opportunity to build and learn in solidarity with organizers in New York on working towards community safety.

Vankshita Mishra is a filmmaker, writer & actor based in London. After graduating in 2020 from Durham University with a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences (Physics & Chemistry), she has been writing, directing and editing her own short films.

She also works as an actor, assistant director and production assistant on others’ projects and as a freelance science tutor too. Alongside her work, Vankshita is a member of the Other Cinemas film school that works as a collective, championing radical voices in film that think beyond the mainstream. Her aim in all work is to be multi-disciplinary and to bridge gaps between cultures & subjects.

Hassan was born and raised in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. His educational background up until this point has been in Accounting and Finance having achieved an upper second-class honours in Accounting and Finance in 2018, and a master’s degree in Forensic Audit and Accounting, both from the University of South Wales.

Hassan is passionate and understands the importance of diversity in the corporate workplace, and with world events such as Black Lives Matter, the focus of diversity and inclusion for HR departments has become more important than ever.

During his time studying at Fisher College of Business, at the Ohio State University, Hassan is looking forward to expanding on his knowledge in the field of Human Resources which he hopes will push him to become a leader in the ever-changing field.

Outside of his studies, Hassan is looking forward to explore Columbus and its surrounding areas, including its nature, museums and sport. He is also looking forward to exploring the unique history shared between Wales and Ohio.

Mohammadmehdi’s experience of education has always been diverse. He attended elementary school in Southern Iran and finished high school with A-levels in London. In education strategy, he worked for both private investors valuing profit and development organizations focused on impact.

Mohammadmehdi is excited to combine these experiences in the US, studying public policy through Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. In particular, he hopes to support lifelong learning solutions to ensure that future workforces can continuously re-skill in the face of the challenges posed by automation. The workforces most at-risk of automation are also those in less economically developed nations, such as in his home region of the Middle East where he hopes to one day return to work. To this end, Mohammadmehdi will be specializing in international development, data analytics and Arabic.

As a member of the global Fulbright network, Mohammadmehdi is excited to learn from my peers and for this two-way learning to be a lifelong endeavor beginning with my two years in New York City. During this time, he also hopes to continue my film photography and document the diverse communities around the city’s famous five boroughs.

Alice graduated with a degree in Law from the University of Liverpool. After taking part in an expedition to India in 2018 and volunteering in the slums in Chennai, Alice became aware of different traumas and human rights violations that many people suffer from. This experience opened her eyes to the violations of fundamental human rights that are taking place all over the world. From this, Alice decided to pursue a degree in Law, in the hope of becoming an advocate for international human rights.

During her time in the United States, Alice hopes to give back to the community, by taking part in pro bono schemes. She wants to widen her experiences and knowledge in human rights law through academic and practical work, with the aim of returning to the UK to train as a qualified solicitor. Once qualified, she plans to travel to countries where extreme human rights violations take place, to educate people on their international rights.

Born and raised on the Isle of Wight, Mia’s early experiences living in a low income household and attending failing schools have made her passionate about the accessibility of the arts and education as a tool for social mobility. She went on to attend the University of Oxford on a Crankstart Scholarship, and graduated with a degree in English Language and Literature in 2020. Her time there is what has fuelled her desire to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing and tell stories about the intricacies of class, wealth, gender, and the intersection of all three.

At Stony Brook University, Mia looks forward to refining her craft alongside similarly minded writers, sharing her passion for educational accessibility through teaching and outreach work, exploring the New York and New England areas through food, architecture, music, and history, and sharing her experiences on her YouTube channel.

Carmen is a PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Warwick. Her work leverages economic modelling and data to understand more about gentrification, wage inequality, public housing, and crime in London. 

Carmen was born in Spain and holds a BA from University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain) and an MA from the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium). She moved to London after completing her studies, and she has been researching spatial inequality in the UK since 2017. She is excited to keep learning from some of the World’s leading researchers at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where she will spend 6 months as a non-degree visiting student. 

An avid music lover, Carmen plays the guitar in her free time and looks forward to exploring the music scene in Chicago. During her stay in the U.S she would like to visit Nashville, and California.

Hayden is an Oxford University Postgraduate researcher with the highest honours in an MSc Research Design and Methodology (Education) publishing in areas such as Intellectual Humility and Argumentation in Higher Education/Science Education, the impact of Covid-19 on Law Undergraduate Provision at Oxford University, and novel mixed-methods approaches in educational research. Hayden has also chaired and moderated conferences on the epistemic practices and beliefs of students.

As a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard School of Education, Hayden will explore how Science and Higher Education can respond to the vast misinformation in society (for example, concerning vaccines and pandemics). Hayden will also explore how education can be reformed for fulfilment and contentment with societies ever increasing lifespans, and how members of society can find meaning and purpose outside of identifying solely with their careers or achievements.

Antonella Bancalari

Fulbright-Royal Society of Edinburgh Award - Yale University

Anna Bidgood

Fulbright-All Disciplines Scholar - Carnegie Institution for Science, Geoscience and Technology Metals

Igor Calzada

Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence (S-I-R) Award, California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) – Institute for Basque Studies

Jennifer Mallon

Fulbright-All Disciplines Scholar - Nova Southeastern University and Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium

Aidan McGarry

Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar - University of Southern California

Riccardo Mogre

Fulbright-Lloyd’s Scholar - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Omar Musbahi

Fulbright-Royal College of Surgeons of England - Harvard University

Catherine Russell

Fulbright-Lloyd’s Scholar - The University of New Orleans (2022-23)

Benjamin Smith

Fulbright All-Disciplines Scholar - University of California, San Diego

Ade Solanke

Fulbright-All Disciplines Scholar - Emerson College

Fulbright-Smithsonian Institutions Scholar - Smithsonian

Joanie Willett

Fulbright-All Disciplines Scholar - Virginia Tech

Antonella Bancalari graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2020 with a PhD in Social Policy and a MPA in International Development. Antonella’s journey started in Lima, Peru, where she obtained a BSc in Economics from Universidad del Pacifico and worked as a public sector consultant. As a first-hand witness of the barriers to development, her purpose is to help eradicating global poverty. Pursuing this aim, she worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (Washington D.C.) and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (London) in several projects in Latin America and South-East Asia. 

As a Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Antonella will be joining a renowned group of Development Economists based at Yale’s Economic Growth Centre. Her research seeks to understand the principles underlying effective public service delivery in low- and middle-income countries. Back home, Antonella is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the School of Economics and Finance of the University of St Andrews (Scotland), where she teaches Development and Health Economics to more than 100 postgraduate and undergraduate students from all over the world. The Fulbright will give her the opportunity to share her research and field-work experience internationally and learn how leading academics promote evidence-based policymaking globally. As an animal lover, Antonella hopes to meet “Handsome Dan”, Yale University’s famous mascot, and volunteer at the Yale’s Animal Welfare Alliance!

Anna developed a fascination with remote wilderness landscapes and indigenous communities as a teenager and has spent a great deal of time on both mountaineering and research expeditions as she trained to be a geologist.  Anna is a geoscientist with interests in sustainably-sourced technology metals which are critical for the production of low carbon technologies needed to help decarbonise our society.  

Anna graduated from the University of Oxford in 2020 with a PhD in geology before moving to the SFI Research Centre in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG), where she enjoys working at the interface between academia and industry in a changing society and is passionate about metal extraction being accomplished in an environmental and sustainable way.  

Anna will spend time at the Carnegie Institute for Science in Washington DC where she will be conducting experimental research to determine how the technology metals cobalt and nickel are mobilised and concentrated to aid predictions as to where these metals might be found in nature. Anna is looking forward to visiting the museums around Washington DC, as well as many of the national parks and geological sites in the US, where she hopes to immerse herself through long-distance hikes and biking.

Dr Igor Calzada MBA is a  Principal Research Fellow / Reader at Cardiff University , WISERD (Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data) and SPARK (Social Science Research Park). His research aims to intersect digital, urban, and political transformations, particularly focusing on  digital citizenship ,  digital rights ,  data co-operatives , and  rescaling nation-states . He has been recently nominated among  100 Most Influential Academics in Government by Apolitical  and has published two monographs ‘ Emerging Digital Citizenship Regimes: Postpandemic Technopolitical Democracies’ (Emerald, 2022 ) and ‘ Smart City Citizenship’ (Elsevier, 2021 ).

Dr Calzada's Fulbright teaching, engagement, and research activities will focus on  Digitalisation/Datafication as Emerging Digital Citizenship Regimes in Postpandemic Urban Realms .  He is really looking forward to actively design the new curriculum of the Institute for Basque Studies, by setting up international networks, meeting key players in California, and resulting in a three-way MoU between Wales, Cardiff University (UK), Basque Country, Basque Government – Presidency, General Secretary of External Affairs (Spain), and CSUB – IBS (USA) through the action research project  www.hanhemen.eus  on  digital citizenship and e-diaspora . He hopes his work can contribute understanding and entrepreneurial networks between Wales, Basque Country, and California, and most importantly, bringing positive change in social, institutional, academic, and diasporic communities overall.

Jennifer completed her doctoral studies in marine biogeochemistry of coral reefs at the University of Glasgow, Scotland in collaboration with the Coralium Laboratory of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Her research focuses on corals and algae which grow carbonate skeletons in a process known as calcification to build and maintain the coral reef structure. Some coral reef structures protect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, by creating a barrier between coastal communities and the open ocean. As storm frequency and intensity increase due to the climate crisis, this is a critical ecosystem service.  

Her Fulbright project will focus on measuring calcification rates to support reef restoration efforts in the Florida Keys. She is looking forward to spending 12-months at Mote International Center for Coral Reef Restoration and Research in the Florida Keys working under the supervision of Dr Emily Hall, Mote, and Dr Tyler Cyronak, Nova Southeastern University. Their research aims to develop a cost-effective method to monitor reef health using biogeochemical measurements of calcification to track reef growth and function, they will test this method to determine if calcification measured from changes in seawater chemistry can be used to monitor reef health, track conservation success, and identify reefs at risk.

Aidan completed all his formal higher education at Queen’s University, Belfast, gaining his PhD in 2007. HIs research focuses on how marginalised groups around the world find and express their demands, this includes Roma communities in eastern Europe and LGBTIQ activists in India. He led a AHRC project on urban protest movements in Turkey from 2016-2018. In the past, Aidan has been a visiting scholar at Columbia University, New York, the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence and the European Centre for Minority Issues in Germany. He was awarded a EURIAS Fellowship at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) in Amsterdam in 2018-2019. He became a Professor in 2021 and is the Associate Dean of Research in his school.  

During his Fulbright Fellowship, he will explore the intersection of environmental activism, digital media and visual culture. California houses strong environmental groups; Aidan will use the case of California wildfires to assess how activists use the power of images on social media to change attitudes, raise awareness and challenge opponents regarding the climate crisis. Whilst he will miss London, Aidan will try his best to enjoy the California sunshine and landscape....whilst in LA he relishes the chance to experience full cultural immersion. As a food fanatic he looks forward to trying out the incredible food truck scene in LA and hopes to fulfil a lifelong dream to drive a convertible Mustang from LA to San Francisco along the Pacific Coast Highway and visit Big Sur.

Riccardo is an Associate Professor at Durham University Business School and a Fellow of the Durham Energy Institute. 

As a Fulbright Scholar, Riccardo will spend six months at the MIT Operations Research Center and the Sloan School of Management. He will collaborate with Prof. Trichakis to develop mathematical models for the management of risky projects, with a focus on offshore wind.  Large projects are prone to delays because of complexity, supply issues, and external risks. His Fulbright work will investigate mitigation strategies, like dynamic control, to keep projects on track.  At MIT he will also explore approaches to research leadership, teaching, and student life.

Omar Musbahi was a structural engineer prior to graduating from Barts and The London and the University of Oxford with medical and science degrees.  

He is currently an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow and Specialist Registrar in Trauma & Orthopaedics at Imperial College London combining surgical training with research interests in improving musculoskeletal patient outcomes. He has interests in data and engineering. During his time in surgical training, he developed an interest in improving the inefficiencies in healthcare services. 

As a Fulbright Royal College of Surgeons Scholar, Omar will spend time at Brigham & Women’s Hospital as part of Harvard Medical School to further understand the way routinely collected healthcare data is used to improve musculoskeletal patient pathways. In particular, he will focus on addressing the success of the US elective orthopaedic day surgery pathways and hopes to use this information to further improve NHS orthopaedic services.

Catherine Russell completed her PhD in fluvial sedimentology at the University of Leeds in 2017 and went on to lecture in sedimentology and Earth surface processes at the University of Leicester, whilst also affiliated with Louisiana State University. Catherine is a geologist who is interested in human impacts on rivers and their landscapes, including plastic pollution. On experiencing the Louisianan human-modified Mississippi River landscape in 2019, Catherine began adapting traditional geological techniques to modern environments as well as investigating how plastic behaves as a sedimentary particle. In 2020, she established the Anthropocene Sediment Network, which aims to holistically combine human, social, and physical elements of a landscape to aid communication, networking, and learning between communities.

As a Fulbright-Lloyd’s Visiting Scholar at the University of New Orleans, Catherine seeks to learn the deeper impacts of the human-modified landscape on day-to-day living in New Orleans. The key focus of her research will be investigating the novelties of Anthropocene rivers when compared to natural systems, and particularly the consequences of our activities on reservoir water quality. The Fulbright Scholarship will give her the opportunity to build bridges and new connections in her research, as well as to undertake fieldwork in a new environment. The learnings from this research will allow for deeper understanding of the long-term effects of human impact on surface processes across Earth Systems in the Anthropocene.

Benjamin is a professor of Latin American History at the University of Warwick, specialising in the grassroots political history of Mexico and has published four monographs  four edited collection and dozens of academic articles over the past 16 years. Though he has worked on issues as diverse as market women, social movements, Catholicism, conservatism, journalism, censorship and the press, his recent work has focused on issues of drugs and violence in twentieth century Mexico. His most recent book, 'The Dope: The History of the Mexican Drug Trade', was published by WW Norton in 2021.  

In addition to Benjamin's academic work, he provides expert testimonies for Mexicans fleeing criminal, political, religious and ethnic violence south of the border.

Ade Solanke is an award-winning British-Nigerian playwright, screenwriter, and academic. She is the artistic director of Spora Stories, creating plays and films about the African diaspora. She has a BA Hons in English Literature from the University of Sheffield and received their Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016. She also hs an MFA in Film from the University of Southern California where she was a Fulbright Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa International Scholar, and Association of American Women Scholar. Her acclaimed debut play, 'Pandora's Box',  won a Best New Play nomination in the Off West End Theatre Awards and was shortlisted for the Nigeria Prize for Literature, Africa’s biggest literary award.

Her latest play, The Court Must Have a Queen, premiered at Hampton Court Palace. A former journalist, Ade has written for The Guardian, The New Statesman, The Times Literary Supplement, The Voice and BBC Radio 4. With literature, theatre and film colleagues at Emerson, she will research and develop dramatic material for Phillis in London, her project exploring Phillis Wheatley, the African-American enslaved teenage prodigy who in 1773 published the first book in English by an African. In her free time, Ade is a keen walker and plans to sample the best of  New England's 'leaf-peeping'.

Kim’s academic career got off to a rocky start when (aged 4) her teacher described her as a ‘chatterbox’. Deciding to make a virtue out of a necessity, Kim pinned her career colours to the communications mast, winding up in the broadcast television industry. However, academia beckoned several times over the years: for a Bachelor’s degree in politics and law (QMUL), MAs in journalism (Westminster) and audiovisual translation (Surrey) and finally, for the pursuit of a PhD in audiovisual translation/accessible language (Surrey). The latter stages of this academic journey were initiated after a family member was diagnosed with autism, and Kim found herself exploring ways to help children with additional cognitive needs access film and television content. Ultimately, this became the focus of her nationally-funded PhD research, where she trialed audio description to prompt emotion cues in film content for autistic children. 

Kim is excited to be partnering with the Smithsonian Institution to explore the language of museum interpretation, focussing on people with additional cognitive needs. As an avid musical theatre fan, she hopes to pay an early visit to the Ozian ruby slippers at the National Museum of American History, and visit accessible theatre projects in DC.

Joanie is a senior lecturer in politics with the University of Exeter where her teaching and research explores place-making, and place-shaping. Focussing on the inter-relationship between identity, communities, and the environment, Joanie uses political philosophy to provide new ways of looking at the world to improve economic development and governance by making it more responsive to civil society. 

In particular, she examines questions around the economic development of peripheral regions, most recently finding that development priorities need to grow from the region, its people, and identities.  Whilst visiting Virginia Tech, Joanie will be considering the question of how our spatial, geological and climatic environments shape the economies, societies and politics of a place.  This builds on her recent book Affective Assemblages and Local Economies where she drew on research from the Southwest of Virginia.  Joanie has contributed to numerous UK Parliamentary enquiries and reports including the recent Environmental Audit Committee’s Green Jobs report, and has presented her work in the European Parliament and Committee of the Regions. She is a co-director of the Institute of Cornish Studies, a former trustee of the Political Studies Association,  and is a co-convenor of the PSA Local Politics specialist group. She has a strong media profile and have most recently been a panellist on a BBC Radio 4.

Keith Corprew

Fulbright-Trinity Laban Postgraduate Award in Dance

Linnea Bacon

Fulbright-University of Stirling Postgraduate Award in Health, Wellbeing and Sport

Katelyn Barnes

Fulbright-Queen's University Belfast Postgraduate Award in Global Security and Borders

Rachel Bechtel

Fulbright-University of Kent Postgraduate Award – Master of Arts in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the University of Kent

Matthew Bovee

Fulbright-John Wood LAMDA Postgraduate Award - William Shakespeare and the X-Men Walk Into a Bar

Kavin Chada

Fulbright-University of St. Andrews Postgraduate Award in Arts & Humanities – Philosophy: Kantian Buddhism

Alexandra Chand

Fulbright-University of Leeds Postgraduate Award – M.A in English Literature

William Christmann

Fulbright-University of Roehampton Postgraduate Award in Dance

Gretchen Coleman

Fulbright-University of Manchester Postgraduate Award - MA in Political Science - Democracy and Elections

Chloe Connor

Fulbright-University of Southampton Postgraduate Award - MSc in Public Health

Cesar Cortorreal

Fulbright-UCL Institute of Education Postgraduate Award

Catherine Devlin

Fulbright-University of Glasgow Postgraduate Award – MSc in Gender History

Devin Diggs

Fulbright-University of York Postgraduate Award

Teja Dusanapudi

Fulbright-Manchester Metropolitan University Postgraduate Award in Creative Writing

Judith Forunova-Russel

Fulbright-Loughborough University Postgraduate Award - US, UK, and EU multilateral relations: a humanitarian framework for climate migration

Samantha Fountain

Fulbright-University of Nottingham Postgraduate Award

Sarah Glaser

Fulbright-Royal Holloway, University of London Postgraduate Award - MSc in Elections, Campaigns and Democracy

John Glover

Fulbright-Cardiff University Postgraduate Award – History - Diversity and British Labor: The History of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

Darius Graham

Fulbright-Imperial College London Postgraduate Award - Public Health

Neely Griggs

Fulbright-University of Reading Postgraduate Award in Food Security - Master of Science in Food Security and Development

Madeleine Henderson

Fulbright-University of Exeter Postgraduate Award - Circular Economy in Medical Devices

Alice Heyeh

Fulbright-Northumbria University Postgraduate Award - M.A. in Communication Design

Kristina Hughes

Fulbright-University of Warwick Postgraduate Award - Humanitarian Engineering Program

Salamata Jalloh

Fulbright-University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Award

Reyanna James

Fulbright-SOAS, University of London Postgraduate Award

Fulbright-University of Bristol Postgraduate Award - Master of Arts degree in Black Humanities

Logan Kallam

Fulbright-Global Wales Postgraduate Award - MSc in Marine Environmental Protection at Bangor University

Keelan Kenny

Fulbright-Royal Veterinary College Postgraduate Award: MSc in One Health: ecosystems, humans, and animals

Anuj Krishnamurthy

Fulbright-University of Strathclyde Postgraduate Award - MSc, Economics & Policy of Energy & Climate Change

Paul Kyumin Lee

Fulbright-All Disciplines Postgraduate Award - M.Phil in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation

Dominique Mobley

Fulbright-All Disciplines Postgraduate Award- MetFilm School, MA in Screenwriting

Elizabeth Montoya

Queen Mary, University of London Postgraduate Award - Global Public Health and Policy

Fulbright-Lancaster University Postgraduate Award - MA in Political Ecology

Fulbright-University of East Anglia Postgraduate Award - Department of Cultural Politics

Rose Peterschmidt

Fulbright-University of Sussex Postgraduate Award - master’s degree in Conflict, Security, and Development

Sayde Perry

Fulbright-University of Leicester Postgraduate Award - MPhil degree in Molecular Genetics

Sarah Pitafi

Fulbright-University College London Postgraduate Award

Fulbright-Global Wales Visiting Student Researcher Award - Bangor University School of Welsh and Celtic Studies

Fulbright-London School of Economics and Political Science Postgraduate Award - MSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics

Hailee Scarafile

MedSci in Speech and Language Therapy from University of Sheffield - Fulbright-University of Sheffield Postgraduate Award

Jasmyne Sheridan

Fulbright-University of Strathclyde Postgraduate Award - School of Social Work and Social Policy

Anna Stroinski

Fulbright-Durham University Postgraduate Award - MA in History

Maria Tirmizi

King’s College London Postgraduate Award - Politics

Alexandra Tyra

Master of Science in Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham - Fulbright-University of Birmingham Postgraduate Award

Keith Corprew-Asberry, “Keith Alexander”, born in Chesapeake, Virginia, graduated from Morehouse College in 2017 with his BA in Philosophy and a minor in French Studies. During his time at Morehouse, he was a member of the Honors Program and various performing arts organizations across the Atlanta University Center, such as the “House of Funk” Marching Band and Spelman Dance Theater.

In 2020, he received his Master of Theological Studies with a certificate in Black Church Studies from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. He was the 2020 recipient of the Fellowship Seminarian Award at Candler for outstanding leadership in worship and arts and was recognized as an outstanding graduate for the School of Theology by Emory University. For the past 5 years, Keith has worked as an administrator with Morehouse College’s Howard Thurman Honors Program. There he has built programs that use literature and digital media to engage students in year-round discussions of various themes concerning Black culture and life. As a Fulbright Scholar, Keith will pursue an MFA in Creative Practice: Transdisciplinary at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. His proposed project is a dance film that explores the impact of racial identity and masculinity on Black men’s sense of belonging to self, space/place, and community, with special attention given to the experiences of Black men in the UK. Upon completing his MFA, Keith plans to continue a career in higher education and the arts creating spaces and works for cross-cultural conversations and to uplift the voice and experiences of the Black community across the world.

Linnea Bacon, of Columbia, SC, graduated from Clemson University in 2019 with a B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Sports Communication.

Growing up in a family dedicated to sports, Linnea developed a passion for sports at a young age, with a specific interest in the intersection of psychology and sport. While at Clemson, Linnea’s honors thesis examined mental health and social support among high school and collegiate athletes with head injuries. After finishing her studies, she conducted research at the University of Michigan examining substance abuse and mental illness in young adults.

While at Stirling, Linnea will pursue a MSc in Psychology of Sport and conduct research that focuses on athlete mental health and wellbeing. With the knowledge gained from her Fulbright experience, she hopes to improve athlete mental healthcare by better understanding how culture influences approaches and access to mental health treatment for athletes. In her free time, Linnea hopes to attend football games, indulge in the local cuisine, and explore the Scottish highlands.

Katelyn graduated from the University of Dayton with a B.A. in Human Rights Studies and Sociology. She became involved with research early as an undergraduate, finding ways to ask curious questions about gender in each project, including those with her campus’s Women’s Center, Human Rights Center, and Psychology department.

During her undergraduate career, she worked with an advocacy organization in Washington D.C. as a policy intern, where she focused on promoting the passage of legislation advancing global gender equality to congressional representatives. At Queen’s, in the spirit of her interest in studying gender and advocating for women and girls, Katelyn plans to study the effects of Brexit and border legislation on women and girls in Northern Ireland. She sees education and research as a form of advocacy and hopes to become a professor specializing in women and security studies after her education. Her goal is to continue engaging in research and advocacy in a multitude of ways beyond her career, and to work with organizations like the United States Institute of Peace and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. In Belfast, Katelyn looks forward to exploring the city’s museums, seeing the peace walls, enjoying live music, and learning about the city’s history through the stories of those she meets.

Rachel is originally from Moscow, Idaho, where she was introduced to disability culture at a young age through her friends and family. During high school, she became involved in disability justice advocacy and activism after witnessing disability-based discrimination. These experiences motivated her to study psychology at Carroll College in Helena, Montana, and conduct research on disability-based wage discrimination.

During this time, she advocated for accessibility and disability justice on campus and in her community. Following her undergraduate graduation, she promoted disability justice at a state and national level as an advocate at Disability Rights Montana. To expand her understanding of direct support services, she is currently living and working as a direct support professional in a L’Arche cooperative living community for adults with and without intellectual disabilities in Portland, Oregon. During the duration of her Fulbright grant, Rachel will pursue a Master of Arts in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. She will continue to live and build relationships in a local L’Arche community while researching how increased contact with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, facilitated through community care, affects perceptions of intellectual and developmental disability. She is excited to experience supported living within the context of the United Kingdom and study the societal effects of deinstitutionalization.

Matt is a performer and creator living in Brooklyn. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he now creates work in New York as an actor, dancer, musician, composer, choreographer, movement director, filmmaker, and teaching artist. With much gratitude to the Fulbright Commission, he will be attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in their Masters in Classical Acting for the Professional Theater program in 2022-2023.

On a high school summer program in the UK, Kavin Chada—an Italian/Indian born and raised in New York City—found his way into philosophy and Buddhist practice. These became the focus of his undergraduate studies at Columbia University, along with his interest in languages. During his time at Columbia, Kavin studied under distinguished scholars of Kant, and began to see parallels between Kantian and Buddhist thought. This led to his main philosophical project since then: a synthesis of Kantian philosophy and modern Buddhist practice, aimed at providing the foundation of a secular Buddhist understanding of ethics and transforming Western religious practice.

In addition to being a philosopher and writer, he is a dedicated (yet humbly-skilled) jazz musician, playing the trumpet and recording many of his own compositions. He is also a climber who enjoys bouldering.

While at the University of St Andrews, Kavin will continue his study of philosophy, specializing in Kant’s moral philosophy. He also looks forward to finding musician and climbing friends, as well as fellow Buddhist practitioners in the UK.

Alex Chand is a writer from California, Kentucky, and Texas. In 2022, Chand graduated from Lawrence University with a bachelor’s degree in physics and English.

At Lawrence, Chand wrote a hybrid critical-creative manuscript illuminating how autistic voices inhabit contemporary poetry and other texts, earning summa cum laude honours for her work. While at the University of Leeds, Chand will pursue an M.A. in English Literature. Her master’s thesis will continue to build on an existing discourse of autism poetics with an intersectional lens, focusing on representations of autistic voices of colour situated within a global landscape. She is eager to engage with other scholars working at the intersection of disability studies and literature at Leeds. Upon returning to the States, Alex will pursue an M.F.A. in creative writing at the University of Mississippi, where she plans to continue building on her master’s thesis.

In addition to her work in English literature and creative writing, Chand founded and chaired the Lawrence University Disability Working Group, where she helped foster ongoing collaboration between students and the university to effect change. She initiated the creation of a introductory disability studies course and helped establish a permanent committee to address disability and accessibility within student government. Chand looks forward to continuing work in disability advocacy while in Leeds through the Leeds Disabled People’s Organisation. An athlete competing in cross country, track, and swimming, Alex is excited to participate in triathlon as well.

Will Christman graduated Summa Cum Laude from Skidmore College in 2021 with degrees in English and Sociology and a minor in dance. His areas of academic interest include gender theory, queer theory, and public health. Outside of his academics, will was an active leader of the Peer Health Education program, where he developed a passion for harm reduction and compassionate care.

While studying at the University of Roehampton, Will looks forward to continuing his undergraduate research on the gender binary's impact on the world of concert dance, while specifically highlighting the lived experiences of gender-diverse contemporary ballet dancers. Will is thrilled to explore the London dance scene, connect with its artists, and hear their stories.

At home, Will is currently working in harm reduction as an Overdose Aftercare and Outreach specialist. He hopes to find similar volunteer experiences while studying abroad.

Gretchen Coleman grew up in Palatine, Illinois and studied political science and political philosophy at Syracuse University.

Through working on campaigns and in government throughout her undergraduate career, Gretchen discovered her passion for voting rights. In early 2020, she started a youth voting initiative to make information about elections more accessible for Generation Z voters in Illinois. For her Honors thesis, she pursued research on young people’s trust in the electoral process, and she has worked with Vote Early Day in Washington, D.C. to promote a national celebration around early voting.

Gretchen is grateful for the opportunity to study in the United Kingdom to gain a comparative perspective on democratic processes. She will pursue an MA in Political Science on the Democracy & Elections track at the University of Manchester, where she aims to pursue research comparing voter identification policies between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Gretchen’s ultimate goal is to fight for a stronger, more representative democracy by advocating for electoral reform in the United States. Through her time in the United Kingdom, she plans to build connections with advocates in the United Kingdom to promote long-term collaboration between the two countries.

Chloe is a 2022 graduate from The Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Psychology, honors in Biobehavioral Health, and minors in Biology, Global Health, and Bioethics and Medical Humanities.

At the University of Southampton, Chloe will be pursuing a Master of Science in Public Health. Following the completion of her master’s program, Chloe will attend Harvard Law School where she plans to focus on public health law. Chloe’s interest in public health was confirmed during a summer study abroad in Tanzania and Kenya where her group focused on reproductive health. Chloe’s interest was further solidified when she worked as a contact tracer during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This past summer, Chloe studied abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico where she shadowed healthcare providers and studied the social determinants of health. Chloe is thrilled to be moving to the vibrant city of Southampton and hopes to join University of Southampton’s Athletics and Cross-Country Club, as she ran on Penn State’s Club Cross Country Team for four years. Chloe believes her time in Southampton will be instrumental in expanding her perspective and understanding of public health. Chloe grew up in Yardley, Pennsylvania and has a twin brother as well as two younger brothers who are also twins.

Cesar (CJ) Cortorreal is from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has a passion for education, college access, and youth development. He graduated from Franklin & Marshall College'20 with his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology. He will soon be graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's in Special Education. He enjoys spending quality time with people, socializing, playing games, enjoying food, and most recently, playing the ukulele, and working on his educational blog and journey - @cesing.the.moment.

He is C.E.S.A.R: cultivating his students, educating his students, succeeding alongside his students, appreciating his students, and revolutionizing the education system.

Catherine Devlin graduated summa cum laude from Boston University in May 2022 with a BA in history. Her passion for telling overlooked stories and drawing out historical personalities motivates her research, with her articles and conference presentations ranging from pre-Civil War Boston to modern day African female activists. In line with this interest, she worked as the lead researcher and associate producer on the 2020 Academy Award qualifying film Sky Blossom, which profiled the often forgotten group of child and millennial caregivers. Her honors undergraduate thesis used the story of a forgotten female peace activist to interrogate the disciplines of gender history and biography. She will continue this line of inquiry through her Fulbright program, where she will pursue an MSc in gender history at the University of Glasgow.

Devin Diggs graduated as valedictorian of the University of Notre Dame in 2022 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavior and minor in Education, Schooling, and Society.

Devin spent the summer of 2019 in Accra, Ghana researching barriers to healthcare for children with cerebral palsy with the Center for Learning and Childhood Development. This sparked his interest in promoting healthy brain development which he further explored through the Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program at Harvard Medical School’s McLean Hospital in 2020. His research focused on the structural changes and increased risk of mental health problems due to childhood adversity.

Motivated to mitigate the negative consequences of childhood maltreatment and learn from national leaders of behavioral health, Devin worked for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration the summer following his graduation. At the University of York, Devin will study the intersection of his interests through the MSc in Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education program, focusing on school-based interventions to promote children’s mental health.

Teja Dusanapudi's Fulbright project will be a work of speculative fiction set in Manchester, depicting the ramifications of contemporary debates around climate and immigration. This project will draw from archival and interpersonal resources to accurately reflect Manchester's cultural and material future.

Supporting Teja are his varied experiences in writing at the University of California Davis. Having worked as a journalism fellow with the university's communications department as well as conducting academic research in the environmental humanities, Teja's overarching focus is engaging real world issues through narrative.

As a postgraduate scholar studying at Manchester Metropolitan University, Teja will engage with various research clusters focusing on topics ranging from diasporic communities in Manchester to histories of urban place and space. These resources, in tandem with the university's focused curriculum on creative literature, will provide texture and detail to Teja's Fulbright project. In his free time, Teja enjoys tennis and movies, and hopes to one day attend the Cannes film festival.

Judith Fortunova-Russell is a Bulgarian-American multi-lingual journalist from Washington D.C. In 2021, she graduated with a dual-M.A. in Journalism, Media, and Globalization from the European Union's Erasmus Mundus Journalism Program. Through this program, she studied at the Danish School of Media and Aarhus University in Denmark and the University of Hamburg in Germany. In 2018, she also received a B.S. in Journalism, with two minors in French language & literature and International Studies from St. John's University, as well as a certificate in United Nations Studies from Columbia University.

Driven by the implicating relationship between cross-cultural media, foreign policy, and human rights, Judith has closely examined these subjects in her research focusing on migration, statelessness, and refugee issues. Her projects include examining the European Union’s public policy and social integration efforts of the Romani populations, the social consequences of xenophobic language in the reporting on Turkey’s President Erdogan’s border threats, and a qualitative interview analysis on South African documentary filmmakers' overcoming xenophobic violence.

While at Loughborough University, she will be pursuing a PhD In Politics, History, and International Relations, and will be focusing on developing a multilateral foreign policy framework towards climate change induced migration.

Born and raised in Chicagoland, Samantha became interested in healthcare and began engaging in teaching roles from a young age. She proceeded to develop these interests at Cornell University, graduating in three years with a Bachelor of Science with High Distinction in Human Biology, Health & Society with a minor in Education. At Cornell, Samantha ran educational intervention programs for general chemistry, taught adult ESL learners, and founded a medical vitals training program for students to serve local soup kitchen patrons. Samantha also engaged in bariatric surgery research and chemistry education research as an undergraduate. Additionally, while working on the ambulance as an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, Samantha completed multiple Emergency Medical Services teaching certifications to learn how to support premedical students in uncertain clinical environments.

Post-graduation, Samantha continued working as an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician and taught an accelerated Emergency Medical Technician Basic course near Cornell University. To improve her skills as a medical educator, Samantha will study Medical Education at the University of Nottingham. She is excited to build on her current teaching praxis to better understand andragogy within a medical context. She also looks forward to shadowing in the UK and learning more about the National Health Service, with the overarching goal of building more holistic and internationally exchangeable medical curricula.  Samantha hopes to pursue a career in medical education as a physician, committed to teaching and supporting the next generation of healthcare providers.

Sarah graduated from the University of South Florida’s Honors College with a BA in Political Science and a BS in Public Health. She has served as a legislative intern in both the Florida State House of Representatives and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sarah founded and chaired Florida Students for Biden, the Florida youth outreach branch of the 2020 Biden presidential campaign and was a member of the campaign's National Youth Advisory Committee. For her work in public affairs, she was named a 2021 Public Service Scholar by the national Phi Beta Kappa organization. Sarah’s passion for U.S. - UK foreign relations stemmed from her study abroad with the USF Honors College in London in 2019, where she studied the U.S.-UK Special Relationship and British national identity, and was awarded USF in London’s Academic Excellence Award. In the fall of 2021, Sarah put her knowledge to work through a travel grant with USF's Honors College. During her grant, she served as a political intern for Brevia Consulting, a London based public affairs consulting firm, analyzing debate in Parliament. During her Fulbright at Royal Holloway, Sarah will study campaigns, elections, and democracy, focusing on comparative democratic electoral systems. She hopes to contribute to innovative approaches and reforms to campaign policy to strengthen both developed and developing democratic institutions.

John, originally from Nashville, Tennessee, received his BA in History from Tulane University in 2021 and is passionate about historical research and writing. He has researched and written about topics ranging from how disproportionate access to medical amenities has shaped Louisiana history to foreign policy controversies in the Vietnam War-era United States Congress. His Honors Thesis profiled some of the principal dissident political leaders of the Great Depression-era U.S., analyzing the interplay between the American Marxist and Populist traditions. John is excited to parlay his experience into an exploration of analogous tendencies in British and Welsh history. He looks forward to pursuing his MA in History at Cardiff University. While a Tulane student living in New Orleans, Louisiana, John became active in mental-health community organizing efforts on campus and in the city of New Orleans. He participated in the formation of the Tulane Collegiate Recovery Community and a recovery community situated in the city’s 8th Ward neighborhood. John looks forward to participating in and learning from mental-health recovery groups in Cardiff. He is ecstatic at the prospect of experiencing life in Wales from the countryside’s famous walking trails to the vibrant cultural scene in Cardiff’s music venues. 

Darius Graham, born in New York City, New York, graduated from Haverford College with a B.A. in Anthropology and minor in Health Studies will pursue his master’s in public health at Imperial College London, whose mission to benefit society through excellence in science, engineering, medicine, and business aligns with Graham’s academic passions.

At Haverford, he researched “structural competence”—a framework in health professional education that aims for providers to understand how clinical problems and attitudes towards populations and health systems are influenced by social determinants of health—and how that framework could better address health inequities experienced by patients of color. His senior thesis included observational research conducted while working as a medical scribe, analyzing doctor-patient interactions for examples of structural issues in the healthcare system. As a part of his graduate studies, he hopes to continue and broaden this research.

A native of rural Mississippi, Neely has always been passionate about food. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Neely found herself leaving her office job to work on a small-scale, certified naturally grown farm in Oxford, Mississippi, and here, she began to understand the food system like never before. Graduating in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in German and Public Policy Leadership and a Bachelor of Business Administration in General Business, Neely’s interdisciplinary interest in public health, food policy, and non-profit management led her to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at Wingate University in North Carolina. In this role, she has worked alongside community leaders to build capacity with the newly formed Food Council of Union County and coordinate the operations expansion of the Wingate Community Garden, including the addition of accessible beds and a native pollinator garden. 

While earning her BS in Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University (2020) and working in the medical device industry, Madeleine noticed the incongruity between the mission and execution of healthcare. While improving our health and lives, the healthcare system is emitting carbon and creating plastic waste, contributing actively to the pollution and climate change that hurt health and lives. 

She realised there was a need at the intersection of her technical engineering skills and environmentalism to create a more sustainable healthcare system. While in university, Madeleine worked with the Purdue Student Sustainability Council to create a food waste diversion program; while working in product development at a multinational medical technology company, she co-founded an employee global environmental action group.  In this new field, the UK's National Health System was the first to commit to net zero carbon emissions, making it the perfect location to continue her studies.  

At Exeter, Madeleine will study sustainable systems change to augment her engineering skills. She plans to work with the local NHS hospital to study the environmental and patient care impacts of reusable medical devices. She is also looking forward to exploring the surrounding nature, finding her favorite pub, and joining the university club equestrian team. 

Alice Heyeh is from Chappaqua, NY and graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 2021 with a B.A. in Communication and minors in Consumer Psychology and Design. At Penn, she was the Arts Editor for 34th Street Magazine and a member of the Asian American Studies Undergraduate Advisory Board. She has taken courses in interface design, digital inequalities, and technology in the Global South.

Through her coursework, Alice became interested in the intersection of artificial intelligence and service design. At Northumbria University, Alice will obtain a M.A. in Communication Design to further her research in technological solutions to algorithmic bias. In doing so, Alice hopes to design products that are accessible, fair, and intuitive. In Newcastle Upon Tyne, she looks forward to exploring contemporary art museums and watching student fashion shows!

Kristina Hughes, a native of State College, Pennsylvania, will graduate from the United States Military Academy in 2022 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Her desire to solve humanitarian crises with engineering solutions led to her three undergraduate publications in helicopter hoist stabilization and orbital debris modelling mathematical estimation.

With her research, she has been able to address the problems plaguing aeromedical evacuations and data collection from satellites tracking changes in climate patterns. With her studies in Mechanical Engineering, she is working to apply methods of controls and modeling to improving energy and infrastructural development following humanitarian crises.

Through the Fulbright Scholarship, Kristina will pursue a degree in Humanitarian Engineering with Sustainability at the University of Warwick and further develop ways to provide stability to disaster-ridden areas and populations. In her future Army career, Kristina hopes to combine her engineering expertise with her desire to serve disadvantaged populations by bridging the gap between military assistance and humanitarian aid.   

Salamata Jalloh’s earliest memories are from her time growing up in Guinea, a country in West Africa. Although much of what she remembers are fragmented images and the sounds of her native language of Pularr, they serve as a reminder of where her passion for African Studies began.

Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Salamata Jalloh graduated Magna Cum Laude from Washington College with a degree in Political Science and minors in both Peace and Conflict and Religion. In college, Salamata focused on courses relating to international development and African politics, and wrote a thesis titled, “Coups D’etats: The Substitution of Democracy” where she explored public opinion on the outcomes of coups d’etat in Guinea and Mali.

While in college she had an amazing experience interning at the Georgetown Law School’s Criminal Justice and Juvenile Justice Clinic where she worked closely with attorneys. Salamata hopes to combine her interest in African Studies and law, and work as an international human rights lawyer; she hopes to fight for human rights especially in West Africa. As a Fulbright recipient, Salamata plans to receive a master’s degree in Africa and International Development from the University of Edinburgh, to further expand her understanding of political instability and coups d’etat in West Africa. After Fulbright, Salamata hopes to become a Peace Corps volunteer in her home country of Guinea, after which she will attend law school.

Reyanna graduated from Yale University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Economics & Mathematics. During her time at Yale, she developed an interest in studying how power relations such as gender, race, and coloniality impact economic trajectories.

In particular, she is interested in the ways these power relations impact the nature of work; what and who do traditional conceptualizations of labor leave out? Passionate about highlighting the experiences of Black women in shaping economic policy, Reyanna is also a fellow at the Sadie Collective, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing opportunities for Black women in economics.

As a Fulbrighter, Reyanna will be pursuing a master's in Development Studies at SOAS University of London. She will study the historical intersections of systems of power and their relationship to global capitalist development. After the Fulbright, she hopes to continue a career dedicated to improving the economic status of the most marginalized, centering women of color globally. Reyanna is looking forward to immersing herself in London’s thriving literary scene and exploring the city through its pubs, cafes, and bookstores.

Claudia is a creative writer and digital creator with broad experience in library service. Hailing from the Washington D.C. metro area, she graduated in 2014 from Towson University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

While at Towson, she studied abroad in summer 2013 at J.F. Oberlin University in Tokyo, Japan. This experience led to a deepened interest in promoting the educational benefits of Japanese manga, graphic novels, and comic books in her career. During her time at the University of Bristol, Claudia will pursue a Master of Arts degree in Black Humanities, the only degree of its kind currently in the United Kingdom. She aims to research the lack of Black historical representation in the video game industry through examining connections between Black American and Black British history. She is thrilled to research a subject closely aligned with her personal interests, as she hopes to develop Black historical video games in the near future. Outside of her work, Claudia enjoys exploring neighborhoods with cobblestone streets, playing cozy video games, writing novels, and watching basketball with her family.

Logan’s passion for the marine environment started young and led to a double major in Environmental Sciences and Plant Biology at North Carolina State University in his home state. Following graduation, he aided in conservation by serving an AmeriCorps term at a land trust in the mountains of North Carolina working on stewardship and community education. The following year he continued that service approach while following a passion for coastal ecosystems by serving another AmeriCorps term with a county conservation district along the Puget Sound in Washington state. His interest in coastal ecosystems had been rekindled during a semester abroad in Australia.  

Pursuing the Master’s in Marine Environmental Protection at Bangor University is an exciting next step for Logan. He chose protection of the marine environment as it and its effect on coastal communities continues to grow in importance due to global issues like climate change. He is eager for his participation in the Fulbright program to foster new connections to like-minded individuals internationally. He plans to dive into learning about Welsh culture from other students and his own explorations. An avid hiker and explorer, he is also excited to explore the distinct natural beauty of Wales.

Keelan Kenny, of Salt Lake City, Utah, graduated from Colorado State University in 2022 with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and Environmental Public Health. During her undergraduate career, Kenny explored her diversity of passions, ranging from pathophysiology to social and environmental justice. She struggled to unite all her interests until she discovered the One Health paradigm through her National Environmental Health Association and United States Department of Agriculture internships. This paradigm views health at its nexus of human, animal, and environmental.  

As a Global Scholar, Kenny will study One Health at the Royal Veterinary College in London. With an emphasis on applying the One Health lens to complex infectious disease scenarios, Kenny is looking forward to gaining the scientific and social tools needed to tackle communicable health disparities faced by rural and underserved communities. This area of work is particularly important to her, as she spent time in high school on the Navajo Nation and witnessed first-hand inequities in access to public health services.  

While in London, Kenny looks forward to working with faculty at the forefront of One Health and infectious disease research. In her free time, Kenny loves to run, hike, and volunteer with organizations commitment to sustainability.

Anuj Krishnamurthy, of Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, graduated from Brown University with concentrations in economics and international relations. He is also currently pursuing coursework in the master of computer and information technology program at the University of Pennsylvania. 

After Brown, Anuj worked in the investor relations group of a New York-based global investment and technology development firm. He has previously completed internships at the Wilson Center's Environmental Change & Security Program and the Environmental Advocacy Unit of the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office, and has conducted research on renewable energy and climate risk through various channels at Penn. As a result of these experiences, Anuj has grown passionate about the effects of climate change on the wider economy and seeks to better understand how careful public policy can facilitate adaptation and resilience. At Strathclyde, Anuj will pursue an MSc in the Economics & Policy of Energy & Climate Change.  

In his free time, Anuj enjoys playing video games and board games with friends, watching Formula 1 races, reading opinions journalism, and trying out new places to eat.

Paul Kyumin Lee works as a Program Specialist for Youth Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, and previously worked in the China and North Korea program at USIP. Before joining USIP, Paul worked in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a James C. Gaither Junior Fellow.  

For six years, Paul led Divided Families USA, an NGO that advocates for a formal mechanism for Korean Americans to reunite with their relatives in North Korea, and is the co-founder and co-host of the Divided Families Podcast, a platform for connecting stories of family separation. Paul has been a dialogue facilitator for the Words of Engagement Intergroup Dialogue Program at the University of Maryland, the Strait Talk Symposium, a civil society dialogue workshop at Brown University and the University of California, Berkeley for youth from mainland China and Taiwan, and at Seeds of Peace, a summer camp in Maine for teenagers from conflict areas. He graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s in political science and speaks Korean, Mandarin, Japanese, and Spanish. 

As a Fulbrighter, Paul will pursue an M.Phil in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation at Trinity College Dublin's Irish School of Ecumenics in Belfast, where he hopes to learn about community-level reconciliation and dialogue initiatives that he can apply to the Korean Peninsula.

Dominique has the ambition to increase the number of positive, authentic representations of Black people in media, to free the minds of both Black and non-Black people.  

While an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, Dominique created, wrote, and directed 'A Day in the Life of a Black Girl', a comedic web series, 'The Hair Salon', which was a comedy short film, and its accompanying documentary 'Black @ Dartmouth: The Haircare Experience'. She also directed and produced a documentary entitled 'This is Black Comedy'. The next step in Dominique’s journey is studying for the MA in Screenwriting in the UK to gain a better understanding of Blackness across the diaspora and hone her skills as a storyteller.  

While in the UK, Dominique will continue her love of running by training for the London Marathon. She looks forward to engaging with her host community by helping Black British youth tell their own stories through various media. Having enhanced her screenwriting skills while in the UK, Dominique will push onwards towards her goal of contributing to the creation of a global film and television industry in which positive, authentic representations of Black people is the norm – not the exception.

Elizabeth Montoya's journey has been fascinating, with her ambition to leave a positive legacy. In 2022 Elizabeth obtained her bachelor's with honors from The University of California, Irvine (UCI). She earned her B.S. in Immunology and Microbiology, B.A. in Sociology, a minor in Medical Humanities, and certificates from numerous fields of study including Social Determinants of Health in Latino Communities.

Elizabeth conducted research in Immunology and Sociology and presented both subjects at conferences. Elizabeth was also active on her campus; was a public affairs host for her radio show, helped create a financial grant to support the student body during the COVID19 pandemic, and established workshops for marginalized community students. She is excited to leave a positive impact at QMUL and aid her affiliate working in immigrant communities in London. Elizabeth’s motivation is that everyone should have access to quality health care, her desires to learn more about public health policies that different communities/countries use to improve the quality of life for their people and compare it to the US.

Elizabeth is excited to be part of Fulbright as it will help her achieve her goal of becoming a physician-scientist and working to improve the quality of life in low-income immigrant communities.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Ethan graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Music. During his sophomore year, Ethan conducted public policy research, using data and empirical methods to highlight health disparities between boys and girls in New Hampshire.

This experience fuelled his desire to work at the intersection of public policy and econometrics, using data to inform legislators and put numbers to issues where previously there had been none. As a Presidential Scholar, he continued his studies with research on corporate governance, examining issues of minority tokenization and leadership structures. Ethan is also a former member of Dartmouth's varsity swim team, a DEI advocate, and an active member of the university's economic research group. In the UK, he will pursue an MA in Political Ecology at Lancaster University, tying issues of corporate governance and sustainability together through an intersectional approach. Aside from his studies, Ethan looks forward to engaging with Lancaster's musical scene, traveling around the English countryside, and learning how to play golf.

Jada Olsen, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, graduated from The American University in Washington, D.C. in 2021 with a B.A. and Sociology. Following her freshman year, Jada travelled to South Africa and learned about different art forms that took off during the apartheid years as a form of resistance. After this trip, Jada found her interest in subcultures across the world, specifically those geared toward resistance movements. This inspired her work studying punk, hip-hop, true crime fandom and skateboarding culture.  

At the University of East Anglia in England, she will pursue research on punk subculture(s) in England and in South Africa, focusing on how art forms transform and dissipate borders. In her free time, Jada enjoys writing poetry, reading, painting, and spending time with her friends and family.

Growing up in the rural Amish country of Pennsylvania, Rose Peterschmidt’s interest in international travel and study began with a childhood trip to the United Kingdom. She went on to graduate from Temple University Summa cum Laude with a dual degree in Global Security Studies and Spanish. Now, as a UK Fulbright awardee, she has the opportunity to continue her academic journey in the place where it all began.  

Peterschmidt will attend the University of Sussex to study for a master’s degree in Conflict, Security, and Development. There, with the support of Sussex’s globally renown International Development Studies Department, she will expand on her undergraduate research on the conflict between humanitarian and imperial impulses within US foreign aid policy.  She will comparatively analyze British and American approaches to foreign aid and the impact of hegemonic development practices in their respective recipient countries. 

Peterschmidt is very excited to be joining the Brighton community. In her free time, she loves to knit, read, and sing, and she is looking forward to joining the local 'knit & natter' group, as well as the community choir.

Sayde Perry grew up in Massachusetts, USA, Beijing, China, and Santiago, Chile. She has spent the past four years researching bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance and has just graduated in May 2022 with a degree in Molecular Biology from Pomona College.

As antibiotic resistance is becoming one of the world’s most pressing health concerns, Sayde is passionate about developing novel treatments for bacterial disease. Her undergraduate research culminated in a senior thesis project focused on how bacteriophages, or viruses that target bacteria, kill the bacteria that causes cholera. Through her Fulbright, Sayde will pursue a research-based MPhil degree in Molecular Genetics at the University of Leicester with Dr. Martha Clokie. She will research bacteriophages that target and kill the causative agents of urinary tract infections. With a natural curiosity about new places, new people, and new science, Sayde cannot wait to continue her education in the UK. Sayde is especially excited to foster thoughtful relationships between the USA and the UK, think globally about the antibiotic resistance crises, and to push bacteriophage research forward.

Sarah is from rural Illinois and graduated from Yale University in 2022 with a B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics. As a clinical research coordinator at the Yale COPPER Center, Sarah oversaw multiple research studies, and particularly investigated how to improve equity and accessibility in cancer care through community-based and holistic interventions.

While serving as a research assistant in the pediatrics department of Washington University Medical School, Sarah worked on a project to analyze the impact of malnutrition on pediatric cognitive development. She also worked with underserved rural healthcare populations, which motivated her to focus on understanding how physicians can combat healthcare inequities. Her senior thesis explored the ethics and efficacy of establishing COVID-19 vaccine mandates at universities like Yale. Sarah has served as a policy director for the Yale College Council, a treasurer for the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project, and as a volunteer at local free healthcare clinics and vaccine programs.

As a Fulbrighter, she will attend University College London to obtain an M.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Ethics of Healthcare. She hopes to be a pediatrician that works with underserved and rural populations, and utilizes clinical research and public policy to craft solutions to systemic healthcare access barriers. Sarah's excited to continue volunteering in hospitals in London, as well as visit every museum possible.

Jason Ray is a PhD candidate in English at Fordham University, focusing on medieval literature and critical theory. He received a BA in Theater Studies from Yale University and an MA in Medieval & Renaissance Studies from Columbia University.  His dissertation project explores how nostalgia operates in medieval texts, particularly how medieval subjects themselves feel and write about their past in those texts. 

Jason is thrilled to be a Global Wales Visiting Student Researcher and to have the opportunity to immerse himself in the country’s rich history and culture as well as its beautiful countryside.  At Bangor, he will pursue an interdisciplinary project that considers how language, texts, and monuments reflect and shape cultural memory, experience, and identity.  He is interested in how early Welsh subjects self-identified in the face of displacement, subjugation, and exploitation before modern colonialism.  Jason is also very excited to study the Welsh language and enjoy the rich musical heritage in Wales, from traditional Celtic to choral, while on his Fulbright.

Carl Romer holds a bachelor’s degree from Howard University where he studied economics and philosophy. At LSE, Carl will pursue a MSc in Economics and Philosophy. He looks forward to learning more about economic history and the understanding of rationality. After completing his coursework at LSE he plans on earning a PhD in economics.  

Before beginning his Fulbright he was a data analyst at the California Policy Lab (CPL) where he worked on a research team studying unemployment insurance and workforce training. He has also worked as a research assistant in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Program for Race, Ethnicity and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute. His research interests lie at the intersection of education, labor and housing with a focus on achieving social and economic justice. Carl is quite excited to continue his scholarship examining student loans and higher education and plans to write his masters thesis on the topic. 

While in London, he hopes to join the LSE Chess Team to compete and participate in chess lessons and tournaments. Carl also plans to find out how many times it takes to order [vegan] chicken tikka masala before waiters see him coming and alert the chefs.

Hailee graduated from Temple University with a BA in speech, language, and hearing science. During her time at Temple, she studied audiology, communication disorders, linguistics and more but it was her research at the Temple University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic that led her to her Fulbright journey.

Hailee’s time in the clinic analyzing the applications of speech therapy on clients with a range of abilities sparked her desire to provide individualized care for clients in need. At the University of Sheffield, Hailee will be pursuing a MMedSci in speech and language therapy in which she will learn effective speech therapy treatment styles unique to the UK and combine them to those of the US in order to deliver the most dynamic and versatile care to the clients she hopes to work with in the future. Hailee is very excited to try all the wonderful food Sheffield has to offer, she hopes to find Cuban food as good as her mother’s. Hailee is also ready to start training for the Sheffield Half Marathon in March 2023.

Jasmyne Sheridan graduated from Western Washington University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Human Services, and has spent the past four years providing social services at local community agencies to those experiencing homelessness.

Sheridan is passionate about elevating the voices of young people and those most impacted by social issues, as well as working to find creative solutions to these issues. Sheridan is excited to utilize her time studying International Social Welfare at the University of Strathclyde as an opportunity for global collaboration and to gain insight into the role she can play in addressing the homelessness crisis, and it’s many intersecting issues. Sheridan looks forward to getting involved in the community in Glasgow by connecting to the work of local social service agencies. As a travel lover and adventure seeker, Sheridan can’t wait to explore, hike, and camp throughout the beautiful country of Scotland and get to know individuals from all different walks of life.

Anna Stroinski graduated summa cum laude from Boston University with majors in history and philosophy in 2019. The proud daughter of working-class Polish emigres to the United States, she is committed to creating a fairer, more equitable world for workers through political organizing and historical scholarship. The contemporary labor movement, she believes, can learn from its past successes and failures as well as the individual experiences of workers who have lived through and thought a lot about things like mechanization, unionization, and deindustrialization. Anna studies the intersections of labor, political, and intellectual history with a focus on ideas about work, the workplace, and inequality.

Her undergraduate thesis looked at how middle class townspeople weaponized conceptions of community against strike leadership but also federal investigators, mainstream journalists, and Pinkerton guards during the 1913 Paterson Silk Strike. On Fulbright, she will pursue a MA in Modern History at Durham University. Her dissertation project will examine the intellectual history of the labor strike between 1870 and 1914 with a focus on coal miners’ strikes in the US and the UK. Anna is very much looking forward to visiting the Beamish Museum, learning more about Durham’s local history, and sampling traditional northeast English dishes!

Maria graduated from Columbia University with an MA in South Asian Studies, an interdisciplinary program in politics, anthropology, history, and international relations situated within the context of South Asia. Prior to this, she earned an MS in Journalism from Columbia Journalism School and specialized in long-form writing. As an editor, writer, and researcher at UN Women, Maria has authored several publications that provide policy recommendations for promoting women’s economic empowerment in the workplace and community. Maria’s passion for human rights and social justice issues led her to a career in journalism during which she reported extensively from Islamabad and also headed a newsroom in the capital city. Her interest in race, state-minority relations, and social justice movements developed during the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States in 2020 and as a grassroots worker mobilizing New York’s Muslim communities to exercise their voting rights.

As a PhD student at King’s College London, Maria will carry out a cross-cultural study of grassroots mobilizations against structural racialized violence in the United States and Pakistan. Maria is a founding board member for Sabika for Peace Foundation, a non-profit that provides scholarships to students to pursue undergraduate education. An avid follower of British period films and literature, she is excited to soak in the green landscape, historical sites, and museums of the UK.

Alexandra, an Arizona native, spent much of her childhood traveling to remote parts of the world, witnessing social and economic inequalities that govern mental and physical health outcomes. Through her travels, Alex became passionate about improving our understanding of health disparities across social groups and identifying routes of intervention. 

In 2017, she graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Psychological Sciences and a BS in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Northern Arizona University. She continued her education at Baylor University, where she earned her MA in Psychology and is currently in her final year of studying for a PhD in Psychology. Her research on stress and health has been published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals.   

However, as an emerging health psychologist, Alex recognizes the importance of strengthening her training in health science. As such, she plans to earn a supplementary MSc in Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham in Birmingham UK. Here, she will learn how to implement cutting-edge health intervention techniques in trauma-exposed refugee communities at risk of social and economic uncertainty. While abroad, Alex is excited to explore Birmingham’s culinary and music scene, in addition to enjoying her morning runs along the city center canals.

Lindsey Albertson

Loughborough University Scholar Award- Ecology

Lindsey Appell

Queen’s University Belfast (Creative Writing) Award, Queen’s University Belfast- Creative Writing

Gregory Daddis

Oxford-Pembroke College Distinguished Scholar Award, University of Oxford- Military History

Andrea Frederick

Edinburgh Napier University Scholar Award, Edinburgh Napier University- Nursing

Jason Garvey

Fulbright-British Library Eccles Centre Scholar Award- Education

Carrie Hall

Fulbright-Lancaster University Scholar Award- Engineering

Chansheng He

Fulbright-University of Leeds Distinguished Scholar Award- Geography

Rebecca Jablonski

Fulbright-Cardiff University Scholar Award- Economics

Daniel Larlham

Fulbright-University of Roehampton Scholar Award - Drama

Lynn Lukkas

Fulbright-University of Dundee Scholar Award, University of Dundee- Film Directing

Kenneth Macleod

Fulbright-University of Birmingham Distinguished Scholar Award- Geology

Maria McGarrity

Fulbright-Queen's University Belfast Scholar Award (Irish Literature)- Modern Literature

Ilyse Morganstein Fuerst

Fulbright-University of Birmingham Scholar Award- Religious Studies

Adria Navarro

Fulbright-University of York Scholar Award- Social Work Practice

Kathleen Neville Caporaso

Fulbright-Edinburgh Napier University Scholar Award- Nursing

Derron Wallace

Fulbright-Durham University Scholar Award- Sociology

William Cavert

Marcy Karin

Fulbright-Scotland Distinguished Scholar at the University of Edinburgh, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Edinburgh- Women's Studies

Helen Kinsella

Queen’s University Belfast, U.S. Friends of Queen's University Belfast Distinguished Scholar Award

Dongwon Lee

Fulbright-Cyber Security Award, Cambridge University

Paul Daniel Marriott

Fulbright-National Library of Scotland Scholar Award- Landscape Architecture

Mary Beth Privitera

Fulbright-University of Nottingham Scholar Award, University of Nottingham- Medical Technology

Dave Harper

Lindsey is a Professor at Montana State University in Bozeman Montana, where she has a research lab that studies interactions and feedbacks between geomorphology, hydrology, and freshwater organisms, with a focus on invertebrates. She studies a variety of freshwater ecosystems in the Rocky Mountain West, including Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, the Madison River, which supports an iconic blue-ribbon trout fishery, and headwater streams at 10,000 feet elevation in Colorado. Lindsey received her Bachelor of Science degree in Geology-Biology from Brown University in Rhode Island. She attended graduate school at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) in the Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Department. After receiving her Ph.D. from UCSB in 2013, she held a Post-Doctoral position at the Stroud Water Research Center, a non-profit research and educational institute in Pennsylvania.

Lindsey Appell is a writer and writing instructor originally from rural Montana. She holds a Master of Arts in English (British and American Literature) from the University of Utah and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Boise State University. Her poetry blends confessional, documentary, and experimental translation as lenses through which to examine the self and subjectivity at different ages and stages of development: how those selves navigate, war against, and at times fall to the long legacy of patriarchal expectations and power structures. Her scholarly interests are broad and include postcolonial theory, Old English poetry, medieval romance, James Joyce, and Jane Austen.

Gregory A. Daddis is a professor of history at San Diego State University and holds the USS Midway Chair in Modern US Military History. Daddis joined SDSU after directing the MA Program in War and Society Studies at Chapman University. Prior, he served as the Chief of the American History Division in the Department of History at the United States Military Academy at West Point. A retired US Army colonel, he deployed to both Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. Daddis specializes in the history of the Vietnam Wars and the Cold War era and has authored five books, including Pulp Vietnam: War and Gender in Cold War Men's Adventure Magazines (2020) and Withdrawal: Reassessing America’s Final Years in Vietnam (2017). He has also published numerous journal articles and several op-ed pieces commenting on current military affairs, to include writings in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and National Interest magazine.

Andrea Frederick, DHA, MSN, CHSE, RN, is Professor of Nursing, Crystal M. Lange College of Health and Human Services, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, Michigan. Previously, she was a director of nursing at MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland, Michigan. Her career in nursing, nursing management and health care administration spanned over thirty years. Her academic interests include critical care nursing, simulation education, health care finance, and interprofessional development. Dr. Frederick emphasizes the value of diversity in thought and experience that individuals of differing backgrounds bring to solving complex health care problems.

Queer narratives have an important and meaningful place in society, and Garvey aims to uplift these stories in his Fulbright project entitled ‘College Fag: The Autobiography of a Queer Educator.’ As a Fulbright Scholar with the British Library’s Eccles Centre, he will conduct research concerning queer people in education and society broadly combined with his own journey as a queer student and educator. Back home, Garvey is the Friedman-Hipps Green and Gold Professor of Education at the University of Vermont and studies the experiences of queer and trans people in education. He lives in a beautiful and forested area of New England with his partner Dan and their pup Benji.

Garvey will be in London from January-June 2023 and is excited to experience city living. While abroad, he looks forward to joining a rowing club, attending live theatre performances, visiting universities across the UK, and fostering new friendships with queer folks!

Dr. Carrie Hall is an associate professor in the Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Department at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). She earned her PhD from Purdue in 2012 and has been at IIT since 2013. Her areas of interest include the control of engines that leverage advanced combustion modes and alternative liquid and gaseous fuels, control of hydrogen fuel cell systems, and the analysis and improvement of energy efficiency in transportation. Dr. Hall is an associate editor for Control Engineering Practice and the ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control.

Dr. Chansheng He, professor of geography, is a Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Western Michigan University. He is a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), fellow of American Association of Geographers (AAG), and has received Distinguished Career Award in Water Resources from AAG Water Resources Specialty Group, and Fulbright Senior Specialist Awards.

He serves on the editorial boards of Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, Science China Earth Sciences, and Geography and Sustainability. His research focuses on integration of in situ observations, remote sensing, GIS, and simulation models to better observe, understand, and analyze how land use/cover change resulting from human- environmental interactions affects the watershed hydrological processes and distribution of water resources over space and time. He has published nearly 120 journal articles and authored/co-authored 10 books. He holds adjunct appointments in a number of international institutions.

Cities across the UK, EU, and US are increasingly adopting food policies to achieve sustainability goals. These policies often neglect regional voices despite the significant regional effects of these policies. With this Fulbright-Cardiff University Scholar Award Rebecca will join the FOODTRAILS project, and explore how urban food policies contribute to sustainable regional development. She will also have the opportunity to conduct a comparative analysis with the US, leveraging a new project funded by the US Department of Agriculture and including partners from Johns Hopkins and Ohio State Universities.

In Colorado, Rebecca is co-Director of Colorado State University's Food Systems Institute, she co-leads the Food Systems Extension team, and serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. She lives in the foothills of Bellvue, Colorado with her husband (rangeland ecologist) and two daughters (10 and 2) who will be joining her in Wales.

Daniel Larlham is a performance researcher and theatre maker with a PhD in theatre from Columbia University and an MFA in acting from New York University. He has held academic appointments at Yale University’s Theater Studies Program, the Freie Universität Berlin, and Saint Mary's College of California. His articles have appeared in TDR: The Drama Review, Theatre Journal, Theater (Yale), Modern Drama, and Theatre Survey. His current research interests include drama and psychology, heroes and the heroic, and performance and ecology.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Daniel will be hosted by the University of Roehampton's School of Arts while pursuing his research project Heroism in the Anthropocene, which examines climate change and environmental activism from a mytho-dramatic perspective. Daniel looks forward to collaborating with faculty affiliated with the Roehampton Climate Network on workshops that combine eco-philosophy, the environmental humanities, and the expressive arts.

Lynn Tjernan Lukkas is a filmmaker, artist, and curator internationally recognized for her films, large-scale media installations, collaborative media performance projects with opera, dance, and theater, and her media-arts curatorial projects. Lukkas’ work addresses some of the most current concerns in contemporary art and life exploring cultural and social power dynamics and their ability to form one’s individual subjectivity and identity. The cinematic scale of her projects and lush visual poetics foreground the complexity of contemporary human experience.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA in 1956, Lukkas received a BFA from the University of Minnesota in 1985 and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1988. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, and the Jerome Foundation among others.

During his time at the University of Birmingham, Kenneth will summarize and synthesis data from two decades of study of samples from coastal Tanzania. He is excited to reconnect with many and meet many others in the UK and feels the projects mesh well with his career spanning focus on ancient greenhouse climates.

Beyond this project, Kenneth is excited to live, study, and see more of the UK, having only visited for short trips to London. Having shared pictures with his geology students of classic localities in Scotland, Wales, and England for decades, Kenneth hopes to collaborate with others and take part in Fulbright activities that will give him the chance to visit some of these sites in person.

Maria McGarrity is Professor of English at Long Island University in Brooklyn. She has published two monographs, Washed by the Gulf Stream: the Historic and Geographic Relation of Irish and Caribbean Literature (Delaware, 2008) and Allusions in Omeros (Florida, 2015) as well as two co-edited collections, Irish Modernism and the Global Primitive (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and Caribbean Irish Connections (University of the West Indies Press, 2015).  She is currently completing her new book, Modern Irish Literature and the Primitive Sublime  (Routledge).

Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst is associate professor of religion and associate director Humanities Center at the University of Vermont. Her research centers on Islam and Muslims in South Asia; histories of imperialism; and theories of religion, race, and language. Her first book is titled Indian Muslim Minorities and the 1857 Rebellion (2017); she co-edited Words of Experience: Translating Islam with Carl W. Ernst (2021). Her next books are about religion, race, and politics: the first, Imperial Pandemics, is about global Islamophobia and antisemitism; the second, Religion Isn’t Done With You, focuses on how religion is a system that shapes our world, regardless of personal faith. She is committed to public scholarship and pedagogy, and has won multiple teaching awards as well as hosts the popular, grant-funded podcast Keeping It 101: a Killjoy's Introduction to Religion.

Adria E. Navarro, PhD, LCSW is an established gerontological social worker who received the US-UK Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research and teaching at the University of York. Through policy and competency efforts, she hopes to enhance health professionals’ assessment of decisional capacity through social care on behalf of older persons in California.

Navarro is co-founder and program manager of the USC-VHH Community Resource Center for Aging, situated within an academic health system. She provides consultation to an array of entities, as well as having taught the past decade as Associate Professor, MSW Program, Azusa Pacific University. Social workers are the largest provider of mental health care in the United States. They are employed within many institutions of care and are sanctioned in several states to evaluate capacity for the U.S. legal system. Dr. Navarro's career is dedicated to maintaining older persons’ preferences in support of both their well-being and their safety.

Kathleen Neville Caporaso of Lebanon, New Jersey, graduated from New York University with a PhD in Theory Development and Research in Nursing, an MA in Nursing Education and a BS in Nursing from Rutgers University. Kathleen has extensive experience in Nursing; in clinical practice, in academia and in research leading scholarly projects with undergraduate and graduate nursing students to advance Nursing knowledge and practice. Her scientific inquiry has addressed challenges in nursing practice such as compassion fatigue, measurement of nurses' perceptions of rounding practices, noise mitigation, night shift fatigue, and nurses’ stigma towards individuals with substance and opioid use disorders. As a Fulbright UK Scholar, Kathleen will conduct a mixed-method investigation exploring nursing students' perceptions of individuals with opioid use disorders at the Edinburgh Napier University School of Health and Social Care in Scotland.

Derron is an assistant professor of sociology and education with expertise in race, culture and education. He specializes in cross-national studies of structural and cultural inequalities in urban schools across global cities, focusing specifically on the experiences of Black youth. His current research examines the educational experiences and outcomes of Black youth in London and New York City.

Derron is a Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude graduate of Wheaton College (Massachusetts), where he studied sociology and the African diaspora. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, where he was a Marshall and Gates Cambridge Scholar.

With wide-ranging experiences in educational activism, analysis, policy and research, Derron has worked with nomads in Ethiopia, young people with disabilities in Rwanda, immigrant youth in London, economically disadvantaged rural youth in Jamaica, English language learners in Thailand and gifted students in New York City.

William Cavert is an environmental historian of early modern Britain, teaching at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. His first book The Smoke of London: Energy and Environment in the Early Modern City won several prizes and has been translated into Chinese. Related publications have explored early industrial coal consumption, literary representations of smoke pollution, and the politics of cold winters.  

His current project examines the widespread and killing of species like sparrows, foxes, polecats, and hedgehogs, all called “vermin” in early modern England. It tracks who participated in this prolonged hunt, and how such killing fit into evolving human-animal relations, programs of agricultural improvement, and the politics of local society. At Sheffield he will work with the Centre for Early Modern Studies and the Animal Studies Research Centre.

Marcy L. Karin is the Jack & Lovell Olender Professor of Law and Director of the Legislation/Civil Rights Clinic at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law.  Through the clinic, she trains legislative lawyers and advances systemic reform projects for non-profits that are working to improve access to civil rights.  Professor Karin also teaches and writes about employment, gender, and disability law and policy.  Her scholarship focuses on menstrual dignity, legislative lawyering pedagogy, and workplace protections for menstruators, breastfeeding workers, domestic violence survivors, people with disabilities, and the military community. 

Karin’s Fulbright will explore public policy efforts to eliminate systemic oppression related to menstruation and to support menstruating individuals at work and school, including lessons from Scotland’s groundbreaking Period Products Act and broader menstrual justice initiatives throughout the United Kingdom.

Professor Kinsella is an Associate Professor of Political Science & Law, Affiliate Faculty of Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies, the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the Human Rights Center, and the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change at the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis. Her research focuses on the theorization of gender, armed violence and international humanitarian law. She is currently working on two books: one on sleep in war and another on settler empire and the laws of war. She is the author of the award winning The Image before the Weapon: A Critical History of the Distinction between Combatant and Civilian (Cornell University Press, 2011). Her work has also appeared in journals such as American Political Science Review, Review of International Studies, International Theory, Political Theory, Feminist Review, among others. 

Prior to joining UMN, she was an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and an affiliate in the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, from 2005 to 2018. She has also held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations and the New York University School of Law, as well as postdoctoral and predoctoral appointments at Stanford University, and Harvard University.

Dongwon Lee is currently a professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (a.k.a. iSchool) at the Pennsylvania State University, also serving as the director of Ph.D. program, and an ACM Distinguished Scientist, elected in 2019. Before starting at Penn State, he has worked at AT&T Bell Labs and obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA. From 2015 to 2017, he has also served as a Program Director at National Science Foundation (NSF), co-managing cybersecurity research and education programs and contributing to the development of national research priorities. In general, he researches on the computational problems in the intersection of Data Science, Machine Learning, and Cybersecurity.

Since 2017, in particular, he has led the SysFake project at Penn State, investigating computational and socio-technical solutions to better combat fake news. More details of his research can be found at: http://pike.psu.edu/. At Cambridge, during the Fulbright visit, he will collaborate with scholars in Psychology, researching on novel ways to inoculate people psychologically not to fall for deepfakes and other mediafakes.

Dan Marriott is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Pennsylvania State University and Principal of Paul Daniel Marriott + Associates, a heritage planning consultancy in Washington, DC. He was a Program Director at the US National Trust and has consulted for federal, state, tribal and local governments. He has been a guest lecturer and critic at Columbia, Cornell, Maryland, Oregon, UCLA and Edinburgh Universities, teaches a historic roads course for the National Preservation Institute and was an instructor for the AIA Sustainable Cities Design Academy.  He has been featured in the New York Times and Financial Times and on the WTTW-PBS heritage program, “10 Streets That Changed America.” He served as a World Heritage investigator for historic roads in Mexico, the EU and South America. He is on the Board of Trustees for the National Association for Olmsted Parks. In 2018 his research was featured at the “Repton Revived” exhibit at the Garden Museum in London.

Mary Beth is a Professor at the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and is a principal at HS-Design, responsible for human factors and research. Additionally, she serves as co-chair of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation’s Human Engineering Committee.  She has authored several articles and two books titled “Contextual Inquiry for Medical Device Design” and “Applied Human Factors in Medical Device Design.” Design touches every aspect of our lives, especially in the man-made products we rely on to enjoy life and complete our work.  In medical device design, the details of design take on life-or-death importance. 

The aim of this US-UK Fulbright project is to identify the different ways in which users interpret design in order to increase diagnostic/therapeutic effectiveness in international contexts.  The overarching hypothesis is that through better device design, improved patient outcomes can be achieved.

Colonel Dave Harper is Head of the Department of English and Philosophy at the United States Military Academy, West Point. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin in 2012 and was promoted to Full Professor in 2022. His research focuses on Book History, the poet statesman John Milton, Eighteenth-Century literary criticism, and Interregnum and Restoration texts.

His recent publication “The First Annotator of  Paradise Lost  and the Makings of English Literary Criticism” ( Studies in English Literature , 2019) was awarded Honorable Mention for the Milton Society of America’s James Holly Hanford Award for a distinguished essay on Milton. His book,  Paradise Lost and the Making of English Literary Criticism  (forthcoming from Routledge in 2023) reexamines how the reception of  Paradise Lost  shaped the development of literary criticism.

Teaching Professionals

Dr. Carla-Ann Brown

Fulbright Distinguished Teacher, University College London

Donalda Surla

Fulbright Distinguished Teacher, University of Strathclyde

Terry Walden

Fulbright Distinguished Teacher, University of Glasgow

Dr. Carla-Ann Brown is a University School Assistant Professor at P.K Yonge DRS at the University of Florida and the 2022 P.K. Yonge District Teacher of the Year. Her primary research focuses on personalized and Universally Designed student experiences through standards-based and Culturally Sustaining (CS) teaching/learning and the dismantling of inequitable educational practices with over twenty-five professional presentations (international, national, and state) and several publications in peer-reviewed journals.   Her research seeks to examine the experiences of Black/Brown educators in their K-12 settings as they navigate teaching in current times and provide insight into the mindsets of Black/Brown educators. As a practitioner-researcher, this research will contribute to the field of CS education because it will include the voices and challenges Black/Brown educators face while working to create equitable learning environments for students. 

Donalda Surla is in her 19th year of teaching English and Drama at Rio Vista High School, in Northern California. Various roles throughout her teaching tenure include Domestic Exchange Coordinator, Gay/Straight Alliance advisor, and Staff Committee for Student Wellness founder. She is committed to bringing new experiences and resources to her under-served rural community. Donalda loves travel, food, genealogy, the Chicago Cubs, and her dog. She shares those passions with her husband and daughter.  Donalda’s inquiry project focuses on the ways the Scottish initiative called “Getting Right for Every Child,” seeks to better the wellbeing of children and young people. She hopes to gather data concerning successful structures and strategies that could be replicated upon returning home, improving outcomes for students in the California Delta. 

What motivates me is my work. And my work revolves around the children that I interact with as an educator. My children inform me and it is from this place and space that I continually evolve and nurture my teaching paradigm. Since 2008, I have centered my professional development and growth on in-place learning. My passport is a constant in my life. In the fine arts, there is a saying when everything is flowing in your direction; you are ‘riding the train’ so to speak. And I have been on a professional development train that shows no signs of letting me off. This Fulbright is the culmination of ten years of progressive engagement with how do we get this right for students globally? A colleague suggested the United Kingdom to me. I remember his words clearly, ‘I see you with these kids, you understand and there you will understand how it all fits together.’ This isn’t my first trip to the UK but it is to Scotland. I am most intrigued by Scotland’s commitment to equity. 

Global Challenges Teaching Award

Global challenges teaching awardees.

US and UK higher education institution teaching faculty who co-delivered a virtual exchange course for undergraduate students

George L. Daniels

The University of Alabama - Global Challenges Teaching Award exploring racial injustice

Dr Amal Abu-Bakare

The University of Liverpool - Global Challenges Teaching Award exploring racial injustice

Jonathan Kennedy

Queen Mary University of London - Global Challenges Teaching Award exploring pandemics

Staci Strobl

Shenandoah University (Virginia) - Global Challenges Teaching Award exploring climate change

Jessie Dubreuil

University of California - Global Challenges Teaching Award exploring pandemics

Sammie Buzzard

Cardiff University - Global Challenges Teaching Award exploring climate change

George is a former television news producer turned mass media scholar.   Since 2003, he’s been teaching newswriting and reporting, electronic news reporting, media management and host of other courses at  The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.  In 2021, he co-edited Teaching Race: Struggles, Strategies and Scholarship for the Mass Communication Classroom.  Currently, he’s finishing his second book, Barrier Breakers: Media Educators Meeting the Diversity Challenge Across the Decades.  An associate professor of journalism and creative media, Dr. Daniels researches issues of race in the media workplace and the dynamics of race in news reporting.  He’s the winner of several national awards for his teaching in the areas of media management, service learning and community engagement. In 2021, he was the recipient the Gene Burd Award in Urban Journalism Studies for his ongoing studies of the contemporary Black press. From 2013 to 2019, Dr. Daniels was assistant dean for administration in The University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences. He’s worked as a broadcast journalist in Atlanta, Ga., Cincinnati. Ohio and his hometown of Richmond, Virginia.  Currently,  Dr. Daniels serves as the inaugural Faculty Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion for the Broadcast Education Association.

Dr Amal Abu-Bakare is a British-Canadian lecturer in the politics of race and decolonial studies at the University of Liverpool and a Visiting Fellow at the University of South Wales’ International Centre for Policing & Security. Amal earned her doctoral degree from Aberystwyth University’s Department of International Politics in 2020 where she successfully defended her thesis researching how logics of racialisation structure counterterrorism approaches in the United Kingdom and Canada. She is also an alumna of the University of Warwick, where she completed her master’s in International Relations; and of Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ontario, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in Politics and Global Development Studies, with honours.  Amal continues to publish a breadth of literature at the intersection of anticolonial scholarship, terrorism studies expertise, and International Relations Theory. Her writing can be found in journals such as International Affairs, Alternatives, International Politics Reviews, Media Diversified, E-International Relations, and soon, International Political Sociology.

Jonathan is a Reader in Politics and Global Health in the Centre for Public Health and Policy at Queen Mary University of London.   His research uses insights from sociology, political economy, anthropology, and international relations to analyse important public health problems. He has explored the link between populist politics and vaccine hesitancy in Europe, the negative impact of the CIA drone strikes on polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, and how Saudi-led bombing of Yemen resulted in the world’s worst cholera outbreak in 2017. Currently, he is working on a book about the impact of infectious disease on human history – from the extinction of the Neanderthals forty thousand years ago to covid-19 – that will be published by Penguin in 2023.   He obtained his PhD in Sociology from the University of Cambridge (2013). Prior to joining Queen Mary University in 2016, he taught international development at the Department of Political Science, University College London and worked as a research associate at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge.

Staci Strobl is a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Shenandoah University in Virginia (USA) and a research fellow in the Sectarianism, Proxies, and Desectarianization Center (SEPAD), University of Lancaster (UK). In 2019, she and two colleagues (Lieselot Bisshop and Julie Viollaz) received the Outstanding Article Award given by the Division of White Collar and Corporate Crime of the American Society of Criminology. The article, entitled “Getting into deep water: Coastal land loss and state-corporate crime in the Louisiana bayou,” was published in the British Journal of Criminology in 2018. Strobl’s research focuses on environmental crime, state and corporate crime, and comparative criminal justice with particular attention paid to gender, ethnic, religious and sect identity. She is the author of Sectarian Order in Bahrain: The Social and Colonial Origins of Criminal Justice (Lexington Books, 2018).  She has also earned the Radzinowicz Memorial Prize for her article in the British Journal of Criminology about the criminalization of female domestic workers in Bahrain. Strobl is published in the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy; International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice; The Review of Faith and International Affairs; and Nidaba: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, among other journals. 

Jessie Dubreuil is Associate Director for Learning at the Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning (CITL) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, as well as faculty in the Writing Program and at Merrill College. Jessie received her undergraduate and masters degrees in English from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the UCSC community, Jessie was the Director of the First Year Experience (FYE) Program at Colorado College, where she taught literature and humanities courses and focused her research and teaching on experiential and community-based learning. There, she spearheaded grants, programs, and partnerships to incorporate Community Based Learning into the first year curriculum, oversaw the FYE Mentor program, and received the Exemplary Achievement in Community Engaged Teaching Award (2015). Almost a decade ago, she began exploring the rhetoric of health and illness with students and community partners at the Moab Free Health Clinic. Jessie is currently the faculty fellow in the UCSC Division of Global Engagement’s Global Classrooms Initiative, and is co-editor, with Sikina Jinnah, Jody Greene, and Sam Foster (eds.), of Teaching Environmental Politics and Justice, under contract at Edward Elgar Publishers.

Sammie Buzzard is a glaciologist and climate scientist, who works as a lecturer in climate science at Cardiff University, Wales. She holds a Master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Exeter and completed her PhD at the University of Reading during which she investigated the surface hydrology of Antarctica's ice shelves. Her research interests including modelling how and where ice shelves may become vulnerable to sudden collapse due to melting on their surfaces. This is important in determining Antarctica's future contribution to global sea level. Her interests in the polar regions also extend to the surface hydrology of Greenland and snow and melt on Arctic sea ice. Sammie is the International Arctic Sciences Committee 2020 cryosphere fellow and is also a fellow of the UK’s Software Sustainability Institute. She has a passion for science communication and regularly speaks at theatre shows targeted at teenagers, as well as in schools, museums and in various forms of media. She has a strong interest in increasing the diversity of those working and studying in STEM fields.

Civic Science Fellowship

Melanie Brown

Civic Science Fellow 2022-23

Melanie Brown is an award winning multimedia journalist who will serve as the Civic Science Storytelling Fellow based at the University of Oregon’s Center for Science Communication Research. Melanie has spent the past decade working for the BBC in factual programming with a focus on making science documentaries for the BBC World Service. She is passionate about telling complex science stories in ways that are accessible to a broad audience and foster engagement with the most pressing scientific, environmental, and health issues. Some of her past stories have covered; brain computer interfaces, China’s scientific development and its implications for geo-politics, wildfires, AI in warfare, underwater noise pollution, memory loss, the future of toilets and gene editing. Before retraining as a journalist, Melanie worked in international development in communications and fundraising roles. She cut her teeth meeting communities in rural Afghanistan and sharing their stories to increase awareness around the challenges they faced. This experience helped her foster a people centred storytelling approach to convey nuanced understandings of development projects in complicated settings. Melanie holds an MA and NCTJ in Multimedia Journalism and a BA in International Relations from the University of Sussex. Outside of work Melanie enjoys getting into nature, whether that’s her garden or the great outdoors, she’s often found with a camera poised at some tiny natural wonder and is she is learning to wood carve and kayak, she doesn’t like dill.

Nwamaka Agbandje-Boyce

Postgraduate Award at Indiana University Maurer School of Law - LL.M.

Sarah Barrington

Elsevier Data Analytics Award, UC Berkeley - Information Management

David Bernard

All Disciplines Award, UC Berkeley - Economics

Lylaah Bhalerao

All Disciplines Award, New York University - Ancient World Studies

Mario Carandente

Entrepreneurship Award, MIT - Business

Christopher Carter

Postgraduate Student Award at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs - Environmental Policy

Ramana Carthigesan

Lloyd's Postgraduate Award, MIT - Finance

Karl Dudman

All Disciplines Award, North Carolina State Climate Office - Social Anthropology

Melanie Etti

Nursten Award in Medical Studies, Harvard University - Global Health

Ndakuna Fonso Amidou

Sir Cyril Taylor Memorial Award for Social Entrepreneurship, Harvard University - Public Administration

Toby Frampton

British Friends of Harvard Business School MBA Award - Business Administration

Jennie Graham

Sir Cyril Taylor Memorial Award for Social Entrepreneurship, Duke University - Entrepreneurial Studies

Nursten Award in Medical Studies, Harvard University - Public Health

Marina Kovaleva

Global Wales Visiting Student Award, Sandia National Laboratories - Engineering

Shayna Lewis

All Disciplines Award, Columbia University - Human Rights Studies

Heena Mohammed

All Disciplines Award, University of Chicago - Public Policy

Lynda Nwike

Bella Okuya

All Disciplines Award, The New School - Photography

Morwenna Osmond

Global Wales Postgraduate Award, The New School - Modern History

Genevieve Ryan

All Disciplines Award, University of Houston - Social Work

Rhea Saksena

All Disciplines Award, Harvard University - Global Health

Sarah Santhosham

Executive Master of Public Administration Award at NYU Wagner - Economic and Political Development

Sadaf Sohrabi

All Disciplines Award, Harvard University - Dermatopathology

Megan Spoor

All Disciplines Award, Tulane University - Architecture

All Disciplines Award, Harvard University - Health Policy and Management

Fatima Wardy

Fulbright-BAFTA Postgraduate Scholarship, University of Texas at Austin - Film Production

Amaka is a born and bred Londoner who graduated with a degree in law from the University of Kent in 2021. With aspirations of becoming a barrister, Amaka has become fascinated with what she describes as "People Law". Compelled by her need to use her knowledge and experience to help others, she hopes to specialise in an area of law that features a very strong human and emotional element that will allow her to fulfil her role as a "legal linguist". Truly dedicated to a career at the Bar and lawyerly skills, in the final year of her undergraduate studies, Amaka was elected into the role of Mistress of the Moots, in which she vowed to increase the level of advocacy opportunities available to her fellow law students. During her time in the United States, Amaka hopes to use what she has learnt on her LLM course to widen her expertise and become an all-around, well-versed lawyer in the years to come. She hopes this opportunity will open the doors for her to become dually qualified in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Sarah is an Engineer & Data Scientist working at the intersection of advanced analytics and emerging technologies. Having grown up with a passion for solving problems, Sarah attended the University of Cambridge on an IMechE Scholarship before graduating with a First Class master's degree in Manufacturing Engineering. She worked at McLaren Applied Technologies implementing novel machine learning techniques from Formula 1 into industries like healthcare and energy. Realising the power of these technologies worldwide, Sarah co-founded two start-ups exploring applications within digital media and blockchain infrastructure. Through also pursuing a consultancy career across a range of industry-led Data Science projects, she observed a gap between the potential industrial benefit and actual implementation of advanced analytics. Sarah’s ambition is to be a leader in a world in which artificial intelligence algorithms are developed equitably, securely and for social good. Pursuing a master's degree at the UC Berkeley School of Information, Sarah plans to develop a robust framework for the implementation of modelling techniques in complex engineering and societal problems. Sarah is excited to be a part of the Berkeley and Fulbright communities, as well as exploring the local mountain biking opportunities and experiencing Silicon Valley in real life.

David is a PhD student at the Paris School of Economics where his research focuses on methods for estimating the long-term impacts of public policy. Before his PhD, he completed a Masters in Public Policy and Development, also at the Paris School of Economics, and a bachelors in PPE from the University of Warwick. He is interested in understanding the most pressing global problems and what can be done to solve them. Having previously worked for Rethink Priorities, Giving What We Can, the Centre for Effective Altruism, Academics Stand Against Poverty, and the United Nations Development Program, he will use his Fulbright at UC Berkeley to continue his career within academia by further developing his work on new methods for estimating long-term impacts. He is excited to join the international Fulbright community since global challenges can only be dealt with by bringing diverse perspectives and ideas to the table. Having previously studied abroad in Sweden and France he is excited by the opportunity to spend time in the USA and experience American culture, especially the jazz scene and the natural wonders of California.

Lylaah was raised amidst love, laughter, stories, and multi-cultural pride in North London by a mixed family of British Indian Hindus and British Indo-Guyanese Muslims. She naturally advocates for all these communities and her background guides her commitment to fostering cultural exchange. She intends to channel this into her doctoral research and broader activities as a Fulbrighter. As an academic activist, Lylaah is committed to taking critical, cross-cultural approaches to ancient art and heritage. She earned a BA (with double first-class honours) and an MPhil in Classics at the University of Cambridge. Whilst there, she also held numerous leadership positions including Students’ Union President at Murray Edwards College and Co-President of Cambridge’s ‘Mastana’ (annual charity South Asian Cultural Variety Show). Most recently, she has led the campaign for race equality measures and decolonisation in the Cambridge Faculty of Classics. Her academic thesis - “Displaying Greece in the British Museum in the Era of Decolonisation” - built further on this activism. She is now excited to start as a PhD student in the USA and to serve her new families of Fulbrighters, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, and the wider New York University community.

Mario's aspirations to make an impact in our society with technology and innovations have been the key drivers for him to undertake a career in engineering. Driven by enthusiasm for research and desire to specialize in automotive engineering, he has earned an Engineering Doctorate from WMG – University of Warwick. During his doctorate, Mario worked on a research project sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) developing a new methodology for the design and assembly of lightweight vehicles. Mario has built his career in the automotive industry with experience ranging from R&D and product development, to manufacturing operations and programme management. Since 2018, he has been working at McLaren automotive leading the design and engineering workstreams of body components across all the vehicle platforms. Driven by the compelling need to make our planet sustainable, Mario is motivated to take on a leadership role driving sustainable transformations in urban mobility. The Fulbright Entrepreneurship Award will allow him to undertake a Sloan Fellows MBA at MIT focussing on the technological and infrastructural innovations that will be at the forefront of the future of mobility and transportation.

The scientific consensus is overwhelming: climate change is real and it is an urgent threat. Having spent four years studying Geophysics at Imperial College London, Chris is acutely aware of the scientific basis for anthropogenic climate change and is frustrated with what he perceives as a lack of political courage among governments and other bodies reluctant to enact necessary and achievable changes to safeguard our planet’s future. Chris is approaching the Fulbright programme and his Master’s degree in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy with that mindset; he hopes to translate his scientific background to real, workable policy solutions that can be implemented on local and global scales to protect our planet and limit the impacts of our past inaction. Chris’ undergraduate career was a time of great personal and professional development; moving to London gave him, for the first time, the opportunity to grow beyond the expectations of others and to define himself on his own terms. He worked throughout his university career to ensure that every student had that same opportunity as part of a strong, inclusive student community and he can’t wait to put those values into action as a Fulbrighter.

Having grown up in London during the recession of 2008, and more recently having worked as a financial services-focussed strategy consultant, Ramana has seen the outsized effect that the UK’s financial sector has on its people. He is convinced that the key to making this competitive strength for the UK a positive force for the wider population is smarter and more effective regulation that enables a competitive dynamic while still ensuring the public good is served – this will be especially important following Brexit. To this end, Ramana is hugely excited to undertake a Master’s at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the home of much of the foundations of financial engineering and host of a world-renowned research group in Systemic Risk. He is keen to apply his quantitative background from studying Physics at Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge to an area where he can positively affect the lives of everyday people across the UK. Outside of the classroom, Ramana is looking forward to getting involved with US sports culture (both as a player and part of the audience) and exploring the country by train.

Growing up between urban East London and the rural East Midlands, Karl developed a sensitivity to the diverse ways that political identities form across regional, economic and cultural contexts. Deeply interested in the social fragmentation of recent Anglo-American politics, he believes that current democratic processes – in particular the governance of global climate change – must better understand and accommodate that diversity. This is the basis of Karl’s PhD research at Oxford University’s Institute for Science, Innovation, and Society, drawing on professional experiences from community-based environmental management to UN climate dialogues. With support from Fulbright, Karl has partnered with the North Carolina State Climate Office to undertake a year of fieldwork in flood-prone communities of the US southeast. Working alongside climate scientists, community campaigners, and coastal resilience practitioners, Karl will observe how bipartisan, place-based conversations about sea-level rise are being built from the bottom up in the Carolinas. Karl hopes his research will yield valuable lessons for community-led efforts in the UK, and advance our understanding of the complex relationship between local communities and global north climate governance. Passionate about non-academic forms of communication, Karl also hopes to tell the stories of his fieldwork as a writer and photographer. 

Melanie Etti will be completing a Master of Public Health degree with a focus on Global Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her interest in Global Health began during her time as junior doctor where she worked in some of the most culturally diverse areas of London. She is also passionate about infectious diseases, having obtained a BSc in Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Bristol and the RCP Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2017. In 2020, she took up a research fellowship in Microbiology with St George's, University of London based in Kampala, Uganda where she worked on research projects focused towards improving rates of neonatal sepsis and understanding the spread of COVID-19 among pregnant women. Melanie hopes that her time in Boston will help her gain a wider perspective of solutions for overcoming global challenges in infectious disease control, particularly in resource-limited settings. She is particularly looking forward to enjoying some seafood on the Boston piers during her time in the US. 

Ndakuna started his career as a mental health nurse. He later studied Engineering, while working full-time, night shifts, to fully fund his education at Brunel University. Ndakuna has also completed MSc and MBA programmes at Oxford University, led global projects and teams, and worked across five industries (Telecom, Healthcare, Automobile, Construction and Government), while building a chain of self-sustaining healthcare clinics in parallel, for the last 14 years. Ndakuna intends to both contribute and learn from the Harvard University community, offering the lenses of a nurse, engineer, and social entrepreneur to various discussions such as mental health and data privacy. While not policy-oriented, these are areas of knowledge a policy-maker must have. Data privacy is today a human right issue, and Ndakuna hopes to use the MCMPA to understand end-to-end value creation in the policy design process, as well as build a network of UK and US organisations involved in data transfer, to establish a collaborative data privacy environment. One of Ndakuna's ambitions (post-Harvard) is to found a data privacy think tank in the UK.

Toby graduated from the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography. For the past three years, he has worked for the consumer goods company Procter & Gamble in various Sales and Brand Management roles. He joined the company in Sales as a National Account Manager working with the UK’s largest retailer Tesco, before progressing into Brand Management, where he has most recently worked as a Senior Brand Manager in the company’s Oral Care division (Oral-B™, Crest™ and Fixodent™). At Harvard Business School, Toby will be studying for an MBA with a General Management focus. He is especially interested to learn from real-world practice and develop his knowledge in areas outside of his Sales and Marketing specialism, including in Finance and Supply Chain. When he is not studying, Toby plans to explore Boston and travel throughout the US as much as possible. He is an avid skier and hopes to enjoy much of the varied skiing the US has to offer.

Jennie grew up in Milnathort, Scotland, and graduated from the University of Oxford with a First Class degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies. Passionate about advancing gender equity, she volunteered for an interfaith organisation in Amman, Jordan, and helped to launch the Women for Coexistence initiative, an open forum bringing together women of all faiths to discuss coexistence and promote cross-cultural understanding. She went on to work with Oxford Entrepreneurs, leading their women’s outreach and building a mentorship programme for aspiring female entrepreneurs at the university. Most recently, Jennie worked at Turquoise Mountain, a non-profit supporting entrepreneurs in the creative manufacturing and handmade sector, most of whom are women, in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the Middle East. As Head of Communications, she has supported female artisans and business leaders to market their handmade products worldwide. Jennie is going to Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business to pursue an MBA with a focus on social entrepreneurship and impact investing. She plans to work in impact venture capital, supporting female founders in the social enterprise space. She is a Forté Fellow and former competitive kickboxer, captaining the Oxford University team.

Harun is a physician and public health researcher. He graduated from Imperial College London with an MBBS, BSc (First Class Honours) and two academic prizes. He is interested in health inequities, particularly the intersection between health outcomes and social identifiers, such as race, social class, and immigration status. Harun has worked in a research capacity for several institutions including London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organization in Geneva. His research and his commentary on race and health has been published extensively and featured on various media platforms such as Audible, Media Diversified and The Huffington Post. A recipient of a joint award from the Kennedy Memorial Trust and the UK Fulbright Commission, Harun will pursue the Master's of Public Health at Harvard University where he will explore policy solutions to health disparities in the UK and USA. He will also develop his qualitative analysis skills for maternal health projects that focus on asylum seeking women in Birmingham, UK. In his own time, Harun enjoys travelling and learning foreign languages. He is keen to use the upcoming year in the United States to improve his proficiency in Spanish - his sixth language.

Marina found her passion for renewable energy during her undergraduate projects in Mechanical Engineering at Cardiff University, at a time when Cardiff University, Oxford University and SIEMENS were collaborating to develop a one-of-a-kind, £1.5m UK government-sponsored green ammonia power demonstrator. After graduating, Marina spent a year as a research student in ammonia combustion at Tohoku University, through the Japanese MEXT Programme. Her recent travel experience has helped her establish a new, early-career researcher conference in ammonia energy, with the second edition of the event scheduled to be held at Cardiff in the summer of 2022. As a Fulbrighter, Marina will complete part of her PhD at Sandia National Laboratories, California. For her project, she hopes to bridge together the ammonia energy expertise from the UK with high-performance computing and numerical modelling - a known speciality of Sandia National Laboratories. In her free time, Marina enjoys fitness and running, so, while in the US, she would love to try morning dance parties through Daybreaker, as a fun and alternative way to start the workday.

As a daughter of the Windrush generation, Shayna’s parents and grandparents instilled in her the importance of working against the constraints of society to build a better future for those to come. This vision has guided Shayna to her career in human rights. Shayna’s research in the field of transitional justice aims to reposition survivors of human rights atrocities at the centre of accountability processes to ensure that transitional justice responses serve the needs of affected communities. Shayna aims to spend her career working to increase accountability for human rights atrocities from the ground up, helping survivors overcome the injustices they have faced to build a more just future. Since graduating from Exeter University in 2020, she has worked for Human Rights Watch in Geneva, monitoring and speaking at the UN Human Rights Council. In January 2021, Shayna relocated to Asia to research and conduct advocacy on the intersecting impacts of conflict, COVID-19, and climate change in Myanmar. Prior to her international advocacy work, Shayna volunteered with women’s empowerment charities to tackle domestic abuse and help women leaving the criminal justice system to find work. She also contributed to her diaspora through her work with the Jamaican High Commission.

Through her early experiences as a young woman from an immigrant background in the North of England to studying Politics and International Relations at the University of Manchester, Heena has been inspired by one key objective: using her lived experiences as a woman of colour to influence policymaking to better serve marginalised communities. Through her early career as a civil servant, she has worked on key social issues including welfare, housing, and criminal justice policy. She has worked on the front line at Jobcentres in Manchester and closely with local communities in the aftermath of the Grenfell tower disaster. Having worked on police powers policy in the immediate Covid-19 response and tackling racial disparities in police powers, she is committed to using this experience to explore innovative solutions to eliminating racial disparities in crime and policing policy. Studying Public Policy at the University of Chicago is an ideal opportunity to complement her real-world experience with a grounding in rigorous academic standards, whilst also taking advantage of living in Chicago to engage closely with crime and social policy - whether through the Crime Lab or by working directly with non-profit organisations in the South and West sides of Chicago.

Lynda will be completing a Masters in Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a Masters in Public Administration - International Development at the Harvard John F Kennedy School of Government. Whilst in the US, she aims to join and learn from an international network of change agents focused on enabling greater energy equity, using energy as a means for driving economic development whilst navigating the challenges of climate change. A creative at heart, Lynda was first inspired by a career in the energy industry at the age of 14 when she attended an “Energy Challenge” in Scotland. Inspired by the scope, impact, challenges and possibilities in the industry, she later received an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship and went on to receive a first class degree in Mechanical Engineering at King’s College London. She has worked across the globe for oil and gas companies including ExxonMobil, Schlumberger and Royal Dutch Shell in roles spanning Public & Government Affairs, Engineering & Operations and Coaching. During this time, she acted as Chair of the Europe, Russia and Israel Student Operating Board of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and as a STEM mentor, ambassador and advocate with the Arkwright Trust.

Bella is a London born and based photographer and educator, with a socially engaged documentary approach and a curious portraiture practice. Most of her work presents ongoing personal projects. She has a BA in English Literature, a PGCE from the University of London, and a City & Guilds Diploma in photo image making.​​​​​​​ Her research interests include exploring contemporary documentary practice and working with underrepresented communities using participatory photography. She will be exploring this on the MFA Photography programme at Parsons School of Design, New School, New York.

Morwenna was raised in the coastal town of Penarth in Wales. Educated bilingually in Welsh and English, she is passionate about the survival and flourishing of minority languages. At 15, she was awarded a scholarship to the United World College of Costa Rica, where she joined a community of 170 students from over 70 countries. Later she studied History at Bristol University, graduating with first-class honours. She is fascinated by histories of social movements and contentious politics. Her final-year dissertation explored the relationship between the Indigenous women leaders of the Red Power movement and the second-wave feminist movement in the US from the 1960s to the 1980s. Subsequently, Morwenna joined the Warrior Women Project, a group of activists, historians and multimedia storytellers who collect oral histories recording Indigenous matriarchy and movement building. During her time studying an MA in Historical Studies at the New School for Social Research, New York, Morwenna aims to deepen her understanding of the dynamics of social movements. She is also keen to explore the role that artists can have in affecting community change. Outside of her studies, Morwenna is eager to explore upstate New York’s hiking trails.

Genevieve is from Leeds and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Edinburgh in History & History of Art and an MSc from the London School of Economics in Criminal Justice Policy, for which she received the university’s Titmuss and Delia Ashworth prizes for outstanding achievement. As a Fulbrighter, Genevieve will undertake a Master’s of Social Work at the University of Houston, Texas. She is interested in forensic social work, mitigation and different forms of justice. She plans to concentrate her studies on Defense-Initiated Victim Outreach (DIVO), a restorative initiative used in a number of states across the US and predominantly in capital cases. Studying in Houston, Genevieve will have access to specialist trauma modules, a legislative internship and a field practicum which will further develop her awareness of the setting in which DIVO operates. She expects that the time she spends stateside will provide a fresh perspective on state systems and will inform the doctoral study she intends to undertake examining the DIVO initiative in a UK context. Whilst studying in Texas Genevieve is excited to visit the rodeo, go on road trips and is looking forward to enjoying live bluegrass and country music.

Rhea is an NHS medical doctor and a passionate health advocate. She is particularly interested in the way global health structures intersect and contribute to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and obesity prevalence worldwide. She graduated from UCL with First Class Honours in Global Health where she was also nominated for the Faculty of Life Sciences Medal for her dissertation analysing obesity policies in the UK. She has also worked for Public Health England design and implement strategies to reduce childhood obesity. Rhea is currently training as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Oxford, a role which enables her to continue to develop both her clinical and academic interests in obesity and diabetes. Rhea is thrilled to undertake the Masters in Public Health (MPH) programme at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health where she will develop the skills and understanding required to design health systems that ensure that a high standard of health is a certainty for all and not a privilege for a lucky few. 

Sarah is an HM Treasury official passionate about solving complex global public policy challenges through stronger international collaboration, greater interdisciplinary work and a better understanding of the impact on citizens. As a former community organiser and MP’s caseworker in an inner-city London borough where she grew up, she has seen the impacts of short-term policies on people’s lives and long-term outcomes, and is motivated by a desire to improve policymaking. Tackling tough international, economic and social policy challenges across the UK and in Brussels – including negotiating across the G20 to mitigate COVID-19’s impact – has given her an understanding of the impact of global dynamics on citizens, and the importance of nuanced social policies to improve resilience. She is excited to spend a year at NYU and UCL to learn about new policy ideas from expert practitioners, form a network of public servants from diverse cultures, and reflect on ways to use her experience to make an impactful contribution to policy making, with a particular focus on addressing regional inequalities. Sarah completed her undergraduate degree in Classics at Oxford University, where she was elected Vice President of the student union.

Healing skin leaves scars. We have all experienced this throughout our lives but in serious cases, such as burns, skin can heal with large contractures impairing breathing. Wounds can even fail to heal at all – leaving patients with chronic infections, limb amputations, and even death. As an academic surgical trainee working in Edinburgh, Sadaf has sought to investigate the mechanisms behind skin wound healing using human scar and Dupuytren’s disease tissue. She will join the highly collaborative and world leading Harvard Stem Cell Institute dermato-pathology research group to investigate why our skin heals by scarring, and better understand the mechanisms which can go awry in skin regeneration. Beyond the lab, Sadaf is looking forward to experiencing the New England way of life, immersing herself in the community, and lending her jazz saxophone skills to the local jazz band.

Megan is an architectural assistant passionate about climate change adaptation and community-focused design. Born and raised in the Welsh Valleys, Megan's decision to enter the field of architecture was driven by a desire to help low-income communities like her own. After graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Nottingham, Megan worked in Australia and the UK on affordable housing and low-carbon construction. Megan has also collaborated on a Cyclone-proof housing prototype for communities in the South Pacific, contributed to research in sustainable design, and is currently part of a charity striving to support locally-led development in Vanuatu. These experiences exposed her to the impact climate change will have on low-income communities globally, instilling a passion to act. Tulane offers Megan an exciting opportunity to study in a city at the forefront of climate change and work directly with communities challenged by rising sea levels in New Orleans, India, and Ethiopia. She hopes to use her degree to develop inclusive adaption strategies that can be implemented globally, prioritising those most at risk. She is excited to experience the vibrant culture of New Orleans and plans to become involved with the University equestrian team.

Cian has always been drawn to projects with ambitious aims of improving the quality of patient care and population health. Whilst at school, he founded a charity which raised significant funds for a children’s heart unit. An eclectic range of sporting, academic and even theatrical experiences whilst at medical school further honed his skills in drawing together and leading groups of talented individuals towards achieving complex goals. He led an international research group which designed and implemented Kenya’s first neonatal analgesic guidelines, exemplifying the collaborative approach required to ensure that medical evidence and guidelines actually translate into improved patient care. Working on the clinical frontline and in national healthcare organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cian has a clear appreciation for how good leadership and strategy can impact upon the nation’s health. Whilst at Harvard, Cian hopes to progress his work into understanding why some patients are at higher risk of harm from healthcare than others, and how we can act to reduce these inequalities. Having previously led the University of Oxford football team on a tour of Ivy League schools, he is also looking forward to playing some more “Soccer” whilst at Harvard.  

Fatima is a writer and director who works across both fiction and non-fiction mediums.  Her career started as video journalist at BBC News, where she made it her mission to increase the number of stories commissioned about black British life. From there, she transitioned to documentary production at BBC Studios, where she got to work on the landmark film 'Whoever Heard of a Black Artist?', introducing audiences to the criminally overlooked artists of African, Caribbean and Asian descent who shaped modern British art. At the University of Texas at Austin, Fatima will further hone her writing and directing skills to produce films that illustrate the complexity of immigrant experiences. Fatima draws inspiration from her Sudanese heritage, especially the oral storytelling traditions of the Nubian tribes of her grandparents. She is passionate about imaging the interior life of black British Muslim girls through her stories because "the level of representation we get compared to how funny we are is not high enough!" In her spare time, she looks forward to becoming an expert on Mexican cuisine and finding out what exactly keeps Austin weird.

Orkun Akseli

Elon University Award, Elon University - Commercial Law

Joerg Arnscheidt

All Disciplines Scholar Award, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee - Environmental Sciences

Lloyd’s Scholar Award, Pennsylvania State University - Agriculture

Daniel Cash

All Disciplines Scholar Award, New York University's Stern Business School - Business Law

Rebecca Charlton

All Disciplines Scholar Award, The George Washington University - Adult Development & Aging

Stuart Dunmore

Royal Society of Edinburgh Scholar Award, Harvard University - Socio-Lingiustics

Alison Eardley

Smithsonian Scholar Award, The Anacostia Community Museum - Cultural Psychology

Nicola Guess

All Disciplines Scholar Award, Johns Hopkins/Tufts University/Good Food Institute - Clinical Nutrition

Katherine Harrison

Smithsonian Scholar Award, National Air and Space Museum - Mass Communications

Joshua Hollands

Elon University Award - U.S. History

Daniel Hughes

All Disciplines Scholar Award, University of Texas at Austin - Modern Literature

Royal College of Surgeons Research Award, Stanford University - Thoracic Surgery

Ella Marriott

Metropolitan Police Scholar Award, Tulane University - Police, Law Enforcement & Corrections

Rachel Rolph

Royal College of Surgeons Research Award, MD Anderson Houston - Surgical Technology

Yusrah Shweikh

All Disciplines Scholar Award, Harvard University - Ophthalmology

Orkun is an Associate Professor of Commercial Law at Durham University Law School. He has published extensively on the modernisation and harmonisation of secured transactions law. His research has focused on the laws relating to secured credit, and the social and economic impact of these laws with reference to the financing of SMEs. He studied law in Turkey and the United States before completing his PhD at the University of Manchester. He is excited for the opportunity provided by the Fulbright Commission to spend time doing research and teaching at Elon University Law School. His research will be on the influence of the UCC Article 9 on international secured transactions law texts that aim to modernise national laws. He is a keen runner and foodie as well as have a keen interest in history. He hopes to explore North Carolina and the South during his time in the USA.

Joerg’s fascination with water chemistry and aquatic biology started with a makeshift laboratory and aquariums and the garden pond of his parental home. Dedicated academics in Düsseldorf and in Dresden further nurtured this interest in aquatic sciences. After a PhD on acidification he first worked in commercial water analysis and is now a senior lecturer at Ulster University’s School of Geography and Environmental Sciences with research interests in water quality and aquatic ecology. As a water scientist, he is looking forward to the opportunity of spending time at the Great Lakes in Sandra McLellan’s laboratory at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he wants to investigate methods of monitoring faecal water pollution with bacterial sediment markers. He also intends to get involved with Milwaukee’s volunteer organisations in freshwater conservation and the support of people with Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome) for a transatlantic sharing of experience.

Just as humans make associations with ‘good bacteria’ in their gut, plants too form important connections with microbes that influence their health. Henry investigates these relationships within agricultural systems to find new ways we can produce food sustainably. As a Fulbright Scholar at The Microbiome Center at The Pennsylvania State University, Henry will investigate how microbes interact with plants at the end of a drought period and how this could influence climate change in the future. At Penn State, Henry will have access to long term experimental sites, world-class analytical equipment, and some of the best research minds in the field. Henry’s research career has had international collaboration at its core. From the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil to banana production on the doorstep of The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, exchanging ideas internationally has been the lifeblood of much of Henry’s work. In Pennsylvania Henry is keen to experience the rich culture: from the college football atmosphere at Penn State, to Amish farming techniques.

Daniel is a Senior Lecturer at Aston University’s Law School. He exclusively researches the Credit Rating Industry and its regulation, operation, and impact upon the financial sector. He has founded the Credit Rating Research Initiative, bringing together leading voices in the field to push for a better environment within the sector. Daniel has also founded Aspiring Black Lawyers, an initiative designed to address the distinct underrepresentation of Black and Mixed-Heritage people in the legal sector by working with students and connecting them to specialists who can aid their development. At New York University’s Stern Business School, Daniel aims to establish the new credit rating initiative and develop a field-leading textbook on the credit rating field. By bringing together some of the world’s leading scholars and practitioners, the book will hopefully form a bridge between the field in the US and the UK. That bridge will be developed to inspire impactful collaboration in particular fields, like finding credit-rating based resolutions to global issues such as the debt renegotiation standstill affecting the world’s most vulnerable countries. Daniel will be exploring different areas of the US to learn about its deep history.

Rebecca completed her PhD examining the associations between changes in the brain and cognitive abilities in middle-aged and older adults. Several years ago a conversation with a friend raised the question “What happens to autistic people when they get older?” Realising that we know very little about ageing for autistic people, Rebecca has since been working to answer that question. Most researchers investigating autism focus on childhood development. Rebecca brings her expertise on ageing, age-related changes and disorders to ask questions about ageing and autism. As a Fulbright Scholar, Rebecca will be working with colleagues at the George Washington University for four months. Combining expertise in ageing with expertise in autism and developmental trajectories, Rebecca will examine the relationship between cognitive abilities, physical and mental health across the adult lifespan. Rebecca can often be found hiking on the South Downs and is looking forward to exploring the countryside around Washington. She’s also hoping to visit the Kennedy Centre and the Library of Congress.

Stuart is a research fellow at the University of Sussex, and also at the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on the sociolinguistics of minority language use, ideology, and cultural identities, with particular reference to Celtic language communities in Britain and Canada. In 2019 his first book 'Language Revitalisation in Gaelic Scotland' was published, while his British Academy postdoctoral fellowship (2016-19) assessed the role of 'new' speakers in language learning initiatives and policy interventions in Scotland and Nova Scotia. Stuart’s Fulbright research will build on this work to examine social networks of Scottish Gaelic speakers and learners among the Nova Scotia diaspora community in Boston, and how such speakers' learning motivations and identities may compare to the better known Boston Irish diaspora. This research will inform chapters of his second monograph with Edinburgh University Press. During his scholarship Stuart will be working with distinguished colleagues in Celtic at Harvard University. He also hopes to have some time to indulge his passions for (ice) hockey and rowing.

Alison is a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Westminster. She will be working with the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum on a project exploring place-identity, belonging, memory, and the relationship between the museum and its local communities. What is surprising about this project is not that a cognitive psychologist is a Fulbright-Smithsonian scholar, but rather that more psychologists are not already working within museums. Alison’s research on attention, multisensory processing, mental representation and memory can enrich sector-wide understandings of visitor experience and audience engagement. Nevertheless, Alison has learnt that whilst scientists and museums may share some common language and goals, their respective understandings are often underpinned by different meaning and assumptions. This project provides her with the opportunity to understand museums and the US from within. In so doing, Alison’s interdisciplinary lens will provide important insights into longstanding and new museum sector goals: serving communities, democratising decision making on museum narratives, broadening participation, enhancing access, and redefining museums in the 21st century.

Nicola is a registered dietitian and academic. Her research looks at the role of high protein diets in the maintenance of good health. Historically, people have gotten most of their protein from animal protein, which has a detrimental impact on the environment compared to other foods. A key question moving forward is whether we can meet our protein requirements sustainably. During her Fulbright, Nicola will spend time at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Tufts University in Boston, and at the non-profit Good Food Institute. The overall aim of her project is to ensure that the sustainable protein sector can meet the growing needs of consumers into the future. The strength of spending time in multiple institutions is that sustainable food is truly a multi-sector issue and will require collaboration between the agricultural, climate science, food technology, production, food service, and nutrition science communities. On her return to the UK, Nicola intends to continue working with her new collaborators to help guide UK industry, food policy and nutrition science towards a more sustainable future. Nicola is fascinated with US political history and is looking forward to visiting the multiple museums and historical sites around Baltimore, Washington DC and Boston.

Katherine is Senior Lecturer in Media in the School of Cultural Studies and Humanities at Leeds Beckett University. She completed her Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded PhD in Visual Culture at Lancaster University, during which time she was a visiting researcher at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. As a Fulbrighter, she returns to Washington to investigate the visual culture of the 20th-century Space Age using the archives and expertise of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. She is particularly interested in imagery of Planet Earth produced from an ‘outside’ perspective by astronauts and space technologies, and its influence on public understandings of the ‘home planet’. The archival research is part of a wider project that interrogates the visual culture of the emerging 21st-century Space Age; an era in which commercial spaceflight operators have begun to generate privatised perspectives back on Earth and out into the cosmos. These privileged perspectives have the potential to shape future understandings of our collective ‘home planet’ and its status as a place of return or merely a place of origin. While in the USA, Katherine hopes to visit the Kennedy Space Center to see a rocket launch.

Josh is a historian of the United States, specialising in the study of sexuality, political economy, and social movements. He completed his doctorate at UCL’s Institute of the Americas in 2019, where he is now a lecturer in US history. His research considers the history of homophobic workplace discrimination in the US South and Southwest and the movements that arose to challenge this discrimination. Josh’s research seeks to understand the role of the workplace in the rapid expansion of LGBTQ rights over the past two decades. Prior to his doctorate, Josh completed an MA in US history and politics at UCL and received a BA in American Studies from the University of Hull. At Elon, a university committed to engaged and experimental pedagogies, Josh will be teaching classes in US and LGBTQ history. He will also undertake research for his next project which is a history of the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. As a historian of the US South, Josh is looking forward to a traveling through the region for both research and leisure. He is particularly keen to sample some of the region’s many craft breweries, as well as the South’s distinctive cuisine.

Daniel is an alumnus of Bangor University, where he graduated with a PhD in English Literature in 2018. Daniel is also a recipient of the M Wynn Thomas New Scholar’s Prize, which recognises outstanding early-career contributions to the study of Welsh Writing in English. Austin’s Harry Ransom Center is actually home to the largest collection of Welsh literature outside the UK, and Daniel will be utilising these collections as he develops a monograph on Welsh modernist writing. Daniel will teach a course on Modern Welsh Literature in English at UT Austin, and will also give a series of public lectures on the same topic. Daniel hopes to raise the international profile of Welsh literature and culture during his Fulbright. Daniel is also especially excited to experience South by Southwest, and plans to support the Texas Longhorns during his 12-month stay in Austin.

Ashok is a trainee cardiothoracic surgeon in London and is passionate about improving outcomes for lung cancer patients. Inspired as a teen by the sequencing of the human genome project, he studied Medicine at the University of Cambridge and completed a Natural Sciences Degree in Genetics with research into cell cycle signalling. Twenty years later and after operating on hundreds of cancer patients, he believes that advancing our understanding of the fundamental biology of cancer can drive innovation in surgery. As a Fulbrighter, he will spend three months at Stanford under the supervision of Thoracic Surgeon, Professor Joseph Shrager. He will pursue inter-disciplinary translational research in collaboration with Dr Maximilian Diehn’s lab who have pioneered a novel liquid biopsy technique to detect circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in lung cancer. Ashok is excited to undertake research trying to determine a scientific basis for how oncological surgery is performed. He grew up in Scotland and enjoys the great outdoors and is looking forward to exploring California and immersing himself in American culture.

Ella Marriott completed her degree in History at Royal Holloway, University of London. Whilst there, she won a Junior Year Scholarship to Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Her scholarship studies and travel cemented her lifelong interest in the USA. After graduating, Ella joined the Metropolitan Police Service in London. Now a senior detective, she has worked across many policing areas, including rape investigation, counter-terrorism, firearms and professional standards. Her current role is in Frontline Policing at North Area, covering the London Boroughs of Haringey and Enfield. Ella is returning to Tulane University to research how the US is addressing its history of slavery, segregation and disproportionality in the criminal justice system. She will be complementing this research with meeting operational police officers and human rights advocacy organisations. Her aim is to identify opportunities for the Metropolitan Police Service to present its history and those of its communities, to improve understanding of the impact of shared experiences on today’s policing response in London.

Rachel has devoted her life to medicine to make a substantive difference to those in need. Her aim is to provide patient care at the highest level through research by harnessing advances in surgical technology to define the benchmark in her chosen speciality, breast cancer surgery. Rachel studied at University of Oxford and UCL. Her personal achievements include double first-class degrees and a Scholarship from Oxford. Her clinical training provided experience in plastic and breast cancer surgery in major training centres within the UK. Rachel believes that the future of surgery is assessing innovative technologies to move the field of breast surgery forward for patient benefit. Minimally invasive surgery has been adopted in other surgical fields however is yet to be translated into breast surgery in the UK. As a Fulbrighter, Rachel plans to visit major centres in the US which have developed clinical trials into robotics in breast surgery. Her main focus will be at MD Anderson, Houston, the largest cancer hospital in the US. She is excited to study both the professional and institutional learning curves and patient outcomes associated with this new technique assessing its applicability in the UK healthcare system.

Yusrah Shweikh is a consultant ophthalmologist based at the Sussex Eye Hospital. She is the co-founder and director of Eye Heroes, which is an award-winning national initiative to raise awareness about eye health in the UK. She specialises in the medical and surgical management of glaucoma and has completed two surgical glaucoma subspecialist fellowships at the internationally renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. In addition to clinical work, Yusrah has active interests in research and training. Her major current interest is in avoidable blindness. In her spare time she enjoys volunteer work in West Africa where she recently delivered a trabeculectomy training course. Yusrah is looking forward to working with her collaborators at Harvard University on enhancing glaucoma risk prediction using genetic analysis and machine learning.

Sara Adkins

Queen Mary, University of London Postgraduate Award - Computer Science

SOAS, University of London Postgraduate Award - Anthropology

Emma Belanger

All Disciplines Postgraduate Award, University of Birmingham - Chinese Studies

Jessica Bond

University of Sussex Postgraduate Award - Journalism

Ashley Brunson

University of Southampton Postgraduate Award - Genetics

Noah Bryant

Bangor University Postgraduate Award - Archaeology

William Byram

Trinity Laban Postgraduate Award in Music & Dance - Dance

Anne Cardenas

Global Wales Postgraduate Award, Swansea University - Oral History

Carolyn Carper

Royal Veterinary College Postgraduate Award - One Health

Alma Chavez

University of Kent Postgraduate Award - Forensic Anthropology

University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Award - Genetics

Sydney Clingo

Newcastle University Postgraduate Award - Agriculture

University of Warwick Postgraduate Award - Journalism

Beatrice Dain

Queen's University Belfast Postgraduate Award in Global Security and Borders - Global Security

Elayna Daniels

University of Exeter Postgraduate Award - Biology

Sabrina Delafield

University of Roehampton Postgraduate Award - Dance

Alana Eiland

Imperial College London Postgraduate Award - Public Health

Tiger Garcia

University of Strathclyde Postgraduate Award - Financial Technology

Anna Goorevich

University of Stirling Postgraduate Award - Sport Management

Iran Hernandez Imbert

Aston Martin Coventry University Automotive Postgraduate Award - Engineering

Mark Hertenstein

University of St. Andrews Postgraduate Award - Theology

Alison Hight

Global Wales Visiting Student Researcher Award, Bangor University - History

Genevieve Hilliard

Global Wales Visiting Student Researcher Award, Swansea University - Biology

University of Sheffield Postgraduate Award - Computer Science

Durham University Postgraduate Award - Archaeology

Mia Jackson

University College London Postgraduate Award - Urban Studies

Elizabeth Jones

Royal Holloway, University of London Postgraduate Award - History

Jessica McKean

University of Strathclyde Postgraduate Award - Materials Science

Elizabeth Michalenko

University of Nottingham Postgraduate Award - Engineering

AnnMarie Moolenaar

London School of Economics and Political Science Postgraduate Award - Military Sciences

Owen Morrish

University of Birmingham Postgraduate Award - Migration Studies

McPherson Newell

All Disciplines Award, University of Leeds - Disability Studies

Katie Pearce

University of Glasgow Postgraduate Award - Writing

Payton Ramsey

Cardiff University Postgraduate Award - Public Health

Ramya Ravindrababu

UCL Institute of Education Postgraduate Award - Education

Michayla Robles

University of York Postgraduate Award - Political Science

Nikitha Vicas

University of Manchester Postgraduate Award - Public Health

University College London Entrepreneurship Postgraduate Award - Business Technology

Yoshiko Wada

University of Leicester Postgraduate Award - Museum Studies

Nickolas Walling

University of Bristol Postgraduate Award - Biorobotics

Zac Weinberg

All Disciplines Postgraduate Award, Sunderland University - Design

Andrew White

Lancaster University Postgraduate Award - Environmental Sciences

James Williams

All Disciplines Postgraduate Award - Design

Titobioluwa Williams

Northumbria University Postgraduate Award - Design

Nathan Woodworth

John Wood LAMDA Postgraduate Award - Theatre Arts

All Disciplines Postgraduate Award - History

Sara Adkins is a music technologist, guitarist and software engineer from Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018 with an interdisciplinary bachelor's degree in music technology and computer science. Sara has spent the past three years working as a Machine Learning Engineer at Bose, developing deep learning models for speech enhancement and adaptive audio content for sleep. Sara is passionate about promoting the use of machine learning and AI in the creative arts. During her time at CMU, she premiered three electronic compositions that showcased collaboration between human performance and generative music algorithms. She plans to continue this line of research at Queen Mary's Center for Digital Music, developing software systems that generate music alongside musicians in real time to create artificially-intelligent “performance partners”. She is excited to work with local musicians in London, designing new interfaces that make algorithmic composition and generative music more accessible. Sara is also looking forward to playing guitar in Irish music sessions, exploring London by bicycle, and enjoying great tea.

Sara graduated from Brown University where she earned a BA with honours in Health and Human Biology on the social context of health and disease track. She developed an interdisciplinary interest in the intersections of social justice, healthcare, and community wellbeing. She earned the George W. Hagy Prize in Human Biology, awarded to a graduating student for their embodiment of the interdisciplinary spirit of the Human Biology program at Brown. Her honours thesis centred the perspectives of Community Health Workers and Peer Recovery Specialists who share lived experiences such as incarceration, substance use, and mental illness with their clients. This project was carried out in partnership with the Lifespan Transitions Clinic, a clinic providing holistic, relationship-centred care for formerly incarcerated people. During her Fulbright at SOAS, she hopes to apply her learning to the study of the cultural underpinnings of approaches to community wellbeing in communities marginalized by Western medical systems. Sara is excited to learn more about NHS care after custody programming for formerly incarcerated patients in the UK. As an avid reader, tea-lover, baker, and appreciator of nature, she is overjoyed to explore the libraries, cafés, and green spaces of London and the rest of the UK.

Emma was born in Nykøbing Sjælland, Denmark, and grew up in Denmark, Greece, and the US. Her multicultural childhood shaped her interest in foreign languages and cultures from a very young age. She began learning Mandarin and Russian in high school and college, spending her junior year abroad in Yaroslavl, Russia and Beijing, China. She graduated magna cum laude from Hamilton College with a BA in Chinese and Russian Studies. While teaching English at an immigration services non-profit in Philadelphia, Emma became particularly interested in the question of cultural preservation within immigrant communities. She received a Fulbright Award to research the Russian immigrant community in Harbin, China. But, unable to go to China, she tweaked her research project to take place in the UK instead. Her new project will explore the history and development of Chinese immigrant communities in Birmingham and the broader UK. She hopes to get to know members of these communities and hear their stories during her research. Emma knows that she will feel at home in the UK, as she is a huge Premier League fan, and is looking forward to exploring the beautiful city of Birmingham.

Jess Bond has had a passion for journalism since she picked up her first magazine at the age of 5. Ultimately, this led her to obtain her BA in Journalism at Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication, graduating cum laude in 2020. As a Chicago native, Jess has had an interest in understanding the role media plays in shaping marginalized communities' identity in society. She will be pursuing her MA in Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex. Her intended master’s thesis will focus on Black British women during the second-wave feminist movement and how they utilized alternative media sources to spread awareness on social issues they were impacted by. Besides getting involved with on-campus media outlets, Jess is excited to explore Brighton’s fashion and music scene, while traveling to London when she can. Upon completing her MA, she intends to become an international journalist focusing on the intersection of race and gender.

Ashley graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of South Carolina with a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2021. She conducted research in the fields of both biochemistry and public health during her time at the University of South Carolina. This, combined with her studies of biochemistry and molecular biology, have prompted Ashley’s interest in research pertaining to the manifestation of cancer from a molecular and genomic level to a societal level. Ashley will attend the University of Southampton as a Fulbrighter in pursuit of an MSc in Genomic Medicine. Through this program, Ashley will learn how to utilize highly integrated sources to interpret complex genomic data in a manner that promotes efficacious translation into a clinic setting. Following the completion of the master’s program, Ashley will return to the US to pursue a Doctorate of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. 

Noah is from Forsyth County, Georgia and graduated from the University of North Georgia in 2021 with a B.A. in History with and minor in Anthropology. Noah will be attending Bangor University in Bangor, Wales to pursue a MA in Celtic Archaeology focusing on the 3D replication of Celtic artifacts found in Bangor University’s collections. Noah has always been drawn History and Archaeology and serves as president of his university’s History Club and Student Archaeology society. During his leadership, the group undertook a project to 3D scan and digitize some of the artifacts within the collection of the History, Anthropology, Philosophy department at UNG. Noah hopes this experience will benefit him as he pursues his project at Bangor University. Noah also served as first Chair for the Student Senate as part of a new student government design adopted by the university. As a first-generation student, Noah worked alongside other students to form the Alpha Omicron chapter of the academic honor society Alpha Alpha Alpha, a society reserved for first-generation students. Being a first-generation student, Noah pursued every opportunity available, including Fulbright, where he hopes his unique background will help him broaden his understanding of the world around him.

William Byram, born in Jackson, Mississippi, graduated from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College in 2020 with a BFA in Dance. During his time at Purchase, he choreographed the first large-scale collaboration between the Conservatories of Music and Dance for the mainstage opera production of Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas. This production received 2nd place in the 2020 National Opera Association Competition. His work has been performed at Dancers Responding to AIDS and Jazz Choreography Enterprises. This summer, he will be presented at the Battery Dance Festival in downtown NYC. William will pursue an MFA in Choreography at Trinity Laban. His proposed thesis project will be a movement theater piece focused on male fragility and aggression, exploring how they manifest in the body. The narrative for the work is adapted from a 1999 Human Rights Watch interview on men’s experiences with sexual assault. He also hopes to learn about British etiquette and discover the similarities between his Southern upbringing and culture. Upon return to the U.S., William plans to pursue a career in higher education dedicated to deconstructing gender in the classical arts and as a movement director/choreographer committed to access and exposure to the arts in the American South.

Anne, of Valrico, Florida, is an oral historian and audio producer. After graduating from Florida State University in 2011, Anne worked in the Obama White House in the Office of Presidential Correspondence, responding to letters and gifts sent to the First Family. At the Department of Homeland Security, she coordinated the Secretary’s travel and briefed him during domestic and international trips, including an eye-opening visit to a refugee camp on the Turkey-Syria border. Anne’s lifelong love for history and interest in human rights and storytelling led her to the field of Oral History. Fuelled by her passion to record and preserve important stories, Anne received her Master of Arts degree in Oral History from Columbia University in 2020. At Swansea University, Anne will be working toward a Masters by Research in History. She will be conducting oral history interviews with Kindertransport survivors who settled in Wales prior to World War II and researching the history of the Kindertransport in Wales. She is honored to help archive and preserve this piece of Welsh history. When she’s not interviewing, Anne is looking forward to exploring the legendary walking trails in the Welsh countryside and finding her favorite local pub.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Carolyn recently graduated from Baylor University with a self-designed B.A. in University Scholars, concentrating in Biochemistry and Political Science. After shadowing health professionals in Haiti, Carolyn became deeply interested in pursuing a career in medicine and equipping herself to improve health in undeveloped and developing countries. In college, Carolyn completed a research internship through the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Center of Vaccine Development at Baylor College of Medicine under Dr. Peter Hotez and Dr. Maria Bottazzi. Witnessing that lab’s multidisciplinary approach and widespread impact, Carolyn has since diversified her research skills. She worked in a Biology lab focusing on mosquito surveillance and behavior in Waco, Texas, interned with a local advocacy organization, held a junior staff position with her U.S. Senator, and completed her honors thesis on comparative political development and healthcare in the Caribbean. At the Royal Veterinary College, Carolyn will build upon her background in science and policy by earning a Master’s of Science in One Health. She looks forward to learning from the faculty and researchers at the RVC and later sharing and applying those skills in Medical school and as a healthcare professional.

Alma Chavez, of El Paso, Texas, graduated from New Mexico State University in 2017 with a B.A. in Anthropology, Psychology and Foreign Languages, and minor in Forensic Science. Through her coursework in forensic anthropology, as well as her experiences in shadowing physical anthropologists in different countries, she was exposed to human rights issues in skeletal remains. Growing up in the U.S.-Mexico borderland region, Alma noticed a serious security problem for women and undocumented border crossers that has led to their unsuccessful and slow identification. This inspired a passion for researching identification methods in diverse and vulnerable individuals. While at Kent University, Alma will pursue research and development in forensic anthropology, focusing in generating more accurate identification methods to identify diverse group individuals, such as victims of femicide and undocumented border crossers. Alma plans to work with organizations in the UK that provide forensic knowledge to the local/state police. In her free time, she is excited to get involved with the Women’s Basketball Team at her host university. This Fulbright will give her the opportunity to learn how researchers in other countries investigate the recovery and analysis of human remains.

Annie graduated summa cum laude with a B.S in Biochemistry from Simmons University, a women-centered university located in the medical research hub of New England. As a first-generation, low-income student, she is passionate about mentoring and teaching the next generation of leaders. At Simmons, Annie was the managing editor for Mindscope Science Magazine, co-founder of Simmons Undergraduate Journal Club, tutor, and mentor for students. Annie has also spent three years studying the mammalian somatosensory neurons and neural circuitry that underlie our sense of touch and completed her senior thesis in the Ginty lab at Harvard Medical School. For her Fulbright grant, Annie will pursue an MSc degree in Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analysis at the University of Edinburgh. She looks forward to volunteering with the FirstHand Lothian and Edinburgh Headway Group, in addition to exploring the beautiful city of Edinburgh. Annie also enjoys illustration and writing and hopes to immerse herself in Edinburgh's artistic and historical community. After her Fulbright experience, Annie will pursue a career involving medicine, science, teaching, and mentorship. This experience will allow her to work on human disorders across national boundaries and provide an international perspective on the emerging advances of genomic technology.

The subtropical oasis of the West Florida coast has nurtured the deep connection Sydney has with the diversity of life around her. While pursuing her B.A. degree in Agroecology and Environmental Studies at New College of Florida, she developed a passion for a unique food system called a forest garden, which became the topic of her undergraduate thesis. Through her research, she discovered that the western idea of these resilient food systems originated in the UK, making it the perfect location to continue her studies. With over 100 forest gardens across the UK, she will have the opportunity to visit several sites to closely examine the relationship forest garden managers have with these diverse systems. She aims to understand the impact different forest garden management styles can have on the long-term sustainability and success of these food systems. She is excited to meet other forest gardeners to learn about the unique practices that have made these systems flourish for decades throughout the UK. Sydney is looking forward to participating in local environmental clean-ups and events, becoming a member of Newcastle University’s environmental and agricultural student clubs, and creating botanical art and illustrations of the native flora.

Hal graduated with a journalism degree from Temple University in 2020. He didn’t expect to go into communications, having gone to high school to study automotive collision repair, but given both his father and grandfather worked in the newspaper industry, perhaps this was inevitable. Hal’s Fulbright research, to be conducted as a student at University of Warwick’s Global Media and Communications programme, will consider the potential of mass media, especially mass newspapers, compared to social media, to advance and anticipate social change. He aims to advance his research afterwards with a PhD. As a journalist at USA TODAY Network, Hal has brought a solutions-oriented approach to social divisions in Pennsylvania, including environmentalists at loggerheads with foresters and Asian-Americans facing coronavirus-related bigotry. Cross-cultural cooperation is one of the things that appealed to Hal about Fulbright in the first place. As an undergraduate, he wrote for Freely Magazine, a publication aiming to unite international students with the rest of the university community. He’s eager to return to the UK after studying in London during summer 2019 and participate in student media and international student groups. When not writing, Hal likes to run and visit libraries and art museums.

Beatrice will study at Queen’s University Belfast to earn her MA in Global Security and Borders. As an undergraduate, Beatrice focused on borders, conflict, and migration both in the US and abroad, graduating summa cum laude with a B.S. in International Affairs and Anthropology from Florida State University. She worked south of the US-Mexico border in Guatemala translating archival documents from the Guatemalan civil war and developing educational materials for the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman to better understand past and present reasons for migration to the US. Upon return home, Beatrice conducted missing person reports for families whose loved ones went missing while crossing the US-Mexico border. Her senior thesis took a historical approach to immigration studies, focusing on how the non-profit HIAS used diplomacy to resettle Jewish refugees in Latin America during World War II. At Queen’s, Beatrice hopes to broaden her understanding of borders by observing and analyzing recent UK border changes through a theoretical lens via coursework, a policy lens via border and security experts, and a human lens via citizens who remain testaments to the pain, violence, and reconciliation of the north-south Irish border conflict. In Belfast, Beatrice looks forward to hiking and exploring local bakeries.

Elayna Daniels, of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, graduated from Davidson College in May 2021 with a B.S. in Environmental Studies. Following a semester spent abroad in the Turks and Caicos Islands during her junior year, Elayna was inspired to pursue marine science at the graduate level. She completed a field research internship with Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program in the summer of 2020 and is eager to continue her marine studies in the upcoming year. As a graduate of a liberal arts college, Elayna is interested in working with citizen science organizations and is passionate about incorporating different perspectives and disciplines into her marine research. An avid freediver, Elayna is also excited to explore the waters off the Cornish coast as well as experience the unique culture and natural beauty of Cornwall. During her free time, she hopes to go on many walks around the area with her dog, Freddy, and become involved with local dive groups.

Originally from Arizona, Sabrina grew up studying ballet and was awarded a Coca-Cola Scholarship to train with American Ballet Theatre and at the Kennedy Center. After graduating from high school, Sabrina embarked on a decade-long career as a ballerina with the Norwegian National Ballet, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Ballet de L’Opera de Bordeaux, and Deutsche Ballett am Rhein. Dance took Sabrina around the world and exposed her to how international artistic exchange could help foster connection between people. Sabrina's curiosity to explore academically what she had experienced motivated her to study Political Science/IR at Columbia University, graduating in 2021 Summa Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa. Outside of academics Sabrina led the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, worked in the office of Undergraduate Global Education, and consulted for Dancersconnect.de. The University of Roehampton’s MA in Dance, Politics, and Sociology will offer Sabrina the ideal program to build on her dance and academic background to research how dance companies are using digital platforms as a new incarnation of global cultural diplomacy. In the UK, Sabrina plans to broaden the Danncersconnect.de platform to include the London dance community and is excited to see the return of live performance to British stages.

Alana is from New York City and graduated from Yale University in 2021 with a B.A. in History of Science in Medicine. During her time at Yale, she focused her studies on the social and institutional structures that have led to racial health disparities in the United States. As a Fulbright scholar, Alana will be pursuing a Master of Public Health at Imperial College London. Specifically, she hopes to study and compare the racial disparities in maternal mortality both in the US and the UK. With the knowledge that she gains in her master's programme, Alana plans to become a public-health-focussed obstetrician-gynecologist who works to provide equitable healthcare and create effective healthcare policies for marginalized mothers. She is excited to immerse herself in the diverse city of London and work closely with local hospitals.

Trading the iconic Golden Gate Bridge of California’s Bay Area for the historic castles of Glasgow, Tiger is eager to begin life in Scotland. A proud graduate of University of California, Davis, he earned his degree in Managerial Economics while playing Division I Football. Though he began his career as a walk-on, Tiger became Team Captain, starting Defensive Back, and Academic-All American. He balanced his life as a student-athlete while serving as President of Athlete's in Action, a faith-based club on campus. Upon graduation, he moved to Silicon Valley to work for Apple in their Worldwide Finance Department. Shortly after, he married and began working in portfolio management for a boutique investment firm in San Francisco. When he arrived, Penserra managed $3.5 billion, and within 4 months of joining, Garcia helped double that figure to over $7 billion. Scotland’s rapidly growing hub for FinTech start-ups has Tiger especially excited to study Financial Technology at the University of Strathclyde. He looks forward to an unforgettable time learning how automation is transforming the financial sector while traveling on the weekends, competing in intramural sports, making new friends, and embracing the surrounding community.

Anna graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a B.A. in American Studies. During her studies, including a semester abroad in London, Anna was exposed to systemic inequities in sport-access, particularly for women, racial and ethnic minorities, and low-income communities. While at F&M, Anna’s research focused on creating inclusive and empowering spaces for all athletes, no matter their identity. After examining resource inequity found in England’s girl’s football development structures, Anna wrote an honors thesis exploring gender essentialism, heteronormativity, and abusive behavior in normative athletic coaching practices. These research opportunities solidified Anna’s desire to use public policy to increase the accessibility and affordability of sport. At the University of Stirling, Anna will pursue an MSc in Sport Management to investigate the state of Scottish girl’s football opportunities and devise strategies for increased accessibility alongside the Scottish Football Association and SportScotland. As a Fulbrighter, Anna is excited to delve into Scotland’s sporting culture and serve as a community role model through football coaching roles. In her free time, Anna hopes to attend as many Scottish Premiership and Scottish Women’s Premier League matches as possible, explore the Scottish countryside, and try her hand at Scottish Highland Games activities.

The automotive sector is one of the largest contributing factors to global warming. Therefore, Iran is dedicated to working on realistic solutions to target and mitigate this global issue. She graduated from Mercer University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Economics. At Coventry University, she will complete a Master’s in Automotive Engineering. In high school, she interned at the Georgia Institute of Technology and learned how to drive a manual transmission. These two experiences inspired her to pursue a career based on decarbonizing the automotive sector to lean towards clean and sustainable forms of technology. Iran studied abroad in the UK and conducted research at the National Science Foundation at Indiana University. These experiences inspired her to continue her education and research in the UK to be a part of the global commitment for more sustainable forms of energy. Iran is also an avid reader, and enjoys playing soccer, running, and watching movies. She is looking forward to joining the athletics clubs at Coventry and joining other cultural societies. She also hopes to run her first half marathon in the UK.

Rev. Mark Hertenstein, of Ramer, Alabama, received his B.A. in Classical Studies and Theology from Boston College in 2014 and his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 2017, and is an ordained Presbyterian minister. He will pursue his Ph.D. in Divinity at the University of St. Andrews under the supervision of Professor Christoph Schwöbel. At St. Andrews, Mark’s research will focus on the notion of the presence of God to the world, with a view toward a constructive account of this divine attribute that is attentive to philosophy of science and concept and context of secularism. This will intersect with his interest in the concrete, lived reality and experience of religious people within the particular culture of the U.K. and Scotland. Aside from the long tradition of academic exchange in the field of theology between the United States and United Kingdom, Mark also has a broader interest in British history and the relationship of American culture, government, and religion to their British antecedents. Outside of his intellectual interests, Mark and his wife Susannah look forward to exploring the cities and landscapes of Scotland together, and he is especially keen to try out his golf skills on true Scottish links.

Alison Hight is a PhD candidate in Modern European History at Rutgers University focusing on nineteenth century Britain and Ireland. She is a proponent of the Four-Nations approach to British history, which emphasizes the diverse relationships between England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The multi-nationality of the United Kingdom and its vast nineteenth century empire is at the heart of her dissertation project, which traces the overlapping development of imperial and Four-Nations identities. Alison is excited to be the first recipient of the Global Wales Visiting Student Researcher Award. She will draw from Bangor University’s archives to trace how the politics of language and higher education galvanized Welsh, British, and imperial perspectives in the late nineteenth century. While on her Fulbright, Alison hopes to learn more about the Welsh language from the region’s vibrant Welsh-speaking community.

Genevieve Hilliard is a PhD candidate at St. Louis University (SLU) in the Department of Biology. During her B.A., M.S., and now PhD at SLU, Genevieve had the chance to work with a wide range of highly qualified scientists in biomedical engineering, immunology, and microbiology. Through these disciplines, Genevieve formulated her PhD dissertation which focuses on the antimicrobial and regenerative properties of Manuka honey embedded wound dressings. She designed part of her dissertation project from the work of Dr. Rowena Jenkins, a professor in the medical school at Swansea University. Genevieve saw the potential of bridging her work with that of Dr. Jenkins and chose to apply for a Fulbright. While at Swansea, Genevieve will conduct an in-depth analysis on the antimicrobial properties of her honey dressings. Along with Dr. Jenkins and many others at Swansea University, she will address the global healthcare challenge of treating infected and/or chronic wounds resulting from diabetes. She looks forward to exploring the scenic Welsh countryside on foot with the mountaineering/climbing clubs at the university. She is also very excited to be part of the unique singing culture of Wales, which boasts some of the world’s best vocal performers.

Growing up surrounded by classical music and languages, Emily has always drawn inspiration from the things that bring people together. Majoring in Linguistics and Spanish at Montclair State University as a Chinese-American allowed her to explore her passion for languages and fostered cultural understanding through research and study abroad. A research project she carried out during her semester abroad in Spain nurtured her love of research as a tool for storytelling and engaging with the local community. Upon her return to the United States the following semester, Emily lived with British roommates within Montclair's Global Living Community and developed an ardent admiration of British culture. Through Fulbright, Emily plans to hone her academic and research skills at the intersection of several branches of linguistics at the University of Sheffield, where she will be pursuing an MSc in Computer Science with Speech and Language Processing. She plans on investigating cognitive computational models for the detection of clinical conditions based on language clues with Sheffield's renowned Natural Language Processing Research Group. Beyond the classroom and lab, Emily looks forward to reconnecting with her former British roommates and creating new connections in Sheffield.

Moni graduated summa cum laude from George Mason University with a double major in Global Affairs and Anthropology. At Mason, he explored his various interests in archaeology, cultural anthropology, international relations, and the Middle East. Through internships at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and Fairfax County Park Authority, he developed his archaeological skills and in 2019 was awarded the Gilman Scholarship to participate in an archaeological excavation led by the University of Liverpool on the site of Tell Dhiban in Jordan. While there, his passion for archaeology and the Middle East was cemented and, through connecting with his British peers, he began considering postgraduate study in the United Kingdom. At Durham, Moni will pursue an MA in Archaeology, primarily focusing on pre-Islamic Arabia - a largely unexplored yet truly remarkable period of history that has been hidden thus far. He will also focus on cultural heritage, a strength at Durham. While at Durham, he is eager to visit the endless historical sites, beautiful natural scenery, and all things Harry Potter in the United Kingdom.

Mia graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics. During her undergraduate, she developed a deep interest in the intersection of data and technology with health and educational equity. At Yale, she was a teaching assistant for SheCode which introduces middle and high school girls to computer science. She also tutored formerly incarcerated individuals through Columbia University’s Justice Through Code program. Her passion for maternal health led her to develop a prototype for a maternal health mobile app which won second place at a healthcare hackathon at Yale. At UCL, she will be studying at the Bartlett School of Architecture. Using a range of data tools, Mia will examine how urban systems inform health and educational outcomes in areas with high poverty in London. After the Fulbright, she hopes to continue using urban design methodologies to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations. Mia is looking forward to embracing the British tea culture as well as exploring the art and architecture that London has to offer.

Elizabeth Jones, of Mount Vernon, Arkansas, graduated from Hendrix College in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in German.  During her sophomore year, her work as a Peregrin Scholar of Holocaust Literature and Education through Hendrix College inspired a passion for Holocaust Studies and the promotion of Holocaust Education. Throughout the rest of her time at Hendrix, Elizabeth continued to research the Holocaust through travel experiences, internships, and volunteer work within the Jewish Community of Arkansas. Where better to continue her research than at one of the leading centers for Holocaust Studies in Europe - Royal Holloway, University of London? Royal Holloway values the same interdisciplinary approaches to studying the Holocaust that Elizabeth has found so useful in her previous work. She plans to continue and expand her current research on women’s Holocaust experiences. In addition to her formal research, Elizabeth is eager to engage with her other passions: exploring historical sites around the United Kingdom, taking classes at the Royal School of Needlework, and going to as many West End theatre productions she can. 

Jessica grew up in the green mountains of Starksboro Vermont and recently graduated cum laude from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Biochemical Engineering. She pursued multiple years of research in the field of cellular engineering, seeking to improve gene therapy methods. She spent a semester abroad studying in Rome, Italy as a Gilman Scholar where she rekindled a connection to her creative and artistic drive. There, she developed a deep interest for the little explored interdisciplinary opportunity within the fields of biology, material science, civil engineering, and architecture. McKean will spend her Fulbright year at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland where she will be researching the potential of genetically engineering bacteria to improve a sustainable bio-cement technology. This study will be part of a masters by research degree in Geo-Environmental Engineering within the Civil and Environmental Engineering department. Glasgow is the ideal place to pursue this innovative and interdisciplinary research. McKean is excited to explore the rich scene of contemporary art and architectural design. Following her Fulbright year, McKean will pursue further graduate studies in Architectural Engineering where she hopes to bring creative and sustainable ideas about material science.

Born in Pennsylvania coal country, Elizabeth developed an affinity for exploring and explaining energy. She pursued her interests at the University of Dayton, earning a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and English in 2019. As a writer and an engineer, Elizabeth is interested in developing unique energy solutions and communicating the science to non-scientific audiences. To this end, she earned an MA in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University in 2021. With internships at home and abroad in the fields of electric power and renewable energy finance, Elizabeth has learned the cross-cultural value of global energy solutions. Post-graduation, she worked in electrical substation design and experienced firsthand how power is traditionally transmitted to consumers. To contribute to solving the growing need for sustainable energy alternatives, Elizabeth will study Electrical Engineering for Sustainable and Renewable Energy at the University of Nottingham. She is eager to learn about innovative energy technologies at one of the top universities for electrical engineering in a country at the forefront of renewable energy proliferation. As a former NCAA athlete, Elizabeth is excited to volunteer with the university’s sports outreach program and join the university’s athletics club.

Born and raised in Michigan, AnnMarie graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point where she studied International History and Philosophy with a Minor in Middle Eastern Studies. AnnMarie’s academic interests focused on the ethics of war, moral injury in the armed forces, and atrocity prevention. After becoming a Stamps Scholar, AnnMarie explored the dilemmas of conflict resolution in Guatemala, Uganda, Rwanda, and Mexico. She wrote her honor's thesis on the implications of structural violence on just warfare theory evident in the context of the rise in political violence of the PKK in Turkey. She also led efforts to improve mental wellness at West Point as a yoga instructor, peer counselor, and life promotion program director. As a Fulbrighter, AnnMarie will study a MSc in Conflict Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She hopes to develop a nuanced understanding of the conditions needed for effective conflict resolution while minimizing harm during interventions. Following her year in London, AnnMarie will serve in the US Army as a Military Intelligence Officer. AnnMarie hopes to shape the US Army’s approach to armed interventions while bridging the divides between the US armed forces, civilian actors, and foreign partners.

Owen graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University with a BA in Migration Studies and Romance Languages. As an undergraduate, Owen enjoyed serving several refugee resettlement organizations across the US, as well as participating in language immersion programs in both France and Canada. The combination of these experiences inspired him to complete an honors thesis investigating how the practices of ESL instruction used by resettlement organizations today relate to the ability of refugees to integrate effectively. He is also a recipient of the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship, with which he is studying Arabic through the Noor Majan Training Institute in Ibri, Oman. As a Fulbright Student, Owen will be pursuing an MA in Migration Studies at the University of Birmingham. He is excited to take on a more global mindset with his research as he studies how different host countries can best support the linguistic needs of their respective refugee communities. Aside from academics, Owen is looking forward to exploring the entire city of Birmingham and learning more about the rich history and culture of the United Kingdom.

As a transgender and disabled engineer, McPherson Newell’s work shapes and is shaped by their physical environment. As an undergraduate student at Mercer University, McPherson developed a background in mobility and assistive technology research and local and regional activism. McPherson recognizes the need for engineering education to embrace disability studies principles in order to equitably meet the needs of disabled clients and students alike. They are pursuing an MA in Disability Studies at the University of Leeds to prepare them to further this mission as part of their journey towards an eventual professorship. McPherson’s Master’s thesis will address the access issues faced by individuals at the intersection of disability and transgender identity. While in Leeds, McPherson looks forward to joining the Leeds Disabled People’s Organisation, founded by alumni from the Disability Studies degree programme. They are also excited to engage with the historical home of the Quaker faith tradition and share in community with UK Friends.

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Glasgow was in the clutch of violent gang wars. In 2005, it was the murder capital of Europe. In 2019, Glasgow was named the UK’s leading cultural and creative city. Katie was first drawn to Glasgow because of its complex history and emerging creative scene. She graduated from Rollins College in 2019 with an honors bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in creative writing. Her dark, literary stories are driven by the idea ‘make your monsters work for you’ and draw attention to individual, societal, and cultural ‘monsters.’ In the MLitt creative writing program at the University of Glasgow, she will creatively explore modern monsters that haunt Scotland. During her writing career, Katie has been publicly workshopped by Hillary Jordan and National Book Award finalists, Elliot Ackerman and Lisa Ko; proposed and received funding for a student-faculty collaborative study converting an original story into a graphic narrative; presented at a literary conference; completed a creative thesis/short story collection; won collegiate writing awards and scholarships; and was published by Fiction Southeast. She is deeply interested in ever-evolving styles of communication and the unreliability of our perceptions.

Ramsey graduated from the University of South Carolina with leadership distinction in diversity and social advocacy in 2021 with a B.S. in Biological Sciences. Beginning in 2018, she began volunteering at a free medical clinic in Columbia, South Carolina. Through this multi-year experience, she connected to many forced-migrants and refugees, many with more severe health conditions than other patients. Ramsey directly experienced the successes and failures of health systems and social support resources by hearing their stories and struggles, eventually propelling her to develop a passion to aid similar populations through the power of healthcare. In her honors thesis project, she put this passion into practice by conducting a comparative research study on the US and Wales in regard to refugee healthcare policy. At Cardiff University, she will pursue an MPH in conjunction with the DECIPHer Institute. Ramsey aims to conduct research that evaluates the relation of specific adversities faced by populations, such as the unique experiences involved in migratory processes and resettlement, to broader healthcare outcomes. As a future medical doctor, Ramsey hopes to apply the frameworks observed in Wales to bolster healthcare and health system improvement. Additionally, she looks forward to exploring the UK’s official “music city”.

Ramya is an Indian American immigrant and grew up in the greater Boston area. A Presidential scholar, she graduated from Boston University with degrees in political science and mathematics. She served in the student government, founded a committee to advocate for student mental health needs, and volunteered at local middle schools teaching a civics & advocacy curriculum. Ramya relocated to Appalachian Eastern Kentucky to better understand the diversity of inequities that students face and help fill a shortage of high school math teachers. As a National Science Foundation Fellow in the Research Experience for Teachers program, Ramya studied how best to implement STEM experiences within a standards-based math curriculum. She was awarded the Early Career STEM Educator award and has served in multiple leadership positions in her district, including Board Member of Teach for America Appalachia. At the Institute of Education, she will study for an MA in Social Justice and Education. She looks forward to studying the systemic barriers that prevent minority and low-income students from receiving a high-quality public education. Outside of the classroom, she is looking forward to exploring London's multi-cultural food scene, participating in South Asian community events, and enjoying the beautiful public parks.

Michayla, a Caribbean-American woman with roots in Atlanta, Memphis, and the British Virgin Islands, graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2018 with a Bachelor's in Political Science with an International Affairs concentration and a minor in African Studies. During her junior year, she received the David L. Boren Scholarship to study Swahili and work at a local NGO in Arusha, Tanzania for 9 months. This experience gave her a greater understanding of both herself and the way that her blackness operates in different contexts all around the world, instilling a commitment to East Africans and the development policies that affect them. Since returning to the United States, Michayla has volunteered for refugee organizations that work with Swahili speaking communities and has continued to grow her Swahili proficiency as a two-time Critical Language Scholar. While at the University of York, Michayla will pursue research in the developmental field, especially as it pertains to Africans and those affected by the diaspora. She is driven by her desire to generate meaningful policy for African countries and is excited to further explore the critical importance of linguistic and cultural knowledge in her life and in sustainable international development work.

Nikitha Vicas graduated with a B.S. in Neuroscience and B.A. in Economics from the University of Texas at Dallas as a McDermott Scholar. When studying in Jaipur through the Critical Language Scholarship, Nikitha volunteered through the Ministry of Health in areas with little access to healthcare services, sparking her passion for health equity. She has led and conducted research on population health data science at Stanford and Harvard Medical School and on molecular genetics at UT Southwestern. She is a UN Association Global Goals Ambassador and has worked in healthcare economics, policy, and management at the US Department of Health and Human Services Region VI and Bain & Company. Nikitha is excited to continue learning on this path within the context of the NHS through an MSc in Health Data Science at the University of Manchester. As an avid football fan, she is thrilled to support her favorite team Manchester City, as well as hike, and explore the vibrant arts and music scene while in Manchester.

Fassa graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor's in Political Science and a minor in Film, Media, TV Studies in 2018. She most recently served as the youngest Acquisitions & Creative Development executive for Sony Pictures Entertainment in Los Angeles, where she worked on various film acquisitions, including Searching starring John Cho and most recently Broken Hearts Gallery, executive produced by Selena Gomez. During Fassa's work as a film executive, she noticed that women and people of color directing studio-caliber films were vastly underrepresented when presented to her for distribution. She turned to untraditional pathways to find creators from diverse backgrounds and witnessed the obstacles hindering emerging filmmakers looking for creative support and funding opportunities. As a Fulbrighter, Fassa will pursue a Master's in Entrepreneurship specializing in Technology at University College London. She plans to develop a company that will offer an alternate pathway for creators to be carefully matched with producers, financiers, and distributors. Fassa is looking forward to being engrossed in the unique British artist community and volunteering with the Ghetto Film School to educate youth in the city about the various career pathways in Film and Television.

Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada of Berkeley, California, is an artist, curator, and founder of Slow Fiber Studios, where she hosts events and workshops to connect global art, design, and craft communities and promote sustainable cultural heritage practices. Yoshiko has researched and written articles and books on Japanese and contemporary textile subjects, including Ikat: Introduction to resist-techniques of Japan, Kimono Inspiration: Art and Art to Wear in America, Shibori: The Japanese Art of Shaped Resist Dyeing, and Memory on Cloth: Shibori Now. Yoshiko will pursue Ph.D. research on the sustainability, aesthetics, and interpretation of Japanese Boro Textiles. She will conduct research at the University of Leicester’s School of Museum Studies, focusing on the phenomena surrounding the worn and mended clothing and practical articles from rural Japan popularly identified as 'boro' (rags). She intends to question why the perceptions of beauty and value in 'boro' have shifted in recent decades. She looks forward to visiting the UK's numerous fine museums and connecting with textile communities, and exchange academic dialogues with museum professionals in the UK and Europe.

Nickolas grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana and moved to Houston to study at Rice University. He graduated magna cum laude in 2018 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, a minor in Computational and Applied Mathematics, and a certificate in Languages and Intercultural Communication. Following his graduation Nickolas spent a year conducting research on soft, biomimetic actuators at Kyoto University and has since worked at Houston Mechatronics Inc., a pioneering subsea robotics company. Nickolas is passionate about interdisciplinary work and is looking forward to bringing his interests in chemistry, linguistics, and robotics together as a part of the first ever cohort of the MSc Biorobotics program at Bristol. Working alongside life scientists and fellow engineers, he hopes to gain a better understanding of robotics and biological principles so that he can continue to look to nature as inspiration for solving some of engineering’s toughest problems. Outside of engineering, Nickolas loves performing, theatre, dancing, singing—you name it, and is looking forward to getting back out onto a stage. Having recently bought a pair of roller skates, he can’t wait to skate around Bristol and get to know the best spots where he can enjoy life on eight wheels.

Zac is an artist/designer, working primarily with glass. His work explores the ways in which we interpret and allocate status to objects: the histories, methods of making, and presentation that affect our understandings of things. His projects often augment traditional glassmaking with disparate interests such as statistical analysis, kinetic apparatus, and video and found objects.He received a BFA from Alfred University and an MFA from Ohio State University. Zac’s artwork has been exhibited widely throughout the United States and Europe, and supported by grants and awards from The Ohio Arts Council, Massachusetts College of Art, Toledo Arts Commission, Flint Institute of Arts, The Sculpture Center, Cleveland and Cité Internationale des Artes, Paris. In 2019, he participated in the Momentum Intersection collaboration with Pilkington Glass, one of the largest producers of float glass globally. As a Fulbrighter at Sunderland University’s National Glass Center, Zac explore how craft practice can be augmented by the digital technologies of 3D modeling, physical outputs such as CNC milling and 3D printing, as well as the ever-expanding knowledge base of YouTube instructional videos, online forums and digital 3D model libraries. This while absorbing as much English culture and salty North Sea air as possible.

Andrew White graduated in 2019 with a BS in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. White’s experiences fueled his decision to study the intersection of people and planet, marrying science and policy to develop robust solutions to environmental challenges that threaten the human condition. In 2016, White helped dozens of farmers in their plight with drought while he was a congressional fellow in the US House of Representatives. He helped secure federal natural disaster relief aid through multidisciplinary research and stakeholder engagement. In his following internship at Sandia National Labs, White conducted research on climate change science and its impacts. There he built his foundational understanding of the socioeconomic inequities associated with projected climate scenarios that motivated his decision to pursue further studies and research through Fulbright. White is most looking forward to learning about how to address the environmental and social implications of climate change. Beyond university lectures, White is interested in what Lancaster’s community may teach him through their climate emergency resolution as a local approach to a global challenge.

James is a designer and physician-in-training with broad experience in health innovation and social impact design. He holds a B.A. in Social Design & Strategy from Brown University and will complete his final year of the eight year B.A. / M.D. program after his time in the UK. He is interested in social medicine as well as design and technology interventions that center human wellbeing and promote social equity. James envisions treating illness as it arises while working with communities to create the social and material conditions necessary to sustain health at a population level. As a Fulbrighter, James will pursue a joint degree in design engineering at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. He aims to research and design proof-of-concept prototypes and community-based strategies that target the social determinants of health. He is excited to learn from the nationalized health care system and collaborate on projects with some of the organizations in London that utilize design to improve healthcare, communities, and social services. In his free time, James loves to explore new neighbourhoods, museums and art galleries, read and write, pick up new crafts and design skills, and both watch and play football.

Titobioluwa, of Glendale, Arizona, graduated from Northwestern University in 2021 with a B.A. in Legal Studies, Segal Design Certificate and extensive coursework in Computer Science. Following her freshman year, Titobioluwa studied Legal Studies and Design as well as completing Computer Science coursework. She was able to combine these interests in her work at the Technology, Race, and Ethics in Education (TREE) Lab at Northwestern University to support educational initiatives towards teaching high school students about the implications of technology. Through this work, Titobioluwa designed and built an interactive web resource to help lay audiences understand how facial recognition technologies work to shine a light on some of their (mis)applications, including how they can differentially harm people of coloor. While in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Titobioluwa will pursue research and development at the intersection of product design and fashion design, focusing on its applications to health, technology, and social entrepreneurship. In her free time, Titobioluwa loves to bake, tell puns, and perform with her band. She looks forward to engaging with the Grime music scene while in the UK and learning to make English treats.

Nathan Woodworth is an award-winning actor, writer, producer, and comedian—raised in Sisters, Oregon—who began his career performing stand-up (as an impressionist with 100-voices) at age 12. Since then, he has appeared on TV shows including "The Librarians" (TNT) and "NCIS" (CBS), and several Equity plays including "Red" and "American Buffalo". After training in improv, Nathan and his sister, Emily (an award-winning writer), wrote and performed the sketch-comedy web-series "The Barista Times"—followed by their award-winning short film "The Purse: A Dream in Two Acts." These experiences galvanized Nathan’s desire to not only act, but bring entire productions to life. However, it was during production of "Johnny Got His Gun" (LA Times Critic’s Choice), directed by Academy Award-winner Tim Robbins at The Actors’ Gang, that Nathan (a Descendant of the Karuk Tribe) realized his artistic mission: to expand Indigenous oral-storytelling through theatre. The Fulbright/John Wood LAMDA Award will allow Nathan to gain expertise in Shakespeare and merge his works with traditional Native Stories, bringing diverse cultures together on stage. He’s honoured to share his American and Karuk culture in London, and immerse himself in the rich culture of Britain.

Melody Xu is a 2018 graduate of New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a focus on the History and Philosophy of Intelligence. Following her education, she worked as a program manager with the Play and Learning Across a Year (PLAY) project, collaborative research initiative by 65 researchers from 45 universities across the United States and Canada. It serves as a model system for doing development science from a “big data” approach. Through these experiences, she developed an interest in history and philosophy of science, with a focus in artificial intelligence and developmental psychology. During her time at Cambridge, she will pursue an independent research project about the chid-A.I. metaphor in science and society. While in the UK, she hopes to continue her developmental psychology research career and explore the various libraries across the country.

Meg Bernstein

University of York (History of Art) Scholar Award - Art History

Jeremy Bearer-Friend

National Library of Scotland Scholar Award - Law

Richard Bodek

University of Roehampton Scholar Award - History

Russell Bradburd

Queen’s University Belfast (Creative Writing) Scholar Award, Queen's University Belfast - Writing

Alison Brysk

Oxford-Pembroke Visiting Professorship Award, Pembroke College, Oxford University - International Relations

Allison Burkette

Durham University Scholar Award, Durham University - Anthropological Linguistics

Caitlyn Butler

University of Sheffield Scholar Award, University of Sheffield - Environmental Engineering

Kermit Davis

Loughborough University Scholar Award, Loughborough University - Industrial Engineering

Nikki Dryden

Global Scholar Award, Sport Resolutions UK - Human Rights

Sam Fernald

Queen Mary University of London Scholar Award - Environmental Sciences

Laura Ferri

Queen’s University Belfast (Creative Writing) Scholar Award - Theater Arts

Andrea Freeman

King’s College London Research Scholar Award, King's College London - Civil Liberties

Rinat Gabitov

Lancaster University (STEM) Scholar Award, Lancaster University - Geochemistry

Sara Gilmer

Global Scholar Award, Human Trafficking Foundation - Public Policy

Thomas Glave

University of Nottingham Scholar Award - Creative Writing

Peter Gottschalk

SOAS University of London Reasearch Scholar Award, School of Oriental and African Studies - Interreligious Studies

Shelleen Greene

University of Leeds Distinguished Chair Award, University of Leeds - Film Study

Julia Haggerty

Fulbright Global Scholar Award, Scotland's Rural Colleges - Geography

Marcia Hofmann

Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award, University of Oxford - Law

Matthew Hughey

University of Surrey Scholar Award, University of Surrey - Sociology

Larry Kessler

Cancer Research UK Scholar Award, Cancer Research UK - Oncology

U.S. Friends of Queen’s University Belfast Visiting Professorship Award, Queen's University Belfast - Peace & Conflict Resolution

Scotland Visiting Professorship Award, University of Edinburgh, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - History

Ellen Kossek

Global Scholar Award, Cranfield University - Management

David Lloyd

Cardiff University Scholar Award, Cardiff University - Literature

Kristy Martyn

King's College London Research Award - Nursing

Laura Migliorino

British Library Eccles Centre Scholar Award, The British Library - Photography

Daniel Oerther

King’s College London Research Scholar Award, King's College London - Environmental Sciences

C. Ariel Pinto

Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award, Swansea University - Cyber Security

Hilton Root

Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award, King's College London - Public Policy

Kathryn Sampeck

British Library Eccles Centre Scholar Award - American Studies

Jeffrey Sanders

Cardiff University Scholar Award - History

Calvin Schermerhorn

University of Nottingham Scholar Award, University of Nottingham - US History

Adrien Segal

University of Dundee Scholar Award - Visual Communication

University of Exeter Scholar Award - Photography

Amy Silva-Smith

Edinburgh Napier University Scholar Award, Edinburgh Napier University - Adult Health and Nursing

Lawrence Solan

University of Birmingham Scholar Award - Law

Donald Sparks

SOAS University of London Research Scholar Award - African Studies

Anna Squicciarini

Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award, King's College London - Computer & Info Systems Security

Ashley Staples

Durham University Scholar Award - Education

Rob Stephenson

University of Birmingham Distinguished Chair Scholar Award - Public Health

Ashli Stokes

Scotland Visiting Professorship Award, University of Edinburgh, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - Communication, Journalism & Related Programs

Robert Straubinger

U.S. Friends of Queen’s University Belfast Visiting Professorship Award - Bioengineering

Jessica Taft

Global Scholar Award, University College London - Sociology

Carolyn Teschke

University of York Scholar Award - Biochemistry

Bruce Tharp

Scotland Visiting Professorship at the Glasgow School of Art - Design

J. Rosie Tighe

University of Sheffield Scholar Award - Urban Planning

Jennifer Vanderpool

University of Liverpool Scholar Award, University of Liverpool - Art

Hope Wabuke

National Library of Scotland Scholar Award, National Library of Scotland - Writing

University of Birmingham Scholar Award - Environmental Sciences

Meg Bernstein graduated from UCLA in 2019 with a PhD in Art History, focusing on medieval art and architecture. She is an alumna of Smith College, and holds master’s degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Yale Divinity School. From 2015-2017 she was Kress Institutional Fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art, and from 2020-21, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Meg has taught at UCLA, the Courtauld, RISD, Columbia, Yale, and Kenyon College. Meg’s Fulbright project examines the social and spatial developments in parish churches in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, demonstrating that these buildings were a vehicle for the expression of new religious and social identities. She looks forward to using York’s many medieval buildings as a laboratory for her students. Meg is eager to connect with parish communities about their buildings and is passionate about advocating for public interest in the history and art of these rich spaces.

Professor Bearer-Friend views taxpaying as a civic act that shapes a citizen's relationship to government. He has published on the use of administrative discretion to shape the civic features of taxpaying, the potential of elective in-kind contributions to government in lieu of cash taxes, and the omission of race and ethnicity from tax data. His recommendation to disaggregate tax data by race was included in President Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity, issued on the first day of Biden’s presidency. He has been cited by the U.S. Treasury Department, in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Economic Committee, and by numerous others. Bearer-Friend’s Fulbright research on the anti-poll tax movement will draw from the National Library of Scotland's unique collection to enrich the transnational understanding of tax filing as a forum for political expression and the use of capitation in tax policy. He is an Associate Professor of Law at GW Law.

Richard is a Professor of History at The College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina where he has taught since 1990.  His educational background includes a BA in Anthropology from The Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in History from The University of Michigan.  His academic research centers on the intersections of politics, society, and culture in Twentieth Century Europe.  He has published on Communist and Social Democratic theater and music in Berlin during the Weimar Republic, the writing of Stefan Heym, crime fiction, and science fiction.  While at Roehampton, Richard plans to finish his current book, Death in the Rubble: the Kusian Killings and the Reshaping of Postwar Berlin, which will be a microhistory of a once-infamous pair of murders that casts questions of gender, drug abuse, sanity, violence, and the black market in the years between the end of the Third Reich and the rise of the two postwar German states into sharp relief.

Rus is delighted to be teaching writing classes at Queens University-Belfast. He is also working on his latest book project, which focuses on the assimilation of refugees into Northern Irish culture through sport. He is the author of four books, including the recent All the Dreams We've Dreamed: a Story of Hoops and Handguns on Chicago's West Side and Paddy on the Hardwood: a Journey in Irish Hoops. After coaching basketball for fourteen seasons at University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP) and New Mexico State University, he left the game to pursue a life in writing. A professor in NMSU’s MFA program, his books focus on the intersections of sport, social justice, and race. He still directs his acclaimed Basketball in the Barrio summer program in El Paso, Texas. A Chicago native, he is an accomplished fiddle player who plans to pursue this hobby in the pubs of Belfast.

Alison has spent three decades researching international human rights. Along the way, she has taught at four universities and travelled to 43 countries, with prior Fulbright awards in Canada and India – culminating in her current position chairing Global Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. Alison's graduate studies focused on human rights transitions in Latin America and Argentina’s Mothers of the Disappeared. Since then, she has written seven books on worldwide struggles of human rights movements for democracy, indigenous rights, protection from human trafficking and security from gender violence. Alison's last book, The Future of Human Rights, will be the theme of her UK Fulbright project: a series of seminars on how international human rights can adapt to an era of rising nationalism, global inequality, and scepticism regarding international institutions. She is looking forward tremendously to collaboration with UK colleagues on these urgent challenges – and listening to really old music in really old churches

Allison Burkette is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Kentucky where she currently serves as Director of Graduate Studies. Allison is the Editor of the Linguistic Atlas Project, the oldest and most expansive survey of American English to date. Her research areas include language variation and change, American English dialects, and language and material culture. Burkette has published a number of books, including 'Language and Material Culture' and 'Language and Classification'. She is currently working on a book about words for things around the home for Oxford University Press and a project that examines the changing discourses surrounding archaeological artefacts. 

Caitlyn is an associate professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She previously worked in the Department of Engineering at Arizona State University and did her graduate work in Environmental Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. Caitlyn’s research focuses on wastewater treatment, emphasising the use of biofilms systems in remediating environmental contaminants. She received a highly competitive NSF CAREER award for early career faculty for a novel approach to wastewater treatment using granular biofilms. She has also received grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop the Microbial Fuel Cell Latrine that directly converts human waste into compost and electricity. Caitlyn has also pursued research supported by the Department of Energy, Air Force SBIR program, and Environmental Protection Agency. She has received a number of recognitions, including the Goldstein Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, given by UMass College of Engineering and an Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering and Science Award, given by the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors.

Kermit is the Immediate-President of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). He became a Fellow of HFES in 2013 and American industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) in 2019. His research has gained national and international recognition by receiving prestigious awards including: the Volvo Award in Low Back Pain Research in Biomechanical Studies for the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (2002), the Alice Hamilton Award in Human Services (2003), the Liberty Mutual Prize for the International Ergonomic Society (2003) and the Bernice Owen Award of Research in Safe Patient Handling (2018). Kermit is the graduate program director of the Environmental and Occupational Hygiene and Occupational Safety and Ergonomics programs at the University of Cincinnati. His research has concentrated on the reducing ergonomic stressors of healthcare workers and patients in healthcare settings (e.g. hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health care).

Nikki Dryden is a retired Olympic swimmer, Commonwealth & Pan Am medalist and Olympic journalist. Today she is a human-rights lawyer, is on the Editorial Board of LawInSport and is also an athlete activist on campaigns for Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Nikki a PhD student at UNSW in Sydney who regularly writes, speaks and advises on the legal issues at the nexus of sport and human rights, including athlete rights, gender discrimination, sex abuse and corruption in sporting organizations. She has a BA in International Relations from Brown University, a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, and a Professional Certificate in Arbitration from Adelaide Law School. She is being hosted for her Fulbright Global Research Scholarship at Sport Resolutions UK and the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada. Nikki will use her Fulbright to analyze how these two institutions are protecting athletes’ right in the sport dispute system.

Sam Fernald is a Professor of Watershed Management at New Mexico State University. He also directs the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute in its mission to assist in solving water resources problems by supporting faculty research, student training, and public outreach. Fernald teaches courses in Watershed Management and Multidisciplinary Modeling. His research interests include coupled human and hydrologic systems and effects of surface water-groundwater exchange on water availability and water quality. Sam received Fulbright Scholarships in Argentina in 2008 and Chile in 2000 to teach and study solute transport and surface-water groundwater interactions. As a Fulbright Scholar at Queen Mary University of London, Sam will investigate impacts of groundwater pumping on river bed exchange and methane processing. For his research, he looks forward to visiting streams and rivers throughout southern England.

Laura Ferri is an award-winning theatre artist from Seattle, Washington who specializes in the creation of performance pieces derived from oral histories.  Her play “Crates of Thunder” explored WWII through the lens of the B-17, touring internationally to critical acclaim which resulted in an invitation by the Imperial War Museum to perform in Duxford, England. The success of that production was the inspiration for her Fulbright project at Queen’s where she plans to research, write and direct a play on the impact of the American military on the Northern Irish community during WWII.  Most recently, Laura has further explored the war by writing and directing “Friends Across the Wires,” concerning the American Incarceration of the Japanese and “The Ruins of Memory: Women’s Voices of the Holocaust.” A strong advocate for accessibility, Laura has created productions with the Blind. An expert bread baker, she is excited to see how her sourdough starter will react to life in Northern Ireland.

Andrea Freeman is Professor of Law at the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law. She teaches Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, Race and Law, Food Law and Policy, and Comparative Social Justice and Constitutional Law. In Spring 2017, she visited at U.C. Berkeley School of Law. In Summer 2018, she was the Distinguished Scholar of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School. Freeman writes and researches at the intersection of critical race theory and food policy, health, and consumer credit. She is the author of Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race, and Injustice, a forthcoming book, Food Oppression, two book chapters, and a dozen law review articles. She has presented her work at the leading United States law schools and internationally in France, India, Mexico, and Canada. Freeman serves on the Litigation Committee of the Hawai'i chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, as Chair-Elect of the AALS Constitutional Law section and is a Founding Member of the Academy of Food Law and Policy. A graduate of the University of Toronto and the U.C. Berkeley School of Law, she clerked for Judge Jon O. Newman of the Second Circuit and former chief Judge José A. Fusté in the District of Puerto Rico after law school. 

Rinat’s research interests lie in studying geological and environmental systems through analysing the chemical makeup of rocks and minerals, such as those found in cave deposits. Caves are carbonate archives that contain not only unvalued records on paleoclimate but also records on anthropogenic activity. He intends to combine his experience in experimental geochemistry with the environmental expertise of personnel at the Lancaster Environment Centre to conduct research on the development of the geochemical tool for reconstructing the industrial nitrate emissions. The Lancaster Environment Centre hosts a unique technique allowing the analysis of nitrogen in carbonate minerals. In the future, Rinat expects to further his Fulbright research project level by using a developed geochemical tool in performing the analysis of nitrogen in different cave samples from Europe and North America. Rinat will enjoy spending three months in UK by visiting castles, museums, and universities in Lancaster, Manchester, Leeds, and of course Liverpool, birthplace of the Beatles. He is especially looking forward to exploring on foot, which is not often possible in the USA.

Sara leads human trafficking victim services policy and programming at the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, which manages the largest amount of U.S. government funding for services for trafficking survivors. Sara enhances the quality and quantity of services available to victims of all forms of trafficking in the US by analysing policy and legislation, designing and implementing grant award programs and performance measures, developing and managing national training and technical assistance initiatives, and collaborating with federal interagency partners and a broad range of anti-trafficking stakeholders. She previously drove human trafficking engagement in the Americas and Europe with the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. For her Fulbright Global Scholar project, she will conduct an analysis of the current state of standards of care for trafficking survivors in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the US.

Thomas was born in the Bronx and grew up there and in Kingston, Jamaica. He graduated from Bowdoin College and Brown University and spent the next year as a Fulbrighter in Jamaica (1998-99), where he worked on issues of social justice helping to found the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays, which remains one of the few major human rights advocacy organizations in the region. Glave is the author of four books and the editor of an anthology: Whose Song? and Other Stories, Words to Our Now: Imagination and Dissent (Lambda Literary Award winner), The Torturer’s Wife (Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist), Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles (Lambda Literary Award winner), and Among the Bloodpeople: Politics and Flesh. He has been Martin Luther King Jr Visiting Professor at MIT, a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge, and Leverhulme Visiting Professor at the University of Warwick. He is the 2021 writer-in-residence at the University of Liverpool's Centre for New and International Writing and was named an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Liverpool. He is an associate editor of Wasafiri and professor of English and creative writing at SUNY Binghamton.

Peter is excited to return to London to continue his research on British imperialism and its engagement with Muslims and South Asia. As the heart of empire, London resonates with a complicated past while manifesting in its contemporary communities the vibrant echoes of that past’s consequences. Peter’s Fulbright project seeks to explore the dynamics of that past with an eye on their current expressions. British imperialism facilitated the coalescence of a globalised Anglophone news network that reciprocally facilitated globalised visions of humanity and religion. This network communicated ideas and emotions promoting Islamophobia, anti-Muslim sentiment, and religious tolerance. Using Anglophone newspapers published in India, the UK, and the US in the last two centuries, his research will examine both the imaginaries and the emotions perpetuated through reporting as well as considering how these established ideas and sentiments are evident today. Far from his usual haunts at Wesleyan University in Connecticut where he is Professor of Religion, Peter will also welcome the opportunity to pursue his passions for birding and nautical history in the UK.

Shelleen is an associate professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests include Italian cinema, Black European Studies, and postcolonial studies. Her book, Equivocal Subjects: Between Italy and Africa – Constructions of Racial and National Identities in the Italian Cinema (Bloomsbury/Continuum, 2012), examines the representation of mixed-race subjects of Italian and African descent in Italian cinema. Her work has also been published in Postcolonial Italy: Challenging National Homogeneity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) and California Italian Studies.

Julia Haggerty is Associate Professor of Geography in the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University, where she holds a joint appointment in the Montana Institute on Ecosystems. Haggerty teaches courses in human, economic and energy resource geography at MSU. She also leads the Resources & Communities Research Group in studying the ways rural communities respond to shifting economic and policy trajectories, especially as they involve natural resources. As a Fulbright Global Scholar, Haggerty will conduct a comparative analysis of rural land inequality politics and land market interventions in the United Kingdom (Scotland), New Zealand and Australia.  

Marcia Hofmann is an attorney who defends digital civil liberties and promotes responsible innovation. Her work over the years has included advocating for digital rights at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, working to improve the health of the public conversation at Twitter, teaching internet law as an adjunct professor, and establishing her own boutique law practice. Among her areas of expertise, Marcia has developed a niche in cyber crime defense. She realized that many defendants in this space are misguided – but also young, smart, and highly skilled. For her Fulbright project, Marcia will study restorative justice and educational programmes offered for young first-time cyber crime offenders in the UK and consider how similar efforts could be developed in the U.S. justice system. Marcia enjoys hiking in the Rocky Mountains and is working on a computer crime novel. While at Oxford, she looks forward to visiting Bletchley Park, Hadrian’s Wall, and Agatha Christie’s home Greenway.

Matthew serves as Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut (USA). As a frequent global traveller, he also holds affiliate positions at Nelson Mandela University (South Africa), the University of Barcelona (Spain) and the University of Cambridge (England). He examines the forms and functions of race and racism and has received numerous awards and support from sources such as the American Sociological Association, National Science Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. Based on his prior research on whiteness in the US, Matthew will use his time in England to study the growth of nationalism, reactionary populism and white racial identity formation. In particular, he will examine how local, all-white groups in the greater London area respond to both real and imagined racial changes. This project is a well-timed, cross-national, natural experiment that fits well with Surrey Sociology’s mission to develop “field-defining and conceptually driven empirical research… [through] extensive collaborations with European and international researchers and networks.” As a Fulbright scholar Matthew will share his work internationally, learn from British colleagues and pursue his other passion of cricket.  

In 2018 there were almost 10 million cancer deaths worldwide. New promising technologies are often called precision medicine. The effectiveness of precision medicine depends on accurate diagnostic testing, but the field of precision medicine generally lacks data on clinical utility. The CanTest framework developed in the UK, suggests that post-implementation surveillance provides an opportunity to examine effects on the health care system and on important population health indicators, such as stage of disease and survival. However, these opportunities are underutilised. Larry proposes a paradigm to enhance these diagnostic tests while simultaneously reducing their potential peril to patients and the health care system. Larry is Professor in the Department of Health Services in the School of Public Health, University of Washington. He has over 40 years of experience in health services research and his work in cancer surveillance at the National Cancer Institute of NIH substantially changed the way in which the US performs cancer surveillance. He will continue this long-standing commitment to improving cancer surveillance by developing an international repository for post-market collection of evidence on precision diagnostic tests in cancer.

Darren is Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He studies the relationship between conflict resolution methods – particularly interfaith and inter-ethnic peacebuilding – and democratic development in Africa. Much of his work focuses on the role of civil society groups in this development. He has also been a consultant on democracy and peace initiatives to the United Nations, USAID, US Institute of Peace, the US State Department, as well as to a number of NGOs, including the Carter Center. He monitored the last six Nigerian elections and the 2007 elections in Sierra Leone. Darren is author of numerous works on Nigerian politics and conflict resolution, including the book Civil Society, Conflict Resolution, and Democracy in Nigeria. Research interests include: civil society, conflict prevention, and transnational civil society development; religion, ethnicity, and conflict resolution; international security and crisis intervention in Africa; conflict resolution efforts as grassroots approaches to promoting democracy; Conflict and democracy in Africa (especially Nigeria), including elections; international negotiation and mediation.

David is the Karen Lake Buttrey Director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving as well as Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies within the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Trained as an American religious historian, his research interests broadly include exploring the practices of twentieth and twenty-first century global faith communities as well as more specifically investigating how nonprofit organizations shape their motivations, rhetoric, and practice. He is the author of the recent book, God’s Internationalists: World Vision and the Age of Evangelical Humanitarianism (UPenn Press 2019). As the Co-PI of the National Study of Congregations’ Economic Practices, (NSCEP), the largest nationally representative study of congregations’ finances conducted in a generation, he is helping to build a new field of research on how congregations receive, manage, and spend resources. His current work focuses on expanding the critical study and practice of philanthropy across historical, geographical, political, cultural, and religious lines in order to develop deeper engagement across cultures and countries on the role philanthropy should play in shaping the public good. He is fuelled by facilitating conversations with civic leaders, donors, and fundraisers (of all generations) around the intersections of giving, philanthropy and the public good.

Ellen Ernst Kossek (Ph.D. Yale University) is the Basil S. Turner and Distinguished Professor of Management at Purdue University. The first elected President of the Work-Family Researchers Network, Ellen studies how work-life boundaries, flexible working, employment practices and leadership impact women’s career equality. Kossek has won many awards including: Work-Life Legacy award for building the work-life movement; Ellen Galinsky Generative Researcher Award for contributing break-through thinking to the work-family field; Sage Scholarly achievement award for advancing understanding of gender and diversity in organizations; and Rosabeth Moss Kanter awards (multiple years) for work-family research excellence. Cited in a Stanford study as being in the top 2% business and management scholars, she recently led in writing a report for the U.S. National Academies of Sciences on the effects of COVID-19 on the work-life boundaries and domestic labour of Women in Academic Science STEMM.

David is a poet, fiction writer, and critic, and directs the Creative Writing Program at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. He is also the son of immigrants from Wales who settled in the Welsh-American community in Utica, New York. He grew up hearing Welsh spoken at home, at community events and in the church where his father served as minister. He completed a study abroad year in Wales at Aberystwyth University, and after receiving a B.A. from St. Lawrence University, spent a year in Wales on a Watson Fellowship, researching modern Anglophone Welsh poetry, and writing poetry, which he first published in The Anglo-Welsh Review. Since then David has published ten books – including three poetry collections and three books of fiction. Much of his scholarship, poetry, and fiction addresses Welsh culture – in particular his most recent story collection, The Moving of the Water, set in the Welsh-American community where he grew up. His Fulbright Award at Cardiff University is the culmination of decades of personal, scholarly, and creative engagement with Wales. His research proposal centres on a book project that re-interprets and re-evaluates twentieth-century Welsh and American writers in light of their transatlantic dialogues. He is also looking forward to engaging in the vibrant creative writing and arts scene in Cardiff, and more generally in Wales.  

For more than 20 years Kirsty has led nursing education at top-ranked schools of nursing in the US. As an Associate Dean for Education and Professor at Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta, Georgia, Kirsty has led education of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemics have been recurrent and unpredictable, and nurses are irreplaceable for the day-to-day battle against pandemics. During this pandemic, UK and US nursing leaders have ensured the nursing workforce pipeline continued with many challenges, and very different regulatory and health services. Kirsty's Fulbright research project is a qualitative multiple-case study with UK and US nursing leaders designed to share lessons learned and guidance for leaders in future pandemics. She is a qualitative researcher with Ebola and HIV pandemic response academic practice and research experience. Kirsty is excited about learning from colleagues in the UK, living in London, and getting to know people in the UK.

Laura is a Professor of Art at Anoka-Ramsey Community College near Minneapolis. She has received numerous grants from the Jerome Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, and was both the Community College Humanities Affiliated Fellow at The American Academy in Rome as well as a 2019 recipient of The James Weldon Johnson Foundation Fellowship. Her work is in numerous collections and her exhibition history is international in scope and spans over 30 years. She has also been featured in DWELL, Artsy, Huffington Post and Midwestern Gothic. Laura is thrilled to be at the Eccles Center for American Studies for six months in 2021. She will be photographing the archives related to Rosamond Johnson and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, two musicians of colour whose musical work was influential and powerful in their time. Rosamond Johnson, an African American who collaborated with his famous brother James Weldon broke many racial barriers while living in London. He also formed a rich friendship with musical genius Coleridge-Taylor, a mixed-race Englishman who defied challenges and became an international star. Laura will tell their story through photography.

Daniel is a professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and is undertaking his third Fulbright award. In 2005, he visited India and taught environmental engineers how to clean up water; in 2012, he studied sustainable agriculture as the Fulbright-ALCOA Distinguished Chair to Brazil. In 2021, Daniel is researching how to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance at the School of Population Health and Environmental Sciences at King’s. A future in which antibiotics fail undermines modern healthcare because infections after surgical procedures will become life threatening and more young people may die from common childhood infections. We must explore upstream policies at the nexus of human health, veterinary medicine, and environmental stewardship – an approach known as One Health. To support his Fulbright, Daniel is building a network in the UK as a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Environmentalist, and is a Fellow of the Society for Environmental Engineers, the Royal Society for Public Health and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. Stopping the spread of antibiotic resistance requires professional and international collaboration, and Kings is an ideal partner, being the largest centre for medical teaching and biomedical research in Europe and home to the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery. 

C. Ariel Pinto is a mentor, educator and researcher in the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at Old Dominion University, in the city of Norfolk, Virginia. When he was an engineer in the Philippines more than 25 years ago, he was obsessed with wanting to know how and why things work. That obsession has taken him all over the world, including Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas. More recently, he has been asking how and why things do not work, recognising that many answers to this question lay beyond the field of engineering. His Fulbright project will be the systemic analysis of emerging risks for smaller technology companies in the UK that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in regulating terrorist content on social media platforms. As a Fulbrighter he will live, work, and play among the many wonders of nature in Wales and the rest of the UK. He is excited to eventually soak in the sounds, savour the taste and imbibe the spirits on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Dr. Hilton L. Root is Fulbright Senior Distinguished Chair in the Social Sciences at King’s College London and Professor of Public Policy at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. He has held academic appointments at the UIBE (Beijing), Caltech, University of Penn, and Stanford University. He has authored more than 200 publications and ten books. His most recent book Network Origins of the Global Economy: East vs. West in a Complex Systems Perspective is published by Cambridge University Press (2020). He will be exploring the triangular relationship between the US, the UK, and China that has been increasingly rancorous with the trade war, disputes over South China Sea, China’s “wolf warrior diplomacy”, and most recently, Covid-19. Is a new Cold War at our doorstep? He will delve into the historical legacies, cultural divergence, ideological differences, and institutional distinctions that are lying underneath these confrontations.

Kathryn Sampeck is a Professor of Anthropology at Illinois State University, an Associate with the DuBois Research Institute at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, and a Board Member of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute. A special focus of her research is the cultural history of chocolate. A Fulbright-Hays and CIES Fulbright supported her archaeological fieldwork and archival research in El Salvador, a centre of cacao and chocolate production. Her 2021-2022 Fulbright at the Eccles Centre will explore relationships of race and food for her book, Chocolate and Vanilla: Dialogues of Race. The book will assess how a chocolate and vanilla network knit together dynamics of labour, cuisine, and social meaning across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. She looks forward to exploring the sights, sounds, and tastes of the UK and learning from the many innovative chocolatiers and chefs of colour in and around London.

Jeffrey Sanders is Associate Professor of history at Washington State University. His research and teaching focus on the history of environmental inequality, the contested politics of postwar environmentalism, and the environmental history of cities in the western United States. He is author of two books: Seattle and The Roots of Urban Sustainability: Inventing Ecotopia (2010) and Razing Kids: Youth and Environment in the Postwar US West (2021). His current project, “Strontium 90: An Un-Natural Transnational History,” explores the history of radioactive strontium 90 that moved along paths of science, culture and environment in the second half of the 20th century. 

Calvin is a historian of slavery, capitalism, and African American inequality. He is Professor of History at Arizona State University, a prize-winning teacher, and the author of three books on slavery, Money Over Mastery, Family Over Freedom: Slavery in the Antebellum Upper South (2011), The Business of Slavery and the Rise of American Capitalism, 1815-1860 (2015), and Unrequited Toil: A History of United States Slavery (2018). His next book is titled The Plunder of Black America: How the Racial Wealth Gap Was Made and Why It's Growing.

Adrien Segal is an artist and writer based in Oakland, California. Drawing from landscape, science, history, emotion, and perception, her sculpture synthesizes information into knowledge as an intently human experience. Her work has been exhibited internationally since 2007, and is published in several books and journals. She has been awarded artist residencies across the US, Canada, and Europe. In 2022 Adrien will be the US-UK Fulbright Scholar with the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Adrien teaches art and design at California College of the Arts in San Francisco and works out of a studio on the former Naval Base at Alameda Point.

MJ Sharp is a documentary and fine arts photographer based in North Carolina. Her past work has included freelancing regionally for the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, PBS’s Frontline, the Columbia Journalism Review, and the Ford Foundation, among others. Her work appears in the collections of the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Akron Museum of Art, the Nasher Museum of Art, the Ackland Museum of Art, and the Asheville Museum of Art, as well as private collections such as the the Keohane-Kenan Permanent Collection at Duke and the Cassilhaus Collection in Chapel Hill, NC. She has served on the Faculty Advisory Committee of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and is Vice President of the Duke Faculty Union. She has been based at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke since 2012, where she loves teaching undergraduates the alchemy of black and white film and the rigor of advanced projects. Samples of her work are available at www.mjsharp.com.

Amy is a nurse researcher interested in developing strategies to initiate and maintain physical activity after stroke. Her clinical practice as a nurse practitioner spanned 21 years of her overall nursing career, 33 years. In addition to current work, she has engaged in projects with stroke caregivers as they begin the new role and older adults studying their participation in prevention and screening tests. Amy has served in numerous administrative roles including interim dean, associate dean for academic affairs and operations, and department chair. She has received over $1 million in external funding and was named the Carole Schoffstall Endowed Professor in 2020. Her hobbies include cycling, hiking, kayaking, weaving and knitting.

Lawrence is the Don Forchelli Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of Law, Language and Cognition at Brooklyn Law School. He holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Much of his writing is about the interpretation of statutes and contracts. His books include The Language of Judges, Speaking of Crime (with Peter Tiersma), and The Language of Statutes: Laws and their Interpretation. He and Peter Tiersma co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Language and Law (2012), and he co-edited with Janet Ainsworth and Roger Shuy the 2015 volume, Speaking of Language and Law: Conversations on the Work of Peter Tiersma. Solan has been a visiting professor at the Yale Law School, and in the Psychology Department and Humanities Council at Princeton University. Following law school, he clerked for Justice Stewart Pollock of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Prior to joining the Brooklyn Law School Faculty in 1996, he was first an associate, then a partner, at a New York litigation law firm.

Donald Sparks is Emeritus Professor of International Economics at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, (where he has been named MBA Professor of the Year three times) and Visiting Professor of International Economics at the Management Center Innsbruck, Austria. Dr Sparks served as a Senior Consulting Associate in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the US Department of State during the Obama administration. He has been a Fulbright Professor at the University of Swaziland, University of Maribor, in Slovenia, the African Union Commission’s Department of Economic Affairs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and at the National University of Laos. At the American University in Cairo he was the Department Chairman and Visiting Professor of Economics. Dr Sparks served in the Office of Economic Analysis at the US Department of State in Washington, DC and as a Staff Assistant to Senator Ernest F Hollings. He received his MA and PhD at the SOAS and his BA from the George Washington University.

Anna will return to London after a successful sabbatical in 2017, to pursue new research ideas and new life adventures with her family. Her Fulbright project will explore mental models related to cloud security and documents sharing. She will develop user centred studies and semiautomated mechanisms to help users protect content that is shared and co-managed via online remote cloud providers. Her time at King’s College London will allow her to interact with top researchers in the field, as well as fostering existing collaborators. Anna is an Associate Professor at the Pennsylvania State University, where she heads the Cybersecurity Area group. Her research focus is on privacy, access control and security topics in general. She has over 100 publications in the field and her work is supported by several funding bodies. Her Fulbright will give Anna the opportunity to share her work internationally and develop new approaches to content protection. Plus, Anna’s 11-year-old daughter will return to the British school she attended in 2016.

Dr. Ashley Staples is a Postdoctoral Scholar at The Ohio State University working with grant-funded projects that explore the climate for spiritual, religious, and secular worldview diversity on college campuses and how interfaith engagement promotes democratic outcomes such as pluralism orientation, appreciation across difference, and internally grounded values and beliefs. She is interested in how college students make sense of their environments and the organizational structures that connect practices to outcomes. Ashley earned her undergraduate business degrees form the University of Maryland, her Master's in higher education administration at North Carolina State University, and completed her doctorate at The Ohio State University.

Rob Stephenson PhD MSc MA is the Sylvia S. Hacker Collegiate Professor of Nursing and Sexual Health, and Chair of the Department of Systems, Population and Leadership in the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan, where he also directs the Center for Sexuality and Health Disparities. Trained as a Demographer and Epidemiologist, Rob’s work focuses on sexual and reproductive health, with specific foci on HIV prevention for sexual and gender minorities and women’s sexual and reproductive health needs in resource poor countries. Rob is particularly interested in the intersections of social stress, violence and HIV risk, with projects that examine how the social stressors experienced by LGBT may shape their experience of intimate partner violence and HIV risk related behaviours. Rob also works on the use of technology and mHealth to influence HIV testing and linkage to HIV care for MSM and transgender women, using mobile technology to help individuals understand and monitor their risks and be linked to local care. His current work focuses on determining the unique antecedents of IPV experienced by sexual minorities and developing interventions that aim to disrupt the pathways between IPV and poor sexual health outcomes.

Much is made in the U.S. about “Scots-Irish” identity, where real (or imagined) connections to Scottish culture provide moments of celebration, particularly in the Appalachian region. Ashli’s Fulbright project will explore how Scots talk about their identity through foods that may be seen in the ways that Appalachians, past and present, talk about them. By using food as a lens to better understand contemporary Appalachian American and Scottish identity, it will theorise implications for regionalism, sectarianism, and nationalism in today’s world. At the University of Edinburgh Ashli will conduct fieldwork, analysing food organisations, those serving traditional and contemporary Scottish cuisine, and consumers. Joining the University’s FRIED network of food researchers, she plans to cook for its graduate students, inviting them to blog along with her about the nation’s cultural identity as seen through its food. In addition to bringing traditional Southern Appalachian ingredients in her suitcase, Ashli’s family will also experience Scotland’s unique culture by eating their way around the country and talking to its people.

Robert is professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the State University of New York/Buffalo. Following BA degrees in Anthropology and English (University of Rochester) he transitioned to biomedical sciences via an MS degree at Roswell Park Memorial Inst. (Buffalo). His PhD degree in Pharmacology and postdoctoral training were at the University of California San Francisco. His research involves therapeutic drug delivery strategies, with an emphasis upon nanoparticle carriers to deliver drugs to target cancer cells more effectively. The overall goal of this Fulbright/QUB visit is to develop ideas, plans and international joint research funding with collaborators in the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, to bring additional novel therapies for pancreatic cancer to the clinic within the next half decade to improve outcomes of this dismal disease. He has been an avid competitive sailor since childhood, and looks forward to connecting with the local sailing community.

Jessica K. Taft is a Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Trained as a sociologist, she is an interdisciplinary youth studies scholar whose work focuses on the political lives of children and youth across the Americas. More specifically, she writes about youth activism and the ways that girls, children, and youth participate in social movements. She is the author of Rebel Girls: Youth Activism and Social Change Across the Americas (NYU Press 2011) and The Kids Are in Charge: Activism and Power in the Peruvian Movement of Working Children (NYU Press 2019) as well as over 15 articles and book chapters on youth organizations, political engagement, and intergenerational relationships. Her Fulbright Global Scholar project explores the relationship between child-led social movements and international children's rights institutions.

Carolyn Teschke is a Professor and Associate Department Head in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Connecticut. Her NIH funded research group studies how viruses assemble using bacteriophage P22 as a model system. Her group also investigates how Mycobacteria species secrete proteins, and is participating in a collaborative project on phage therapy. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is an Associate Editor for Science Advances and the Journal of Virology. In 2018, Teschke was awarded the Alice C. Evans Award for the Advancement of Women by the American Society of Microbiology for “major contributions toward fostering the inclusion, development, and advancement of women in careers in microbiology, demonstrated commitment to women in science through mentorship and advocacy, and by setting an example through scientific and professional achievement.” Teschke was Jefferson Science Fellow at the U.S. State Department in 2015-2016, where her work primarily focused on global health issues and the cooperative science relationship between the U.S. and Japan. As a Fulbright Scholar, Teschke will model virus assembly reactions and how viruses evolve to become larger and more complex

Believed to be the first industrial designer to receive a PhD in anthropology (University of Chicago), in 1998 Bruce began researching the material culture of Indiana's Old Order Amish,  focusing on the production & consumption of value. He first earned a BS in mechanical engineering from Bucknell University and a master’s degree in industrial design from Pratt Institute. He also served as a US Army nuclear weapons officer (Captain) in Germany. After researching the future of work and the workplace for Haworth Inc.'s design research think-tank, the Ideation Group, he began his teaching career. Over the last sixteen years he has been a tenured professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the U. of Illinois—Chicago, and currently at the U. of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art & Design. His co-run, award-winning design studio has exhibited internationally, licensed designs for local and global companies, and self-produced commercial, experimental, and discursive products.

J. Rosie Tighe is an associate professor in the department of Urban Studies in the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. She was previously an assistant professor in the department of Geography and Planning at Appalachian State University. She holds a PhD in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master's Degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University. She has published research on affordable housing, gentrification, segregation, “shrinking” cities, as well as co-edited The Affordable Housing Reader. Dr. Tighe’s work focuses on issues related to affordable housing, social justice, and equitable development, and attempts to achieve two main goals: to bridge the gap between academic research and practice through sound research methods and data analysis techniques; and to promote a greater emphasis on and understand of racial and class equity among researchers, policy-makers, and planners.

A native of the Mahoning Valley in Northeast Ohio, Jennifer is a Los Angeles-based social practice artist who works across mediums to reveal relationships between physical landscapes and the unseen forces that shape them, knitting together narratives about forgotten institutions, people, and communities. Working in the Department of Philosophy’s Art, Aesthetics and Cultural Institutions program, Vanderpool’s Fulbright project investigates how late-twentieth-century and early-twenty-first-century deindustrialisation impacted British manufacturing communities in the Industrial North of England. Her Fulbright project developed from Untold Stories, an on-going investigation of post prosperity communities in the Midwest beginning with explorations of her hometown Youngstown, Ohio, and then Akron. Some of Vanderpool’s recent exhibitions include Garment Girl at Heritage Space, Hà Nội; Flores Para El Trueque with Mercadito & Mentidero, Bogotá, and with No Lugar – Arte Contemporáneo and La Huerta y La Maquina, Quito; Super Natural at the National Centre for Contemporary Art, Moscow. Jennifer enjoys modern dance and is an avid fan of the Cleveland MLB team.

Hope Wabuke is a Ugandan American poet, essayist, and writer. She is the author of the full-length poetry collection The Body Family (forthcoming from Haymarket Books) and the poetry chapbook collections her, The Leaving, and Movement No.1: Trains. She has won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA), the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund for Women Writers, The Poetry Foundation, The New York Times Foundation, Cave Canem, and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund for Women Writers. Hope has been published widely in various magazines, among them The Guardian, The Paris Review Daily, and Guernica. Hope writes literary and cultural criticism for NPR and is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; she is also a former contributing editor for The Root, where she originated a column on African diasporic literature, and a founding board member and former Media & Communications Director for the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction.

Adam Ward studies how water, energy, nutrients, and pollutants move through landscapes, and the human and ecological consequences of these fluxes. Connections between streams, their landscapes, and their aquifers, and humans ultimately interact across space and time to control resultant biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functions, particularly environmental transport and fate. Ward uses a combination of field-based experiments, environmental observation, and numerical modelling to quantify couplings between physical, biological, and chemical systems, and applies this knowledge to predict water quantity, water quality, and ecosystem responses to changes in key drivers including land use change, land management activities, and climate change. Ward also studies the policies that govern the management of water resources and their implications for sustaining high quality natural resources. 

Distinguished Teaching Award grantees

Samantha Brant

School of Education, Durham University - STEM Education

Vickie Crockett

Institute of Education, University College Education - SEL (Social Emotional Learning)

Ellie Walsh-Moots

School of Education, University of Strathclyde - History

Institute of Education, University College London - Music Education

Elana “E.M.” Eisen-Markowitz

School of Education, University of Strathclyde- Social Studies and Restorative Justice Education

Samantha Brant is a 4th grade teacher at Siegrist Elementary School in Platte City, MO and has been with the Platte County R-3 school district for ten years. She is a member of the school leadership team and the district Math Curriculum Council. In addition to teaching, Samantha shares her love of music with the community by playing in two community orchestras, accompanying the Siegrist Elementary Choir, and teaching piano lessons. Samantha received a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Music from William Jewell College in Liberty, MO and a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas. Samantha’s inquiry project is titled “Integrating Academic Subjects at the Primary Level Through a Thematic Curriculum” which seeks to learn how to plan and implement a thematic curriculum in order to provide teachers in her community with a comprehensive and effective method of integrating STEM subjects with language arts.

Vickie M. Crockett is an English teacher who has spent 20 years working with both middle and high school students. She has a passion for supporting marginalised student communities and her collaborative spirit has seen her support her professional colleagues as a department chair, mentor, gifted instruction liaison and professional development coach. Vickie received a dual major BA in Afro-American Studies and Political Science from Smith College in 1994, before going on to receive an MSE and EdS in Curriculum Instruction from Walden University in 2009 and 2013, respectively. She has a myriad of interests including international travel, film noir, theatre, and jazz. She also serves in her community as a grassroots advocate and organiser as well as being active in her local church. Vickie's Fulbright project plans to study how diverse schools can use brain-based, culturally relevant strategies to promote greater academic success for marginalised learners. Vickie's goal is to use her research and findings to develop a more culturally inclusive curriculum that schools can use to better serve all students and aggressively narrow the achievement gap for non-majority students in the USA and abroad.

A graduate of The College of William and Mary (2012, B.A., History) and Vanderbilt University's Peabody College (2013, M.Ed., Secondary Social Studies Education),  Ellie Walsh-Moots is in her eighth year teaching social studies at Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, TN. She spends her days guiding freshman students to be practicing student-historians through World History and empowering senior students to be active citizens through AP U.S. Government and Politics. She also facilitates a project-based learning course in which students use historical research skills to reconstruct celebrations of the past. She has previously taught Forensics (Speech and Debate) and U.S. History. When not in the classroom, Ellie enjoys travel and trivia with family and friends. Like many teachers, her passion for pedagogy and commitment to growth has led her to also take on school leadership roles, including positions as a house leader, technology integration lead, and department chair. 

Kyle Berry is the Music Teacher at Rainier Valley Leadership Academy where he instructs students ranging from 6th to 12th grade in Digital Music Production, AP Music Theory and String Orchestra. Kyle has served his school community as a mentor teacher, enrichment coordinator, student radio club leader and, most keenly, as the after-school Dungeons & Dragons group faculty advisor. Kyle earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of South Carolina and Master of Music in Music Composition from the University of Edinburgh Reid School of Music. In his spare time Kyle enjoys writing chamber music, rock climbing and building electric bass guitars. Kyle’s inquiry project “Technology-Based Music Instruction: Autonomy and Exploration in the Music Classroom”, aims to develop an alternative system for classroom music education which focuses on the unique intra-musical qualities of electronically mediated sound. Kyle hopes to utilize his research to develop materials which empower music teachers to deliver rigorous 21st century music instruction to 21st century students.

Elana “E.M.” Eisen-Markowitz has been working in the New York City public schools since 2006 — as a social studies teacher, a union chapter delegate, a Gender & Sexuality Alliance facilitator, and as a Restorative Justice Coordinator at a secondary school serving students ages 16-22. From Jan-March of 2020, E.M. was in Glasgow, Scotland working on a DA inquiry project about the possibilities and limitations of LGBTQI+ inclusive school policy. When the COVID-19 pandemic pushed Fulbrighters back to the U.S., E.M. taught virtually at her school in NYC part time, and also began working with Eskolta School Research & Design to facilitate school teams in Boston around equity-focused continuous improvement projects. E.M. grew up in Washington, D.C. and Takoma Park, Maryland and maintains a collaborative art presence on social media called @Vent_Diagrams (www.ventdiagrams.com). E.M. is excited to return to the U.K. with a similar project, and to continue working with queer teachers & students.

Manú Bartlett

Postgraduate Award at The New School, The New School - Anthropology

Philip Bell

All Disciplines Award, Harvard University - International Education

Ciara Brown

All Disciplines Award, University of Southern California - Astrophysics

William Carter

All Disciplines Award, University of California, Berkeley - Geography

Edward Clennett

All Disciplines Award, University of Texas at Austin - Geophysics & Seismology

Conan Cooper

British Friends of Harvard Business School MBA Award, Harvard Business School - Entrepreneurship & Entrepreneurial Studies

Nina Dahan-Reljich

All Disciplines Award, Columbia University - Writing

Brenda Efurhievwe

All Disciplines Award, Columbia University - Human Rights Law

Global Wales All Disciplines Award, University of Florida - Education

Lily Freeston

Fulbright-BAFTA Postgraduate Scholarship, Northwestern University - Film Directing

Julia Hwang

All Disciplines Award, Yale University - Music

David McGregor

Elsevier Data Analytics Award, Harvard University - International Health

Sir Cyril Taylor Memorial Award for Social Entrepreneurship, Harvard University - Educational Psychology

Alice Rutter

Hubert H Humphrey School of Public Affairs Award, University of Minnesota - Policy Analysis

Tom Shirley

Sir Cyril Taylor Memorial Award for Social Entrepreneurship, Harvard University - Business Administration

Lloyd’s Postgraduate Award, Yale University - Labor Economics

Ashley Uruchurtu

Postgraduate Award at Brown University, Brown University - Allergy and Immunology

All Disciplines Award, University of Rochester - Psychiatric Nursing

Katy Wilson

Lloyd’s Postgraduate Award, Columbia University - Environmental Sciences

By growing up between London and Lima (Peru) Manú gained a bicultural understanding of non-normative identities and inequalities. She studied Geography at the London School of Economics, where she wrote a first-class thesis on “Latin Americans in London: ‘Othering’ and the Coloniality of Power”. While at the LSE Manú was selected to undertake a year-long exchange to SciencesPo University in France, where she studied Latin American Social Sciences. After her BA she joined the prestigious UK Department for International Development, gaining experience in international diplomacy and humanitarian programming. Manú’s long term research interests are centred around the global Latinx diaspora. She has chosen to study an MA in Anthropology at the New School due to her interests in postcolonial theory, ethnomusicology, migration, and linguistic identity. After her MA Manú hopes to continue this research to PhD level. By becoming a lifelong Fulbrighter, Manú’s work will aim to contribute to the acquisition of knowledge, in order to solve global inequalities and to represent the needs of marginal communities.

Phil is from Belfast, in Northern Ireland. He graduated from Oxford with a first-class History degree in 2014. He then became a teacher through the Teach First program and taught at Alec Reed Academy in Northolt, West London, and then at School 21 in Stratford. During this time he volunteered as a Limited Resource Teacher Training Fellow in Penang, Malaysia, and on Chios island, Greece. These experiences have driven an interest in developing lifelong learning systems that form a coherent journey from early years to adult education. Phil is particularly interested in how work readiness and citizenship can complement one another, especially with regard to climate education and re-skilling for a just transition. At Harvard Phil will pursue an Ed.M. in International Education Policy to explore policy pathways that might point towards a holistic lifelong learning system in the UK, as well as the technology systems which can support this. While in America, Phil hopes to take inspiration from the US community college system, as well as innovative projects such as High Tech High and Harlem Children's Zone. He also hopes to play sport, including cycling and outdoor swimming.

Ciara grew up with a passion for space and has witnessed exceptional UK and international astronauts push the boundaries of what is considered possible. Completing a University of Hertfordshire degree in Astrophysics galvanized her into using STEM in a hands-on manner. The University of Southern California is one of a handful of universities in the world that offers a masters in Astronautical Engineering, and Southern California is in the heart of the US aerospace industry. Her specific research is focused on space exploration and advanced spacecraft propulsion systems. This intriguing field is in its infancy, which gives students like her the ability to create new technologies to benefit space systems research and test innovative theories that have applications extending far beyond use in engineering. Upon her return to the UK, Ciara plans to help drive innovation in British Space Systems, promote STEM education at grassroots levels to support Generation Alpha and beyond, as well as achieving her PhD. She is extremely grateful to the Fulbright Programme as it has given her the opportunity to live the belief that science is without borders and become part of the next generation of UK space pioneers.

Right from his first day in school, William has always tried to trace the source of political authority. Receiving the best A-level results in his year, William was awarded a double scholarship to read Politics at the University of Bristol. Whilst there, he teamed up with a senior faculty member to co-found “Phillennials” to teach political philosophy to the world’s teenagers. In his three years at Bristol, William has been invited to attend Commonwealth, Council of Europe and EU policy forums as a youth delegate, expert and paid keynote speaker as well as being selected to give the final address at the closing plenary on the future of the Commonwealth. William will use his Fulbright award to begin his PhD studies in Human Geography at the University of California, Berkeley – where he will focus on Black and Oceanic Geographies. His original thesis is on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the relationship between slave ships and the practice of throwing overboard the “dead and the dying”, the feeding patterns of sharks, and the formation of Race in the middle passage. At Berkeley, he also hopes to gain a designated emphasis [minor] in Contemporary Political Theory.

Edward grew up in Reading and completed his undergraduate degree in Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford in 2019. He currently works as a researcher at the University of Oxford, where he has been modelling tectonic plate movement in the eastern Pacific. He will be using his Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a PhD in Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin and continue to research plate tectonics. As part of the Geodynamics and Tectonics group, he will be using geodynamic modelling, seismology and geological fieldwork to understand the processes by which tectonic plates move. He hopes to then apply his research to wider issues – for example, by linking plate reconstructions to climate models, or by identifying areas at risk of earthquake hazards. Edward is also a keen saxophone player, so he is excited to join one of the world-class wind orchestras at UT, experience American culture by playing in a marching band at college football matches, and of course enjoy Austin’s incredible live music scene. Finally, he is looking forward to exploring some of America’s stunning national parks – perfectly combining his love of geology and travelling

Since graduating from Newcastle University with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 2014, Conan has worked for Total S.A. across Europe and Africa, seeking out pockets of creativity to deliver unconventional solutions to conventional problems in the high-stakes, high-stress environment of Offshore Oil and Gas. Conan believes the future of energy is renewable and is excited for that future. However, the hard truth is that Oil and Gas is going to be here for a while; we cannot turn the “taps” off tomorrow without negatively impacting the lives of millions. What is needed is innovation in the industry, to keep pushing it to be better while our energy needs transition. At Harvard Business School, he will be working to help facilitate this transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future. Conan is fluent in French, depending on who is listening. He is a tenacious health and fitness disciple who cannot resist pizza (despite having a milk allergy). He is terrified of flying but addicted to travelling. He is excited to put on his hiking boots and explore America’s trails!

Nina Dahan-Reljich is a poet and fiction writer. She graduated from the University of Manchester with a first-class degree in English Literature with Creative Writing, where she was awarded the Faculty of Humanities Dean’s Award for Achievement, the Shakespeare Scholarship (2019) the Edith C. Wilson Prize (2020) and the Level 3 Prize for Fiction (2020). She is the Senior Editor and Head of Creative Writing for the University’s English Literature, American Studies and Creative Writing academic journal. Her poetry has been published in UK-based literary magazines The Tangerine, The Manchester Review, and Bath Magg, under the name Nina Reljić. Nina will undertake a two-year Writing MFA Program at Columbia University, specialising in Poetry. She hopes to develop her writing practice within the academic and creative environment offered by Columbia, as well as the historic and culturally rich literary setting of New York City. She is looking forward to meeting emerging and experienced writers in the USA with whom she hopes to collaborate on creative projects. Nina is committed to publicising writing as a medium of celebration, reflection and resistance. She aims to publish her poetry as a collection, and eventually establish an independent publishing press.

Brenda Efurhievwe is a human rights activist and aspiring barrister. “Nigerian by blood, Polish by nationality and British by experience”, she was drawn to the Fulbright Programme due to her high regard for the benefits of intercultural exchange. Brenda obtained a first-class honours LLB in the UK and went on to work as an Asylum Caseworker at UK Visas & Immigration. Witnessing the practical application of the Refugee Convention and its effect on asylum seekers motivated her to undertake research in this field, with a view of influencing asylum policy and practice in the future. Brenda’s research interests focus on refugee law, LGBTQ+ rights and racial justice. She is currently providing remote assistance as a Volunteer Asylum Lawyer with European Lawyers in Lesvos, while continuing to act in the organising committee of Black Protest Legal Support. At Columbia Brenda hopes to benefit from clinical practice in immigration and human rights, while continuing her research into the means of avoiding the current catch-22 mechanism inherent in applying for refugee status. In her spare time Brenda enjoys participating in improv classes, travelling, swimming, cycling and attending the theatre.

Rosy is honoured to become a Fulbrighter and to be a part of a programme that values the power of education. Throughout her educational journey Rosy has become acutely aware of how education systems can reproduce and perpetuate social inequalities. Whilst completing her Geography degree at Exeter University, she had the privilege of researching practitioners’ perceptions of inclusive education. She was inspired by the commitment of teachers to valuing each pupil, establishing life-changing relationships and challenging inequalities. This has sparked her passion and life mission of becoming a young, critically conscious, educational leader within Wales. Rosy will study a Master’s at the University of Florida. She will harness what she learns to challenge educational equity issues on a global and local scale, promoting meaningful change. Growing up in Wales (with the best rugby team in the world!), Rosy has developed a strong love for sport. She has used her enthusiasm to create opportunities for women in sport through her role as a Football Development Officer and Coach. Rosy hopes to continue this work in Gainesville, whilst joining as many sports teams as possible. Go Gators!

Lily was privileged to grow up in a vibrant patch of Manchester, surrounded by people with different backgrounds, cultures and life experiences to her own. Where she is from informs the documentaries she makes, which hear from people whose stories often go unheard in mainstream media. After graduating, Lily trained as a youth-worker, supporting young people to run social justice projects in their communities, before becoming a current affairs journalist at the BBC. She has reported on and produced films, radio documentaries and podcasts internationally – looking at low conviction rates for rape and finding out how fatherhood classes reduce violence. A film she co-directed about child marriage screened at a UN summit, and her documentary about female sexual pleasure was reviewed positively by media outlets such as The Guardian, The Times and The Telegraph. Lily will be studying documentary filmmaking in Chicago, a city whose history of community organising makes this move the perfect fit for her. Lily’s ambition is to direct films that challenge perceptions and help people to better understand the world we live in. The turbulent, divisive climate we are in makes now an important time to do this.

Growing up as a solo violinist has given Julia the opportunity to engage with a rich musical culture in the UK and abroad. She was particularly honoured to perform in the BBC4 documentary on The Lark Ascending and to curate and record her recent album “Subito” under Signum Classics. Since graduating from Cambridge, Julia has been performing extensively and exploring the wider socio-cultural impact of music. Her work as an ambassador for BRACE Alzheimer’s Research and the Concordia Foundation has enabled her to combine her passion for performance and charity work. Performing in diverse venues ranging from the Wigmore Hall and the Royal Albert Hall to hospitals and care homes in London made Julia truly appreciate the potential of music to provide joy and comfort to those who need it most. As a Fulbright Postgraduate student at the Yale School of Music, Julia will be able to tap into a completely new school of teaching and playing, engaging with other musicians and enriching her own interpretation and approach to the musical discipline. Outside of academia she is looking forward to exploring the diverse cultural and physical landscapes of the US, with hiking the Appalachians and the Rockies high up on the to-do list!

David is an emergency medicine physician based in London. He graduated from University College London and took up a National Institute for Health Research Academic Clinical Fellowship after completing his foundation training in Scotland. His clinical research interests revolve around sepsis and tropical diseases – specifically malaria. Having witnessed the transition from paper to electronic health records in clinical practice he is also keen to support the use of large electronic health datasets to improve clinical, operational and strategic decisions. At the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, David will learn to combine his knowledge in medicine, epidemiology and machine learning approaches to improve health and clinical care. Specifically, he aims to focus on advanced epidemiology techniques that make use of micro-organism DNA to identify hotspots of malaria transmission and resistance to treatment. He hopes to use that knowledge to support national malaria control and elimination programmes in endemic regions. He is excited to join the Fulbright programme and looks forwards to fostering friendships and research collaborations around innovations in global health. David dreams of exploring America’s national parks and wilderness and will grab any opportunity to do so in his spare time.

Having experienced the challenges of being gay in a homophobic school environment, Tim founded a non-profit, Just Like Us, to transform the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) young people growing up today. Since launching in 2016, Just Like Us has trained over 300 LGBT young people as relatable role models, delivering anti-bullying workshops to over 50,000 school students. Their national campaign, School Diversity Week, involved 1,400,000 young people and educators in events that celebrated LGBT+ equality in education in 2019. With his mission to help young people realise their potential, the Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education will provide the foundation for new work to improve the life chances of other disadvantaged and marginalized groups in education. Tim is excited by the opportunity to learn from other Fulbrighters and gain new perspectives from immersing himself in the US education system. He is also looking forward to dusting off his violin and getting involved in the US country music scene!

Since graduating from Sheffield University Medical School in 2014, Alice has learnt that the true art of medicine lies in understanding what is important to the person in front of her and how she can help them achieve that. Working as an NHS doctor in anaesthetics and intensive care in Scotland, this is something she puts at the heart of every patient interaction. Through a Master’s in Public Health, Alice will investigate how policy impacts on health, safety and wellbeing; offers opportunities to improve the lives of many if we get it right; and address the issues that matter in people’s lives. In her work as a Scottish Clinical Leadership Fellow, she has helped develop policy to improve healthcare workforce wellbeing with the General Medical Council and is now developing policy for the COVID-19 pandemic response with the Chief Medical Officer’s Team. The Master’s in Public Policy at the Humphrey School, University of Minnesota will help Alice develop her understanding of how policy works in other settings and disciplines. Through this, she hopes she will be better able to contribute to health policy in the UK and to improve the lives of more patients as well as the wider population on her return.

During his time in America Tom plans to do a Master’s in Public Policy and an MBA, starting with the MPP at Harvard Kennedy School. Tom has always hoped to have a positive impact with his work. He started his career with Mime Education after realising he was not personally suited for the laboratory, following a Natural Sciences BA at Cambridge. This involved analytics for schools and children’s centres, with the mission to improve the life chances of young people using data. After five years he started his own social enterprise, Illustrating Impact, offering data analytics and visualisation to public sector audiences more broadly and has since worked with clients in education, homelessness, and welfare. Tom has become increasingly interested in public sector commissioning. In 2019 he was offered a Winston Churchill Fellowship to meet international leaders who are combining impact measurement with finance to create more sustainable funding models. He is honoured to receive the Sir Cyril Taylor Fulbright Award to explore the academic principles behind how commissioning policy could be made more effective in both the UK and the USA. He is also excited to explore the United States and visit the national parks.

Born in Vietnam and raised in London, Tam is an economist and a policy advisor who will be studying International and Development Economics at Yale. Since her time as an Economics undergraduate at the LSE, her career has evolved significantly. She has developed strategic workforce plans for blue chip clients, overseen employment initiatives in Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labour, worked alongside world experts to estimate the size of the Turkish informal economy, and worked on numerous strategic projects at the heart on HM Treasury. She feels grateful to be able to utilise her skills and knowledge through this journey to influence key decision makers and solve some of society’s most pressing issues. Tam’s experience has helped her to realise her passion for putting people at the heart of all economic and policy decisions. She is immensely excited to take this to the next level. At Yale, she plans to focus on the impact of shocks, such as trade and technology shocks on the labour market, and explore the economic opportunities and challenges for policy makers. She is eager to learn from the experts in the field, to strengthen her quantitative skills to support evidence-based policy making, whilst tapping into Fulbright’s rich and diverse network and fully immerse herself in America’s vibrant culture.

Originally from Mexico, Ashley has called the UK their home since 2001. In that time, they have learned English, moved cities twice, and become an ambitious young researcher with a background in respiratory immunology. After graduating with a first-class degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Sheffield, Ashley took up a research position at Imperial College London. At Imperial, Ashley took part in training and research visits to other laboratories in Europe. These visits imparted on them the immeasurable value of intercultural exchange and the importance of breaking down international barriers in science. For Ashley, the Fulbright award represents a chance to do just that. Ashley is particularly excited to experience graduate life at Brown University in the gorgeous city of Providence, Rode Island. As part of the Pathobiology PhD program, they will be undertaking classes, laboratory placements, and teacher training. They hope that this exchange will help them achieve their dream of creating new opportunities and avenues of investigation for future generations of scientists.

Jackie has been a mental health nurse for 14 years, specialising in mental health and deafness. After completing a BSc (hons) in Healthcare Practice at the University of London, St. George’s, she was inspired to undertake further education with the aim of achieving a longer-term improvement of services for deaf people. Alongside her clinical work she has had the ground-breaking honour of enabling deaf service users to be “at the table”, working together on innovative projects. Jackie is unspeakably delighted to receive a Fulbright grant as it will be a boost to her greatest passion, which is advocating for deaf mental health service users, particularly as she observes first-hand how many barriers there are for deaf people to access good mental health care. She will undertake a Master’s degree in Clinical Investigation at the University of Rochester, which will be instrumental towards her goal of contributing to evidence-based practice in her field. Chief among her many aspirations is for deaf service users to be centrally involved with the research and development of their mental health services. In her spare time Jackie looks forward to honing her skills at curling, trying out American sports and exploring the surrounding nature with her partner and one-year old child.

While at school, Katy designed a wearable device for earthquake relief as part of the New York Academy of Sciences Junior Academy programme. This strengthened her fascination with the interactions between the human and physical world and drove her to study geography at the University of Cambridge. Global warming is not just a physical manifestation; it is rooted in social systems with widespread implications for society. An internship founded her specific interest in climatic interplay with business. She was shocked at the limited action of companies to adjust to the realities of climate change; rather than resisting change, there are benefits for the private sector in adjusting to a low-carbon economy by facilitating climate mitigation practices. This motivated her decision to study Climate and Society at Columbia. Katy is looking forward to the experience of living and working in New York and continuing to develop her views of environmental management under leading academics while allowing her to study alongside other passionate students. She believes her Fulbright experience will be the foundation of a career in contributing to climate management and having a positive impact on society and the future of our planet.

Lloyd’s Scholar Award, University of California, Berkeley - Applied Mathematics

Neil Ferguson

Lloyd’s Scholar Award, University of Maryland - Political Psychology

Naomi Flynn

All Disciplines Scholar Award, University of Indiana - Bilingual & Multilingual Education

Malcolm Harvey

All Disciplines Scholar Award, Villanova University - Political Science

All Disciplines Scholar Award, Harvard University - Neuroscience

Glyn Robbins

All Disciplines Scholar Award, The City University of New York (CUNY) - Urban Studies

Tony Sorial

Royal College of Surgeons Research Award, Washington University in St. Louis - Biomedical Engineering

Mathematical models of infectious diseases have rarely been more prominent in our lives. Alex’s research uses such models to understand the evolution between disease-causing parasites and their animal or plant hosts. As a Fulbright-Lloyds Scholar he will work with Prof Boots' lab at UC Berkeley to bring together these mathematical models with their expert biological knowledge and data. Alex is proud to be departmental director for equality, diversity and inclusion in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sheffield. He is passionate about promoting under-represented groups in mathematics, and he hopes to learn from colleagues at UC Berkeley about how to further promote ED&I, especially in light of heightened gender disparities during the Covid-19 lockdown and the Black Lives Matter movement. He will be travelling to the US with his partner and three young children. This is an unbelievable chance for his family to experience living in another country, and they are looking forward to exploring everything California has to offer.

Neil is a father of two wonderful boys, professor of political psychology at Liverpool Hope University and a recent visiting fellow to the Changing Character of War Programme at Pembroke College, Oxford. Originally from Northern Ireland, he was awarded his BSc and PhD from the University of Ulster. Neil’s research has focused on studying the mainly unconscious psychological forces behind political violence and his current work examines how psycho-social processes relate to politically motivated violence, primarily looking at Northern Ireland. As a Fulbright scholar Neil will collaborate with researchers at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland to explore how insights on disengagement and de-radicalisation from violent extremism gleaned from research in Northern Ireland can be employed to develop or strengthen models of desistance and reintegration, while generating policy recommendations and disengagement interventions. His Fulbright will also provide him with an opportunity to enjoy the different flavours of American culture whilst developing friendships and long-lasting transatlantic collaborations.

Naomi is Associate Professor of teacher education at the University of Reading’s Institute of Education, and her practice-based research is driven by her desire to make classroom teaching better for pupils who have home languages other than English. She is delighted to be joining forces with Dr Annela Teemant at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis who is a highly respected leader in this field of pedagogy. Naomi’s Fulbright project will evaluate Dr Teemant’s successful model of teacher professional development for multilingual classrooms and determine how it might transfer to the UK school system. She is currently trialling this model in England but needs to understand more about how and why it works. She will also co-create materials to support schools on both sides of the Atlantic in becoming self-sustaining agents of change. As a frequent visitor to America’s East coast, she is looking forward to finding out about life in the Midwest and exploring the state of Indiana. She loves choral singing and running and hopes to make new friends in Indianapolis through both activities during her three-month stay.

Malcolm is a lecturer in Politics at the University of Aberdeen. He was previously engaged as a research fellow on several ESRC funded projects as part of their commitment to the changing Scottish and EU constitutional debates. Malcolm graduated from the University of Stirling in 2006 with a first-class Honours degree in Politics, and received his MScEcon in Terrorism and International Relations from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2008. His PhD, awarded by the University of Stirling in 2015, considered the constitutional consultations run by the Scottish and Welsh Governments during the 2007-11 Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly terms. He has taught modules on British Politics and Political Theory at both the University of Stirling and the University of Strathclyde, and lectured on Nationalism at Aberdeen. He now teaches courses on Devolution and Constitutional Change, and on American Politics. Between 2016 and 2018, he completed the University of Aberdeen's Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, earning him the status of Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Malcolm lives in Aberdeenshire with his wife, his daughter and his cat.

Every doctor meets patients that they cannot forget. For me, that patient was a man who had sustained a severe brain injury following a fall. He survived, but his life has changed beyond recognition – he has anger and behavioural problems which have strained his marriage and led to him losing his job. Sadly, his story is not unique. Every 3 minutes, someone comes to hospital with a head injury. Problems with emotional function and behaviour are common and difficult to treat. During her research project, Lucia hopes to investigate some of the reasons why patients with head injuries develop these problems. Lucia is excited to join a brain injury research group at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, which is home to some extraordinary neuroscience research. She is looking forward to all the quirks about a country that can only be experienced by living there, and also to meeting her future colleagues and other Fulbrighters. International collaboration is central to science and medicine, so she could not be happier to be embarking the latest adventure in her research career with the Fulbright program.

Glyn has worked in and written about housing for almost 30 years. He has been fascinated by the USA for even longer! Bringing these two things together, he wrote a book in 2017 called “There’s No Place: The American housing crisis and what it means for the UK”. This partly led to him becoming an LSE Visiting Fellow in 2019, the place where he was also a student in the early 1990s and more recently, had been teaching on the Cities Programme. But his “day job” is managing a council estate in north London. Glyn’s Fulbright research will focus on the impact of housing/urban policy in New York City and how it compares with his home city of London. He is really looking forward to being attached to the CUNY graduate school and getting to know the city and its people better. He hopes his work can strengthen mutual understanding of what is a critical issue for both places – and most importantly, help bring some change.

At 16, Tony was captain of the first European eSports team to compete in the Major League Gaming series in New York. He retired from gaming after 4 years of success and focused on becoming a surgeon. He completed medical training and a Masters degree in Tissue Engineering/Regenerative Medicine at the University of Manchester, and in 2016 he was appointed to a prestigious clinical fellow position in Newcastle. For 4 years he has split his time between the laboratory and hospitals. His research aims to understand the genetics of arthritis, and employ genome editing to translate this knowledge into improving treatments for patients. In 2020 he received grants from the Wellcome Trust and The Royal College of Surgeons of England – Shears to begin his PhD, which bridges his work in Newcastle with Professor Farshid Guilak at Washington University in St Louis. As a Fulbright scholar, he hopes to spend half his PhD working with Pluripotent Stem Cells to produce resilient cartilage, while simultaneously immersing himself in the American experience, with his partner Helen and son Isaac.

Tomas Arango

University of Sussex Postgraduate Award, University of Sussex - Migration Studies

Lauren Auyeung

Trinity Laban Postgraduate Award in Music & Dance, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance - Dance

Veronica Balick

University of Nottingham Postgraduate Award, University of Nottingham - Biology

Mary Anna Ball

University of Roehampton Postgraduate Award, University of Roehampton - Dance

Brandon Bergsneider

Imperial College London Postgraduate Award, Imperial College London - Biology

Molly Bergum

University of East Anglia Postgraduate Award, University of East Anglia - Agriculture

Grace Betts

Cardiff University Postgraduate Award, Cardiff University - Urban Planning

University of Leeds Postgraduate Award, University of Leeds - Art History

Kiana Boroumand

University of Bristol Postgraduate Award, University of Bristol - Social Sciences

Mylie Brennan

Queen's University Belfast PhD Award in Global Peace, Security and Justice, Queen's University Belfast - International Relations

Amelia Burnette

University of Strathclyde Postgraduate Award, University of Strathyclyde - Law

Emma Carlson

University of Sheffield Postgraduate Award, University of Sheffield - Medical Sciences

Madisen Caster

University of Leicester Postgraduate Award, University of Leicester - Museum Studies

Saheel Chodavadia

London School of Economics Postgraduate Award, London School of Economics - Economics

Jeremy D'Silva

All Disciplines Postgraduate Award, Queen Mary, University of London - Biology

Rahul Dadwani

University of York Postgraduate Award, University of York - Economics

Geghie Davis

Northumbria University Postgraduate Award, Northumbria University - Design

Emma Ettinger

University of Birmingham Postgraduate Award, University of Birmingham - Creative Writing

Caraline Gammons

Royal Veterinary College Postgraduate Award, Royal Veterinary College - Veterinary Medicine

Stephanie Grimes

King's College London Postgraduate Award, King's College London - Art History

Joe Guidubaldi

University College London Postgraduate Award, University College London - Neuroscience

Ashlin Hatch

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Postgraduate Award, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama - Theatre Arts Directing

Greg Hernandez

University of Southampton Postgraduate Award, University of Southampton - Acoustics

Madeleine Hughes

Queen's University Belfast Postgraduate Award in Global Security and Borders, Queen's University Belfast - International Relations

Jenika Katz

University of Strathclyde Postgraduate Award, University of Strathclyde - Business

Thomas LeClair

Bangor University Postgraduate Award, Bangor University - Biology

Emily Lehman

University of St. Andrews Postgraduate Award, University of St. Andrews - Interdisciplinary Studies

Aria Mia Loberti

Royal Holloway, University of London Postgraduate Award, Royal Holloway, University of London - Humanities

Penelope Lusk

University of Exeter Postgraduate Award, University of Exeter - Humanities

Jake Meadows

University College London Entrepreneurship Postgraduate Award, University College London - Business

Michael Monicatti

John Wood LAMDA Postgraduate Award, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts - Theatre Arts-Acting

Nathaniel Morrison

Lancaster University Postgraduate Award, Lancaster University - Physics

Maeve Moran

University of Stirling Postgraduate Award, University of Stirling - Psychology

Sacha Moufarrej

SOAS, University of London Postgraduate Award, SOAS, University of London - Anthropology

Micheal Munson

University of Liverpool Postgraduate Award, University of Liverpool - Biology

Erin Nelsen

Aberystwyth University Postgraduate Award, Aberystwyth University - International Relations

Julio Obscura

All Disciplines Postgraduate Award, Royal College of Art - Filmmaking

Megan Olshefski

Durham University Postgraduate Award, Durham University - Archaeology

University of Manchester Postgraduate Award, University of Manchester - Public Policy

Stefan Romero

University of Glasgow Postgraduate Award, University of Glasgow - Art History

University of Kent Postgraduate Award, University of Kent - Public Policy

Sahil Sandhu

Newcastle University Postgraduate Award, Newcastle University - Public Health

Samir Streatfield

University of Warwick Postgraduate Award, University of Warwick - Engineering

Zaakir Tameez

Queen Mary, University of London Postgraduate Award, Queen Mary, University of London - Law

Rana Thabata

UCL Institute of Education Postgraduate Award, UCL Institute of Education - Education

Jonathan Vogel

Aston Martin Coventry University Automotive Postgraduate Award, Coventry University - Automative Engineering

Katelyn Wilder

Global Wales Postgraduate Award, Bangor University - Creative Writing

Tomas graduated from Rice University with a BA in Economics and Policy Studies. As an undergraduate, he was very interested in the movement of people, and how it shapes and is shaped by political, legal, and economic systems. He has worked in academic, government, and non-governmental settings on migration, development, and human rights issues. In his free time, he volunteers with an immigration and asylum non-profit organisation interpreting asylum hearings and translating immigration documents. He will be pursuing a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Sussex, one of the leading development research centres in the world, where he will be seeking an MA in Migration Studies. Over the course of the grant, he hopes to learn more about UK and European migration legal and policy frameworks through Sussex’s multidisciplinary approach. Following his year in the UK, he will be attending Harvard Law School with the goal of pursuing international public interest law in the future.

Lauren is a dancer, choreographer, and artist based in NYC. She recently graduated from Princeton University, where she studied Dance, Architecture, and Urban Studies. Lauren is inspired by physical virtuosities of hip-hop and is passionate about bringing hip-hop dance into traditionally Western-dominated dance spaces. On her Fulbright, Lauren will be researching the history and aesthetics of the hip-hop dance movement in the United Kingdom through the context of a Master’s Degree at Trinity Laban Dance Conservatory.

Veronica recently graduated with her BS degree from a small, liberal arts school in rural Maryland, where she majored in Biochemistry and Biology. During her undergraduate years, she had the opportunity to work on several cancer research projects during summer internships. Through these experiences, she developed a passion for cancer research, particularly immunotherapy, which aims to use the body's immune system to fight cancer. She was also able to study abroad in Prague for a semester, which sparked a desire to continue her education in a foreign country. The University of Nottingham proved a perfect fit with its MSc course in Cancer Immunology and Biotechnology. As the only program in the world which focuses specifically on this area of cancer research, the course will provide a unique experience for Veronica to learn about this important and quickly growing field. Veronica is also excited to explore the culture of Nottingham. As a UNESCO City of Literature, with a large literary history, Veronica looks forward to exploring its libraries and cafes. She also plans to volunteer with cancer patients and their families at Nottingham City Hospital.

Mary Anna, a West Virginia native, graduated from Marshall University in 2019 with a B.A. in Humanities: Classics and Latin, as well as a minor in Ancient Greek. She also has studied classical ballet for 18 years, and performed with the Charleston Ballet in Charleston, West Virginia for 4 years in the corps de ballet and 5 years as a soloist. In 2017 she worked as the Associate Producer of the Emmy-award winning documentary, Andre Van Damme & the Story of the Charleston Ballet, which blended her passions for history and dance, and helped her dive deeper into the history of dance and ballet. At the University of Roehampton, Mary Anna intends on focusing her research on the changing roles and perceptions of performance and dance through history from classical antiquity, with a special focus on the ballerina in the Romantic Era. While in London, she also plans on establishing a choreographic exchange between local ballet schools and associations and her native Appalachia, as well as enjoy and explore the vibrant arts and dance life across the city.

Brandon, originally from Los Angeles, California, recently graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Human Biology,  andwhere he completed an honours thesis studying the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration. Driven by his family’s own history of cancer, Brandon ultimately hopes to become a physician-scientist dedicated to treating patients with cancer. However, before attending medical school back in the States, he will be pursuing a Master’s in Bioinformatics and Theoretical Systems Biology at Imperial College London. Bioinformatics has the potential to revolutionise medicine, and Brandon hopes to gain new research skills that will allow him to develop therapies for cancer in the future. At the same time, he recognises that therapies are only as effective as the number of people who can access them. He has volunteered at a free clinic in San Jose for the past three years, and he is excited to volunteer in NHS hospitals learning new ways to improve healthcare accessibility in the US. Brandon has also worked as a professional surf instructor and outdoor trip leader, and for fun, he is excited to explore different surf spots, hiking trails, and national parks throughout the UK.

Molly is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in Plant Science and a second major in Biology, Society, and Environment. Molly grew up in Northern Wisconsin and loves exploring the plants in the surrounding forests and wetlands. While working on an honours thesis performing research in the University of Minnesota Department of Plant Pathology and the United States Department of Agriculture Cereal Disease Laboratory, Molly became interested in studying plants that are agriculturally important due to their relevance at the interface of environmental and human health. With the Fulbright Award, she will be joining The Sainsbury Laboratory as a PhD student at the University of East Anglia to research durable disease resistance in barley, which will enable Molly to contribute to the global effort of developing resistant crops for improved food security and climate change resilience. Molly is excited to learn from experts in the field at The Sainsbury Laboratory and become immersed in life in Norwich, UK. In her free time, she looks forward to exploring the historical city, learning about local food production, and engaging in science outreach in the community.

Grace's childhood as a competitive gymnast pointed her towards health-related pursuits, but it was not until she spent a semester studying urban planning in Copenhagen, that she began to understand the critical role the urban environment plays in public health and climate change. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Biopsychology and minors in Statistics and Sustainability, Grace began a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, which has allowed her to dive deeper into the social and environmental determinants of health. In Cardiff, home to the newly funded Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations, she will be studying low-carbon urban planning as well as cycling infrastructure, policy, and behaviour in a mid-sized car-dependent city. With her interdisciplinary training, her goal is to make cities healthier and more resilient to the effects of climate change through urban health policies and evidence-based planning and design. While in Cardiff, Grace looks forward to hiking and biking throughout Wales’ rich nature and numerous castles, and maybe taking trapeze lessons at NoFit State, UK’s leading circus company.

Lois is a Cherokee and White Earth Ojibwe researcher and museum worker. She recently graduated from Northwestern University, where she wrote a thesis on the visual and literary culture of the Alcatraz occupation. At Northwestern, Lois worked for the Block Museum of Art, served as co-president of Northwestern’s Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance and spun records at the university’s radio station. Lois plans to build on her professional experiences at the Block, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Whitney Museum of American Art by working as a curator. She will look to craft exhibitions that centre Native American and Indigenous perspectives and will work toward structural change in the museum world. Lois is excited to continue her studies at the University of Leeds, in a department renowned for cutting-edge art historical research. The department’s emphasis on connections between the art and the social worlds will support her dissertation research and prepare her for future curatorial projects. Outside of the classroom, Lois looks forward to exploring Leeds’s thriving independent music scene and getting used to biking on the opposite side of the road!

Kiana graduated from the Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Sociology and English and a minor in Latin American Studies, and has since worked as a research assistant at the Johns Hopkins Poverty and Inequality Research Lab. As an undergraduate, she was the Executive Director of the Foreign Affairs Symposium, founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Johns Hopkins Undergraduate Law Review, Editor-in-Chief of Américas: The Johns Hopkins Journal of Latin American Studies, and a senator in the Student Government Association. For her honors thesis in sociology, she studied social welfare in the Nordic countries and conducted her fieldwork over two summers in Iceland and Denmark. Before that, she studied abroad in Havana, Cuba and at the London School of Economics, which sparked a desire to return to the UK for further study. Kiana will be earning an MSc in Socio-Legal Studies, which will provide a bridge between her background in sociology and the path she hopes to pursue in law. She is particularly excited to live in the vibrant city of Bristol, and looks forward to exploring Bristol’s famed street art, visiting its many galleries and museums and seeing plays at the Bristol Old Vic.

Mylie first visited Belfast during a study abroad trip in 2014 where she was shocked to learn about the Troubles and was fascinated by the success of the peace process. Brennan later focused her master's thesis on the impact of personal and political identities on peace in Northern Ireland, which made her want to understand identities in Northern Ireland even more. Particularly interesting in terms of political identity is the "Good Friday Agreement Generation" in Northern Ireland, which is made up of people born after the Troubles had ended in 1998. This cohort was too young to vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum, meaning that they were caught between two huge historical events in Northern Ireland (the Troubles and Brexit) with no say in their country's policies or future. Brennan's project aims to understand how these young people identify politically, which will provide insight into how and why they vote. She also hopes this project will provide insight into young people's attitudes toward voting and politics globally. Brennan will be joined in Belfast by her husband, Hunter, and their cat, Meowsers, and they can't wait to enjoy all that Northern Ireland has to offer.

Since obtaining her juris doctor from the University of North Carolina, Amelia's career has focused on protecting a healthy environment. Originally from the Southern Appalachians, Amelia grew up with the largest expanse of public lands in the eastern U.S. in her backyard. Surrounded by national forests, she learned the importance of healthy, wild ecosystems to sustaining communities. An immigration law course during undergraduate studies sparked Amelia’s interest in law as a mechanism to protect vulnerable populations. While a study abroad experience allowed her to see how poor pesticide management from agricultural operations has impacted communities in Central America. Equipped with practical legal experience, Amelia is excited to revisit the cross-cultural experiences that drove her to advocate for a healthy environment. Her research will examine a rights-based approach to achieving climate justice. She looks forward to engaging with Strathclyde Law School’s climate change litigation initiative and working with its research centres in human rights and environmental law. In her free time, Amelia enjoys exploring wild places and is excited about adventures that await her family in Scotland.

Microbiology, especially the subfield of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), has been at the forefront of Emma’s academic interests. At thirteen she was introduced to AMR while attending an NIH program at Montana State University. AMR has become an alarming problem as bacteria are evolving faster than medicine has adapted. To become a part of the solution, Emma obtained a B.A. in Molecular Biology from Colorado College while performing advanced research throughout the academic year and summer breaks. She also graduated with a B.A. in Classics , realising historic and modern cultures, as well as her current cultural community, are just as important to her as scientific pursuits. Emma has learned, during her time in college, that her passion is more than about “saving the world” through science. For her, interactions between people through medicine, service, or music are the building blocks for change. Through her exchanges in the MSc in AMR program at the University of Sheffield, she hopes to continue building these types of relationships while working toward her goal to contribute to the global scientific community.

Madisen graduated from the University of North Texas with a BA in History and a minor in Art History. During this time, she presented research at three conferences discussing historical myths and 10th-century judicial torture. She has always had an interest in British history and she decided that she wanted to work directly with artifacts that have survived for centuries. Following her BA, Madisen worked for a year at a local museum and developed a greater understanding of the need for inclusive and adaptive practices in this field. She helped develop programs for people with hypersensitivity, as well as a virtual reality program to make information more accessible to people of all abilities. The United Kingdom is at the forefront of innovation to make cultural institutions accessible spaces and during her time at Leicester, she will learn how to ensure her work in museums is inclusive. Madisen is excited to listen to and learn from communities that are not her own, while getting to visit sites and museums she has only studied from afar. The list of historical sites she plans to visit is continuously growing and she is enthusiastic to begin checking off each one.

Saheel was born and raised in Austin, Texas and graduated from Duke University with a B.S. in Economics and a Minor in Psychology. He is passionate about policy that empowers vulnerable populations, such as rural farmers and refugees, and has worked with the Ministry of Justice and Equality in Ireland, the Government of South Africa, the Government of Cambodia, and the World Bank to democratise opportunities for refugees and develop cash transfer programs targeted towards pregnant women and children. Saheel has also published research on the intersection of biometric identity and refugee rights. At Duke, he served as a Student Body Vice President, the President of the Hindu Students Association, the President of the Duke Impact Investing Group and a member of several university-level committees including the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility and the Library Council. At LSE, he will pursue an MSc in Economics and plans to later take this subject on to a PhD. He hopes to use his Fulbright to gain global exposure to development assistance and economics research in an effort to develop cross-cultural strategies of coordinated financing to improve outcomes for the world’s most vulnerable populations.

With a BS in mathematics from the University of Michigan, Jeremy is pursuing a career in biology research, applying mathematical techniques to problems in cancer and chromatin biology. He has already worked with a number of experts in this field. With Professor Marisa Eisenberg, he has developed models for the 2014-2016 West African Ebola epidemic, and studied the identifiability of infectious disease models. With Professor Arul Chinnaiyan and Dr. Sethu Pitchiaya, he has also developed a computational pipeline for microscopy images, in order to study spatial and transcriptional heterogeneity in cancer cell populations. Jeremy is delighted to be working with Professor Trevor Graham at Barts Cancer Institute during his Fulbright where he will develop spatial models of the interaction between tumours and the immune system. The goal is to better understand the parameters influencing the tumour-immune interaction, which could inform future immunotherapies. In addition to his research, he plans to form connections within the UK mathematical biology community. He also hopes to play chamber music (as a violinist) and rekindle his involvement in choral music.

After graduating from Baylor University with a B.A. in University Scholars in 2017, Rahul began school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, where he is currently a 4th year medical student. At Pritzker, Rahul has engaged in research focused on the intersection of health policy and health economics. Additionally, he has been a student-leader through the Choosing Wisely initiative, which seeks to incorporate value-based principles into medical education. Following medical school, Rahul plans to pursue a combined medicine-paediatrics residency in order to care for both children and adults with childhood chronic illness. He is excited to participate in the Fulbright programme this next year, through which he will travel to the University of York to obtain a MSc in Health Economics. He hopes this experience will enable him to improve the care for individuals with childhood chronic illness and provide him with the skills to develop better ways to measure quality of life in paediatric populations. Aside from his academic pursuits, Rahul is excited to take advantage of beautiful countryside of Yorkshire, exploring the surrounding natural parks while making sure to social distance safely!

Geghie, of Maynardville, Tennessee, graduated the University of Tennessee (UTK) in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and a minor in Entrepreneurship. Geghie pursued various opportunities and achieved many honours and awards at UTK. She became a Gold Award winner at the undergraduate research and creative achievement exhibition, EURēCA, for her animated design work on the dangers of music students developing tinnitus. She also interned as a motion designer for Discovery Inc. in Summer 2019 and again the following year in the Spring as a web/interaction designer. While at Northumbria University in the UK, Geghie will pursue her Design MA studying the use of communication design to move the masses in support of common causes and goals. Geghie will focus on how the UK successfully accomplished this task with their 2020 campaign to provide 100% of their citizens with modern Internet access. She hopes the UK’s efforts could be duplicated in the US for rural America. In her free time, Geghie wants to get involved in student gaming societies and channel her inner southern cooking for her new friends!

Emma is a theatre artist pursuing an MA in Shakespeare and Creativity at the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute. She is a graduate of the BFA Stage Management program at Syracuse University, where she wrote and directed "And the Women Cried" – a female-centered adaptation of Shakespeare's history plays – and has stage managed for several regional and youth theatre organisations in the US. Emma values the collaborative nature of theatre and looks forward to creating new work with her cohort at the Shakespeare Institute. She enjoyed celebrating Shakespeare 400 in the UK during her undergraduate semester abroad and is excited to continue to explore the bard’s place in UK culture – particularly in Stratford-Upon-Avon where her studies will be based. As a playwright and dramaturge, Emma is focused on exploring the ways we re-tell classic stories for today’s world. She looks forward to experiencing some of the new ways in which Shakespeare’s words will continue to resonate when theatres re-open.

Caraline completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Geography at Villanova University. A Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellowship recipient, Caraline was an active member of the Curry Lab, and completed an undergraduate thesis on achromatic plumage brightness in Black-capped, Carolina, and Hybrid Chickadees. She also enjoys working as a veterinary assistant, helping treat small animals as well as exotics. Throughout her undergraduate career Caraline developed an interest in geography, research and veterinary medicine, and how the three can be used to study the relationship between human, animal, and environment health. Caraline is thrilled to spend her Fulbright year completing a master’s degree in One Health at the Royal Veterinary College in London, followed by a four-month research project abroad. Upon completion of her Fulbright year, Caraline intends to attend veterinary school in pursuit of a career in veterinary research.

Stephanie is both an art historian and digital strategist. She combines her love for cultural heritage with practical technology skills to create digital resources for museums. She began this work as an Art History graduate student at George Mason University where she learned how to present historic content using digital media. Inspired by museums that were putting their collections online, Stephanie went on to work for the J. Paul Getty Museum, the United States Capitol, and Ball State University, developing innovative ways for these institutions to present their historic collections to large audiences. Stephanie will apply what she learned from working with academic and cultural institutions to her own studies as a PhD student with King’s College London’s world-renowned Department of Digital Humanities. She is beyond excited to return to her first love, ancient Roman antiquities, to question how the digital realm uniquely contributes to the reception of ancient Roman art. Outside of her studies Stephanie enjoys open-water swimming, a skill she acquired growing up in Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay. She’s looking forward to joining a swim team as a way to meet local Londoners and participate in this event.

Joe recently received a B.S. in Biological Science with minors in Chemistry and Psychology from Florida State University. He dedicated the majority of his undergraduate years to research in neuroscience, undergraduate teaching and pursuing his lifelong love of music. Joe will expand his neuroscience training into the clinical arena by pursuing a MSc degree in Cell and Gene Therapy from University College London where he will perform collaborative research with Prof. Jonathan Gale at the UCL Ear Institute. Together, they will work to uncover the genetic mysteries surrounding hearing damage as they attempt to develop potential genetic and regenerative treatments. Outside of the lab, Joe plans to immerse himself in London's art and music. Whether it be at UCL or a few blocks away at the Barbican Centre, he hopes to connect with locals through their shared passion for culture. After his time in the UK, he plans to build an academic career in Translational Medical Research. By sharing his experiences with future students and by placing an emphasis on international collaboration within his research program, he hopes to close the gaps in our global community while empowering future generations to do the same.

Ashlin is pursuing her MA in Applied Theatre from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. Her studies are a project of wondering: how can collaborative theater-making techniques be mobilized toward creating radically inclusive educational spaces? Ashlin is co-founder & resident director of Rhizome Theater Company, an applied theater ensemble that makes interview-based performances in partnership with communities across the United States. Alongside her work in theater, Ashlin also makes podcasts, concerts, films, and interactive immersive spaces. An interdisciplinary artist by nature, Ashlin mixes media to create work that starts parties, bares witness, cultivates intimacy, and sparks connections. Her recent collaborative partners include Virgin Entertainment, Night Vale Presents, Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, the National Neurotrauma Society, amfAR, and NPR. Ashlin is a graduate of the Reed College Theatre program, a member of Phi Beta Kappa & Ring of Keys, an emergent strategist, a collector of uniquely patterned socks, a coffee lover, an enthusiastic dancer, an ardent believer in the power of softness, an aspiring garden-maker, and a practitioner of joyful curiosity.

Being from a rural town in upstate New York, where livestock outnumbers the population, Greg enjoys hiking the forest in his backyard, and singing and dancing to electronic dance music. A skilled trombone player, an electronic musician and an engineer at heart, Greg has an affinity for music technology, which motivated him to build his first transducer at 18 years old. Four years later, after two additional loudspeaker inventions, a degree in Audio and Music Engineering from the University of Rochester, research experience with distributed mode loudspeakers, and an internship at Apple, Greg will study at the University of Southampton, where he will earn his master’s degree in Acoustical Engineering from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research. At Southampton, Greg will explore the active control of acoustic properties in enclosed environments, researching methods to mitigate induced noise from external sources. Afterwards, Greg will continue this research and his education at Duke University as a doctoral candidate in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department researching acoustic metamaterials supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Alison is a PhD candidate in Modern European History at Rutgers University focusing on nineteenth century Britain and Ireland. She is a proponent of the Four-Nations approach to British history, which emphasizes the diverse relationships between England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The multi-nationality of the United Kingdom and its vast nineteenth century empire is at the heart of her dissertation project, which traces the overlapping development of imperial and Four-Nations identities. Alison is excited to be the first recipient of the Global Wales Visiting Student Researcher Award. She will draw from Bangor University’s archives to trace how the politics of language and higher education galvanised Welsh, British, and imperial perspectives in the late nineteenth century. While on her Fulbright, Alison hopes to learn more about the Welsh language from the region’s vibrant Welsh-speaking community.

Madeleine’s journey to the Global Security and Borders programme at Queen’s began as an undergraduate at Boston College. There, she became dedicated to absorbing the stories of marginalised women across the city of Boston, serving as a resident advocate at a shelter for women and children and then organising a leadership camp for homeless girls. She also participated in a Prison Arts Collaborative that facilitated an art-therapy group for inmates at a Massachusetts women’s prison. These experiences deeply influenced her thesis that investigated the dynamics of public policy on homelessness that erase the struggles of impoverished women. At Queen’s, she hopes to foster her interest in women’s advocacy through a completely different lens – immigration policy and violence against female refugees. Madeleine is so grateful for the opportunity to live in Belfast – a city that is a living reminder that the borders that divide us can also be bridged. Her experience at Queen’s will allow her to translate her learning into a career dedicated to women’s rights in government or with a non-profit making sure that the voices of all women, not just those in power, are heard.

Jenika has a B.A. is from Bennington College and an M.A. in Instructional Design from the University of Central Florida. She has spent the last 9.5 years working for Universal Parks and Resorts, where she has worked on everything from ride operation to global design standards. At Strathclyde, Jenika will be studying migrant employee retention in the hospitality industry. Hospitality's already high turnover is magnified in migrant worker communities and Jenika wants to study methods to increase employee satisfaction and longevity in these vulnerable populations. She will utilise the University of Strathclyde's excellent business network to identify Scottish businesses in the hospitality industry and, over the course of her PhD, identify causes of employee turnover and help local businesses implement reduction strategies. In her free time, Jenika volunteers as an English language instructor for the Adult Literacy League and as a princess character for Give Kids the World Village. She hopes to find similar opportunities to give back to the community in Glasgow. She is also very excited to work on new fibre arts and see castles- perhaps at the same time!

Thomas, from Mount Vernon, Washington, will be earning an MSc in Marine Biology at Bangor University. While doing so, he hopes to learn about how human activity causes change in marine ecosystems and what measures can be taken to mitigate these effects. He is particularly interested in understanding the critical factors impacting health in cetacean species (whales and dolphins). The knowledge and skills he will gain from this experience will be put to work researching practical solutions to help create a more sustainable future. While in Wales, Thomas plans to take full advantage of the country’s natural beauty and historic attractions. Whether exploring the coast, hiking in Snowdonia, or touring castles, he will put his free time to good use. An avid choral singer and organist, Thomas also looks forward to engaging with the musical side of Bangor and, pandemic permitting, experiencing the famous Welsh choral tradition first-hand. Following the completion of his Fulbright, Thomas intends to earn a degree in veterinary medicine, which will open the door for him to work hands-on with marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation.

Emily has spent her life between the worlds of theology and English, majoring in English literature at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan and then pursuing an M.A. in theology at the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colorado. Now her two loves are coming together at the Institute for Theology, the Imagination, and the Arts at the University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. Thanks to her Fulbright grant, Emily will be pursuing a PhD in Theology, the Imagination, and the Arts over the next three years, writing on existentialist narrative and Catholic moral theology. Particularly thrilling is the chance to learn about others’ narratives of their lives – especially in the context of a multicultural experience – while studying narrative from a research perspective and helping expand the burgeoning field of interdisciplinary theological studies. Upon her return to the US, Emily looks forward to sharing her UK experience and her studies of narrative through teaching, writing, and building community.

Aria graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Rhode Island where she majored in Philosophy, Communication, and Political Science, and minored in Rhetoric and in Ancient Greek. She will pursue her MRes in Rhetoric at Royal Holloway, University of London, which connects Ancient Greek and Roman rhetoric to contemporary global issues. Aria will explore how depictions of female voices in the Ancient Greek canon have contributed to our contemporary conceptions of gender. Aria is also an advocate for gender equity and disability rights, particularly for people who, like her, are blind or vision impaired. She has shared her scholar-activist work through academic conferences and journal publications. Alongside her Guide Dog, Ingrid, Aria additionally has been a speaker at the United Nations, youth delegate to U.N. Women, and featured in outlets such as the Huffington Post, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and TED, through which she hopes to dismantle stereotypes surrounding blindness and disability. In the UK, Aria looks forward to volunteering at human rights organisations and is eager to immerse herself in London's incomparable libraries.

Penelope is from Brooklyn, New York, and as a Fulbright postgraduate student at the University of Exeter, she will deepen her studies of English literature and the health humanities through completing the MA in English Literary Studies. Penelope graduated from Bowdoin College with a BA in English literature and History and has spent the past three years working in medical education research at the Program for Medical Education Innovations and Research at New York University. She combined her interest in healthcare education and the humanities through completing her master's in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University, from which she graduated in 2020. At Exeter, Penelope is especially excited to engage with the scholarship of Exeter's interdisciplinary Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health. The global coronavirus pandemic has added new dimensions to her belief in the importance of integrating the humanities into healthcare, and Penelope is looking forward to learning more about health education in the United Kingdom. In addition to her studies, Penelope hopes to explore the beautiful southwest region, especially the beaches!

Jake graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Bioengineering along with a minor in Chemistry and a certificate in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Product Design. At Pitt, his fascination with entrepreneurship began when his design team invented a product for people with Parkinson's disease and started hearing, “I need this thing you've built – where can I buy it?” By co-founding a health technology start-up, he found meaning in exploring all of the pieces that must fit together to get his projects into the hands of the people for whom he designed them. Later, he started a program called Classroom to Community, which empowers students to transform their academic projects into real-world impact. Jake is pursuing a Masters in Entrepreneurship at UCL. He plans to use his dissertation to help promote the global shift in health technology from expensive and intimidating to affordable and empowering. In his free time, he enjoys photography and cycling. He looks forward to exploring the culture, architecture, and landscapes of the United Kingdom along bike trails and through the lens of his camera.

A Pacific Northwest native, as an undergraduate Michael performed roles in over ten university productions. Hungry for deeper classical training, at the end of his sophomore year, he participated in a summer intensive at Shakespeare’s Globe through the Fulbright UKSI. The brief, excellent training he received in London inspired him to return to the UK the following summer to study international art at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. There, a dream to cultivate a transatlantic career became an intention. He graduated from the University of Washington in the Spring of 2017 with a B.A. in Drama Performance and Communications. Meanwhile, Michael has performed regionally with ACT, Seattle Rep, and Seattle Shakespeare Company’s Wooden O. Through this work, he has become a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. This Fulbright Award will allow him to supplement his American contemporary actor’s training with classical extended physical and vocal training, unique to LAMDA and the UK. Throughout the year, he plans on seeing as much theatre as he can, building a professional network abroad, and experiencing the legendary treasures of the English countryside.

Nathaniel completed his B.S. in Physics and Applied Mathematics at California State University, Long Beach, in spring of 2020. While there, Nathaniel pursued both physics and mathematics research, studying nonlinear optical materials for use in next generation laser safety glasses and applying computational methods to knot theory. Nathaniel also had the opportunity to participate in an NSF-funded summer internship in Paris, helping to design optical systems to improve the sensitivity of measurements at the Virgo Gravitational Wave Observatory. In addition to research, Nathaniel also worked in his university’s children’s science museum and taught part of a first-year calculus course. At Lancaster University, Nathaniel will pursue a Master’s in Physics, focusing on low temperature systems that help answer fundamental questions about quantum mechanics. He also hopes to apply his teaching experience to Lancaster’s various outreach programs at local primary and secondary schools. An avid hiker, Nathaniel looks forward to joining Lancaster University’s hiking club, taking a break from the deserts of Southern California to explore the different kinds of terrain in Northern England.

Maeve recently graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology from Temple University. Maeve’s time as a geriatric unit hospital volunteer, EMT, rural housing organisation volunteer, and home health aide alerted her to the failures of the US healthcare model in serving the elderly. Maeve’s work as a public health research assistant on NIH-funded projects cemented her interest in geriatric care issues such as end-of-life ethics, health literacy, and the socioeconomic determinants of healthy aging. Maeve will pursue an MSc in Health Psychology, investigating how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical and mental health within geriatric populations. Maeve is particularly looking forward to studying in Scotland, where legislative provisions for geriatric care are prioritised, and to her work placement in an NHS setting, where healthcare is a right. Maeve’s hope is that her time as a Fulbrighter will inform her future work advocating for geriatric interests and universal healthcare back in the US. In her free time, Maeve enjoys hiking, playing pub trivia, and rooting for her hometown Philadelphia sports teams – she cannot wait to explore the Scottish Highlands, find a new trivia team, and become Celtic FC’s newest supporter!

Sacha graduated cum laude from the University of Washington with a major in Neuroscience and a minor in Music. For her thesis, she completed a meta-analysis and systematic review on polysomnographic findings in children and adolescents with chronic pain. Through her coursework in neuroscience and the Interdisciplinary Honors Program at the University of Washington, as well as her experiences shadowing health care professionals in Lebanon and France, she was exposed to the neurophysiological study of trauma and current trends in global health and migration. This inspired a passion for researching trauma in vulnerable displaced populations. At SOAS, Sacha will study the nexus between mental health, displacement, culture and politics. She also plans to work with organisations in London that provide medical resources to refugees, and to reach out to government officials to get an inside look at the policy-making process of the UK's Department of Health and Social Care. She is also excited to get involved with a London-based choir and instrumental ensemble. Sacha has developed a long-term interest in medicine and plans on attending medical school upon returning to the US.

Micheal graduated from Baylor with a BA in Biochemistry. In college, Micheal developed a smart-phone app capable of detecting various eye diseases and worked towards elucidating the molecular mechanism responsible for group 1 pulmonary hypertension. In addition to his research interests, Micheal led Kids Are Scientists, Too, (KAST), a non-profit devoted to implementing experimental approaches in primary education across the nation. Micheal's research experiences have inspired him to further explore other avenues in biomedical research before he decides on what to study in his PhD. At the University of Liverpool, he will primarily focus on developing hydrogels capable of delivering a plethora of therapeutic agents that may one day be delivered to patients. Micheal hopes to take this experience with him to further inform how he can most contribute to reversing paralysis resulting from spinal cord injuries.

During Erin’s time at St. Catherine University and afterward, her work and research have focused on women’s security and empowerment. This involvement took shape in Senator Klobuchar’s campaign, and later with Department of State internships in Dakar, Hanoi, and D.C. Erin is especially proud of a contribution she drafted for the International Telecommunications Union to enable women and girls’ development. The International Relations master’s degree at Wales’ Aberystwyth University provides the perfect platform to research women’s experiences and security as Brexit unfolds. Specializing in Feminist Security, Erin will focus on economic theory and policy and expand her knowledge through Feminist Approaches to Security and Indigenous Politics courses. She seeks to use her lived experiences in Africa, Asia, South America, North America, and Europe to lend a comparative research lens. Erin has seen dedicated public servants make unquantifiable contributions to peoples’ lives. She, too, hopes to enhance others’ lives by serving her country in a globally-informed way. Erin looks forward to attending Aberystwyth University and learning about the Welsh people and culture along the way.

Julio spent his childhood in Mexico City before immigrating to Laredo, in Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M International University with a B.A. in Communications before embarking on a career as a professional storyteller. His experience in the visual arts has allowed him to work for some of the most iconic and important figures in American politics. Most recently he has served as the Creative Director and Official Photographer for the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. There, he candidly documented the Speaker’s work as well as leading the branding and design of important Bills from the House between 2016-2020. Julio will be doing his MA in Digital Direction at the Royal College of Art. Inspired by Oscar award-winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñarritu’s critically-acclaimed art installation “Carne Y Arena” (Flesh and Sand), Julio plans to create immersive experiences using new digital technologies. He intends for these vivid experiences to inform and connect people by generating empathy. His goal with this work is to creatively address some of the most pressing problems facing the world today, including racism and climate change.

Growing up in a small town on California’s Central Coast, Megan's love for the great-outdoors, history, genealogy, and archaeology was nurtured by her antique-collecting, history-loving family. She received a Bachelor's in History from UCLA with a focus on women's history in Early Ancient Rome before working in the Television Industry as a Researcher and Producer - focusing on historical-documentary style programs. When invited to join an archaeological excavation with Dr. Christopher Gerrard and Dr. Christine Graves of Durham University, she knew the time had come to return to academia. Megan's PhD will continue Durham's ground-breaking research on Scottish prisoners of war from the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, who were forced to leave home and establish their lives in New England, Barbados, and France. Through comparative research of other 17th-century forced migrants and the analysis of archaeological material culture and historical documents Megan will determine how 17th-century forced migrants built their lives and passed on a memory of home to their descendants. She is eager to bring to life these long-forgotten stories and additionally looks forward to exploring the historical sights and natural wonders of the United Kingdom.

During a summer internship several years ago, Ben saw first-hand what a successful civic apparatus at the local level can look like. Since then, he has been interested in how local policymaking might be made more effective and more equitable. Studying governance and public policy at the University of Manchester, Ben intends to research the implications of devolution in the United Kingdom and add a comparative perspective to his frame of reference in anticipation of a lifetime in the civic arena. Ben holds a B.A. in Political Science and Public Policy from Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude in May 2020. After his Fulbright grant, he plans to attend Harvard Law School. In addition to his interest in politics and public policy, Ben is a musician who served as drum major of his college marching band and played euphonium in his college wind ensemble. He has also worked in journalism both professionally and as a co-curricular activity and has won awards both for news and opinion writing. He looks forward to exploring both British Brass Bands as well as British newspapers!

A multidisciplinary artist and researcher, Stefan is a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s BXA Intercollege Degree Program. Studying two distinct yet complementary disciplines – history and costume design – he became interested in exploring the sociopolitical ramifications of dress in traditionally underrepresented groups. As an undergraduate, Stefan conducted research and fabricated period garments utilizing traditional techniques at Colonial Williamsburg and the School of Historical Dress in London. For his thesis, he researched the sartorial narratives of 18th century runaway slaves in colonial America, receiving the John Hope Franklin Award for African American Scholarship and graduated with honours and Phi Beta Kappa. In the School of Drama, Stefan designed costumes for mainstage, black box, and film productions, and has since worked in the film and television industry in New York City. In Glasgow he will complete a Masters in Dress and Textile History, researching the politicization of dress in 18th-century Scotland and hopes to design a costume exhibit based on his findings. As an avid runner and artistic explorer, Stefan is excited to encounter Scotland’s sheep-inhabited terrain, remarkable architecture, and the vibrant creative community of Glasgow.

Public policy deliberations can be messy affairs. Often, their rhetorical excesses leave participants wanting for greater objectivity and rigor. Econometric analysis offers just that by counting, comparing outcomes, and observing trends, which together yield the understanding communities need to craft and implement evidence-based policy. This academic approach greatly excites Neel and, further, fuels his eagerness to begin studying at the University of Kent. As an undergraduate at Texas Tech University, Neel majored in Economics and minored in Mathematics and Chemistry. While there, he founded a nonprofit organization, which serves over 750 disadvantaged children; contributed to an NIH-funded Alzheimer’s study; and competed with the university’s mock trial team. After graduating, he worked as the policy aide to the State Chief Medical Officer in New Mexico. Neel is now eager to apply these experiences to his Fulbright research, which is focused on the health of migrant populations. Canterbury is a gorgeous town, and he is excited to immerse himself in its community and culture. He is especially keen to explore its centuries-old urban infrastructure and to hike the many trails in and around the town!

Originally from California, Sahil recently graduated from Duke University with a self-designed bachelor’s degree in health innovation. He first became interested in healthcare after traveling to Western Kenya to help deliver an HIV prevention intervention. Since then, he has worked on various local and global health innovation research projects, ranging from artificial intelligence tools to new healthcare payment models. Sahil’s particular passion has been on the social determinants of health. While at Duke, he founded a program to help patients connect to community resources for their unmet social needs like food and housing. He wrote his thesis on workforce models to identify and respond to patients’ basic needs. At Newcastle University, he will pursue an MSc in Health Services Research to learn more about the U.K.’s innovative models to integrate health and social services. Long term, Sahil plans to attend medical school in the U.S., with the goal of pursuing a career at the intersection of medicine, health policy, and innovation. In Newcastle, he is also looking forward to living less than ten miles away from the sea and the opportunity to play “real tennis” – a 16th-century precursor to modern tennis originating in England.

Samir is a 2019 graduate of the United States Military Academy, where he studied military history and physics. As a Fulbright Scholar, he will study for an MSc in Humanitarian Engineering at the University of Warwick. This degree program explores the technical side of humanitarian work in fields including water security, urban planning, and post-conflict reconstruction. Samir plans to focus his individual research on the removal of landmines across varied terrain and diverse societies in Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and Colombia. After one year in the UK, he will return to the US Army and resume his duties as an Engineer Officer, better equipped to deal with humanitarian crises and ready to spread expertise in the force.

Zaakir graduated from the University of Virginia with bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Political & Social Thought. He will be studying for an LLM in Law and Economics. Zaakir believes deeply in inclusive economic growth, where all people have a fair share in economic prosperity. He has incorporated this mission into his studies at UVA and will continue on this trajectory at Queen Mary. At UVA, he studied economics with Professor Kenneth Elzinga, under whose supervision he completed a senior thesis on Antitrust and Big Tech. For one summer, he also interned with Professor Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Laureate in Economics at Columbia University. At Columbia, he was a research assistant for a paper on Puerto Rican sovereign debt restructuring that was co-authored by Martin Guzman, then-professor at Columbia and now the Minister of Economy of Argentina. At Queen Mary, he will continue his work on antitrust by learning how European and British law approach competition and tech policy differently from the US. He will then take this knowledge back to the US to complete his law degree at Yale Law School.

Rana is the daughter of two Palestinian immigrants and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. A Truman scholar, she graduated from Loyola University with degrees in political science and economics. There, she served in the student government, led a council that supported diverse organisations on campus, and explored inequality through the Jesuit lens of social justice with Ignacio Volunteers. Rana focused on implementing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on campus and served as a diversity officer for a student run communications agency. New Orleans has been the laboratory for education reform in the United States and students have undoubtedly felt those consequences. She delved into school choice research and focused directly on how student performance data can inform policy. She has a passion for increasing access to public education. At the Institute of Education, she will study for an MA in Policy Studies in Education where she looks forward to analysing UK and US education policies, particularly as they relate to school choice models and accessibility. Outside of class, she looks forward to immersing herself in British tea culture and going to the London Central Mosque for Friday prayers.

Jonathan recently graduated cum laude from Clemson University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. A lifelong car enthusiast, he used his undergraduate education to pursue his passion in the field of vehicle dynamics and gain experience in the automotive industry. This journey began on the Clemson Formula SAE team, where he helped design and build open-wheel race cars to compete in international competitions. At the International Center for Automotive Research, he created new projects exploring the application of carbon fiber in race car suspensions and the development of a novel full-vehicle design methodology utilising multi-objective optimisation. During his MSc in Automotive Engineering, Jonathan aims to use the latest innovations in electric technology to interrogate current axioms of vehicle design and uncover new ways to develop meaningful experiences in cars. In the UK he will position himself at the forefront of the motorsport industry, such as Formula One, which will provide the creative and fast paced environment needed to innovate and explore new ideas. He is also incredibly excited to engage with the London jazz scene, and continue his adventures in music and performance.

Katelyn spent her North Carolina childhood "playing" others on stage and diving into literature. She discovered that this required both an understanding of and an openness to personal experiences across the world. Exploring stories filled her free time, and she began writing novels. At Appalachian State University, something divine moved her to deviate from her “more practical” life plan and write full time. As she grew more confident, she returned home to produce plays she wrote and teach creative writing workshops. Gradually, she became more specific about the changes she wanted to see in the world, who she would inspire and whose stories she wanted to highlight. Many Welsh poets and novelists have inspired her, as has Wales' turbulent coal history and successful sustainable present. Their willpower motivated Katelyn to work towards this project under the mentorship of Bangor University's astonishing creative writing staff by writing a cli-fi short story collection inspired by research and interviews with sustainability activists and scholars in both Wales and Appalachia. These misunderstood communities are working towards sustainability, connectivity, and a happier world, and Katelyn can only hope her project will do them justice.

Thomas Baker

University of York (All Disciplines) Scholar Award, University of York - Quantum Theory

Betül Basaran

Global Scholar Award, SOAS, University of London - Religious Studies

Aili Bresnahan

University of Roehampton Scholar Award, University of Roehampton - Dance

Lanta Davis

Queen's University Belfast (Irish Literature) Scholar Award, Queen's University Belfast - English Language & Literature

Alisha Falberg

Fulbright-Schuman European Union Affairs Program, International Whaling Commission - International Relations

Elliott Hoey

Loughborough University Scholar Award, Loughborough University - Health Communication

Caitlin Hutchison

University of York (History of Art) Scholar Award, University of York - Art History

Kimberly Ilsovay

Global Scholar Award, Queen's University, Belfast - Education

Louise Siddons

British Library Eccles Centre Scholar Award, The British Library - Art History

Heather Taussig

Cardiff University Scholar Award, Cardiff University - Social Work

Justin Vickers

University of Surrey Scholar Award, University of Surrey - Music History, Literature, & Theory

Kristopher Waynant

University of Exeter Scholar Award, University of Exeter - Organic Chemistry

Nathan Wolek

Scotland Visiting Professorship at Aberdeen, University of Aberdeen - Music

Tarah Wheeler

Fulbright Cyber Security Scholar Award, University of Oxford - Cybersecurity

Sarah Gendron

Global Scholar Award, Queen's University Belfast - Human Rights

Thomas is a condensed matter theorist, currently a Fulbright US Scholar hosted by the University of York in the United Kingdom. He graduated from the California State University, Long Beach where was supported on the Graduate Research Fellowship while working on superconducting—magnetic proximity systems, including the solution of a 200-year-old problem known as the bead on a hoop. Thomas earned his doctoral degree from the University of California, Irvine where he worked on aspects of simulations of quantum physics for materials with the renormalization group. During this time, he was supported by the Pat Beckman Memorial Scholar through the ARCS Foundation. As the prized postdoctoral fellow at the Université de Sherbrooke in Québec, Canada, Thomas published on a variety of topics in quantum computing. In his free time, he has been exploring the history of York and getting back to swimming as the pandemic restrictions lift.

Betül is Professor of Religious Studies at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Her primary area of expertise is the social, economic and legal history of the Ottoman Empire. Her scholarship has considered public order and policing in Ottoman Istanbul; marital relationships between Europeans and Ottoman women in the early modern period; the ways in which Ottoman women have been constructed in court records; and questions of social justice within Ottoman society. Betül’s current project tells a historically absent story about the life and work of Princess Niloufer, who married into the Muslim ruling dynasty in Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India, following the abolition of the Islamic caliphate in 1924. Niloufer gained recognition as a public figure dedicated to women’s empowerment during the turbulent period that led to the partition of India, and in the context of emerging women’s rights movements. Her story becomes a case study through which Betül investigates the intertwined themes of religion, international politics, and women’s agency. It also underscores the agency of Muslim women as important role models and pioneers in world history, in contrast to the contemporary western narrative most prevalent today that reduces them to mere victims or religious extremists.

Aili is an Associate Professor of philosophy at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Her primary areas of research are the philosophy of dance, performance, aesthetics, culture, and law. Her background includes professional-level dance training and experience as a labour and employment lawyer after receiving a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, a PhD in philosophy from Temple University in Philadelphia, and work as University of Dayton’s Humanities Commons Coordinator. Aili’s research at the Centre for Dance Research at the University of Roehampton in London will explore the possibility that ethical agency in dance along aesthetic lines could serve as a model for how productive discourse could proceed in philosophy, particularly among those who hold diverse views. She plans to work with community and political dancers, scholars, and students to articulate this research as well as to participate in and watch some international dance practices and performances throughout the city, work that she feels is particularly vital now after a time of health-required but alienating social distance.

Growing up on a farm in South Dakota, Lanta’s love of books allowed her to travel the world and embark on countless adventures. At first, literature was an escape into new worlds. Later, however, she realised that fiction could also reveal truths about the world, and that even literature about “faraway” places could teach her much about home. Her research on Northern Irish writers has led her to believe that literature about the Troubles can help teach the rest of the world – especially those parts that are becomingly increasingly polarised – how to creatively resist forces of oppression, develop resilience, and forge pathways to reconciliation. While the peace process is far from over she is excited to see the remarkable strides the people of Belfast and the researchers at Queen’s have made in reconciliation efforts. She hopes to learn from the experiences of the Irish and Northern Irish people and bring these lessons back home, where she is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean of the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University.

Alisha is excited to continue her career in marine mammal conservation in the U.K. with the International Whaling Commission. As a recipient of a 2020-2021 Fulbright-Schuman European Union Affairs Program Grant, Alisha will be conducting research and policy work for the IWC's Office of the Executive Secretariat. Her work will explore how this international organization pursues consensus in its whale conservation work, will examine the protection and use of the global oceanic commons, and will assist the IWC in this process. Alisha went to law school to specialize in environmental law, with an emphasis on endangered species and marine mammal protection. She is currently an Attorney-Advisor with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under the U.S. Department of Commerce. Alisha currently lives in Alaska, where she is an avid outdoors enthusiast. She enjoys rock climbing, cycling, hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, and yoga. She also is involved in the performing arts community and teaches tap dance at a local ballet studio.

Elliott conducted his PhD research in linguistics at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in The Netherlands and comes to Loughborough by way of the University of Basel. His research interests span conversation analysis, gesture studies, and discourse-functional linguistics and he recently published a book about silence in conversation, When Conversation Lapses: The Public Accountability of Silent Copresence. His Fulbright project will examine palliative care consultations, with an eye toward improving conversations about death and dying. By working on video-recorded consultations in a hospice, he aims to uncover the recurrent communicative practices that people use in advancing or discouraging talk about death. This research will proceed in close collaboration with top scholars of social interaction at Loughborough and the support of the Institute for Advanced Studies. The project will produce empirical evidence to inform policy, training, and guidelines regarding how to converse about death and dying. Elliott is excited to develop a network of scholars, advocates, and practitioners in the palliative care field, and he is also looking forward to training his ear for the different regional varieties of British English.

Caitlin graduated from the University of Delaware in 2019 with a PhD in Art History, focusing on the art and material culture of the early medieval period. Previously, she earned an MA in Art History from the University of Notre Dame, where she spent a summer in Ireland studying modern Irish at the National University of Ireland-Galway, and a BA in History from Ferris State University in her home state of Michigan while playing basketball on an athletic scholarship. Caitlin’s Fulbright project explores the nature of early medieval boundary markers and art of the border regions in United Kingdom and Ireland. In addition to teaching at the University of York, she looks forward to traveling extensively throughout Great Britain to observe and research such monuments and discuss medieval and modern borders with academic and public audiences alike. She is especially motivated to better understand the mechanisms of using art to mark and maintain territory and assert regional and cultural identities, both in the Middle Ages and modern-day.

During Kimberly’s career in the field of education, she has taught a wide range of grade levels and student populations. She began in early childhood and now works with higher education institutions around the world. She is touted as a champion for diversity and inclusion. Her extensive travel for work in study abroad and service immersion programs, teaching workshops and higher education courses for teachers, and promotion of international partnerships was the inspiration for her Global Fulbright project. Connecting people locally and internationally is her passion. Her project seeks to develop and strengthen international partnerships in education to enhance the co-constructed development of inclusive and intercultural curricula and applied research. Kimberly is excited to return to Belfast and Ecuador to continue her collaborative work for this project.

Louise is an associate professor of art history at Oklahoma State University, where she teaches courses in American and Native American visual and material culture. She has published on topics from the eighteenth century to the present and is active as an independent curator and dance instructor. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2005 and joined the faculty at Oklahoma State in 2009. From 2009-2014, she was also the founding curator and co-director of the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art. Her most recent monograph is Centering Modernism: J. Jay McVicker and Postwar American Art. Her research has been supported by several institutions including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Terra Foundation for American Art and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She was a 2018 Summer Scholar at the Eccles Centre, and as a Fulbright scholar she looks forward to returning to the unparalleled holdings in queer theory and Native American history at the British Library. During her fellowship, she will be completing her book about photographer Laura Gilpin, lesbian networks, and mid-century Navajo sovereignty.

Heather’s career has focused on creating and using evidence to improve outcomes for children who have experienced child maltreatment and placement in foster care. In high school, she began volunteering at a shelter for children in out-of-home care. Despite their exposure to substantial adversity, these children demonstrated exceptional resilience. As she continued her studies, however, Heather learned that the statistics painted a much bleaker picture. Twenty years ago she designed a mentoring and skills training program for young people in foster care entitled Fostering Healthy Futures, which has been tested in three randomised controlled trials and has demonstrated efficacy in a number of domains. A ten-year follow-up study with young adults who were placed in foster care during preadolescence provides rich longitudinal data that she looks forward to analysing during her Fulbright award period. Heather plans to collaborate with researchers and students at Cardiff University to develop more innovative and contextually-sensitive prevention programming for youth. During her time in Cardiff, she and her husband plan to take advantage of the many opportunities for theatre-going at the Millennium Centre and hiking long-distance trails.

Justin is Associate Professor of Music at Illinois State University. His research centres on music in twentieth-century Britain and Benjamin Britten in particular. He is currently writing The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts: A History of the Britten–Pears Era, 1948–1986. Together with Vicki P. Stroeher he is editing and contributing to Benjamin Britten in Context. He edited (again with Stroeher) and contributed to Benjamin Britten Studies: Essays on An Inexplicit Art. He has written on the lost ‘Epilogue’ to Britten’s ‘Holy Sonnets of John Donne’ and contributes regularly to programming for the Britten-Pears Foundation. He has written on Peter Maxwell Davies’s first two symphonies and his Antarctic Symphony in The Sea in the British Musical Imagination and elsewhere. An accomplished tenor, Justin has performed around the world from Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center to Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall, Moscow’s International House of Music, Vienna’s Stephansdom, and Britten’s The Red House. He has lectured on Britten, Peter Pears, Michael Tippett, the English Opera Group, and the Aldeburgh Festival.

Kristopher’s research blends organic synthetic chemistry, coordination chemistry, and functional polymeric materials. Recent work has focused on: (1) the synthesis of polymers for calcium ion recognition; (2) investigating coordination complexes of transition metals with redox-active ligands and; (3) employing polymer hydrogel modifications for selective diffusion. The research group also has interest in building cross-linkers for hydrogel based biomaterials; exploring glycosidic recognition patterns of various polypeptides for immune responses; as well as many synthetic methodological studies. Kristopher has a passion for chemical education and continually searches for ways to adapt his research into his lectures, courses, and laboratory classrooms.

Nathan is an audio artist and researcher whose work encompasses advanced signal processing techniques, audio field recording, multimedia performance, and electronic music history. He completed his Ph.D. in Music Technology at Northwestern University, and is currently Professor of Digital Arts at Stetson University. He is best known for the Granular Toolkit and LowkeyNW package, both popular extensions to Cycling74's Max environment. His music and sound installations feature rapid edits, gradually changing textures, and environmental recordings of personal significance. Nathan has presented his creative work across the United States, in addition to engagements in Korea, Germany, Norway, Canada and Brazil. His research has been featured at the ICMC, SEAMUS, CMS, ATMI and CENSE conferences. Nathan will be the 2020 artist-in-residence for the ACA Soundscape Field Station at the Canaveral National Seashore in Florida. He will then spend the early part of 2021 as the Fulbright-Scotland Visiting Professor at the University of Aberdeen, his second award from the prestigious Fulbright exchange program.

Tarah is an information security researcher, political scientist, author, and poker player. She is currently a Cybersecurity Policy Fellow at New America where she leads a new international cybersecurity capacity building project with the Hewlett Foundation’s Cyber Initiative. She is a cybersecurity expert for the Washington Post and a contributor on cyber warfare for Foreign Policy. She is the author of the best-selling Women In Tech: Take Your Career to The Next Level With Practical Advice And Inspiring Stories. She has been Head of Offensive Security & Technical Data Privacy at Splunk, and Senior Director of Engineering and Principal Security Advocate at Symantec Website Security. She has led projects at Microsoft Game Studios and architected systems at encrypted mobile communications firm Silent Circle. She has spoken on information security at the European Union, at the Malaysian Securities Commission, for Foreign Policy, the OECD and FTC, as well as at universities including Stanford, American, West Point, and Oxford. She has $3640 in lifetime cashes in the World Series of Poker. Reach her at @tarah.

Sarah (Sally) Gendron is Associate Professor of French and Cultural Studies at Marquette University in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Sally is the author of Reading Repetition in the Work of Samuel Beckett, Jacques Derrida, and Gilles Deleuze (Peter Lang, 2008) and The Co-Opting of Education by Extremist Factions: Professing Hate (Routledge, 2020). She has also authored two literary translations, and numerous scholarly articles focusing on cultural propaganda, genocide, and gender studies. Sally is currently writing a book on gender-based violence in conflict settings. Titled Sub silentio, the book traces manifestations of sexual violence during national and international conflicts, the evolution of legal language proscribing sexual assault, and subsequent prosecution (or lack thereof). Modern conflicts examined include World Wars One and Two, the Baltic Wars, the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, as well as gender-based violence within the military and at the hands of UN Peacekeepers. During the tenure of the fellowship, Sally will conduct the on-site research for three additional case studies: sexual assault during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, UK, sexual violence within the military in the Irish Republic, and the rape of Dalit women in India.

Clio Heslop

Civic Science Fellow 2020-21 - based at University of Texas at Austin

Clio is an experienced project manager and practitioner whose work focuses on bringing together professionals from business, research, policy, media, and non-profit sectors to work on science engagement. Since 2016 she has been based at British Science Association where works on strategy including partnerships, audience research, programme design, and organisational development relating to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). She led the BSA’s research into the UK science engagement landscape including diversity, motivations, and working patterns of science engagement professionals. As part of this, she created and coordinated a network of organisations working on equality diversity and inclusion in science engagement, and has developed and tested science engagement formats which connect researchers with diverse public groups. She also manages the long-running Media Fellowship Scheme, works with organisations to implement findings from the BSA’s audience research, and coordinates the annual Huxley Summit science in society thought leadership event. Previously Clio held roles leading researcher training at Springer Nature, and managing science policy events and communications at UCL (University College London).

UI breaks record with 24 Fulbright awards

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the additional Fulbright awards earned by Zainab Mousa-Makky, Cameron Keomanivong, and Megan Koch, raising the number of awardees from 21 to 23, and from 23 to 24.

A record 24 University of Iowa students and alumni from a range of creative, academic, and scientific fields have been chosen from among more than 10,000 students nationally to receive a prestigious Fulbright award to conduct research, teach English, or undertake creative projects abroad in 2020–21.

For the past year, these Fulbright finalists have been encouraged by advisors, nominated by professors, and supported by those who have witnessed their academic dedication and service to the community to take a crucial step forward in applying to represent their country as citizen ambassadors. 

“Our [24] finalists and 11 alternates this year have undergone a rigorous selection process,” says UI Fulbright faculty mentor Kathleen Newman. “We congratulate them and we wish them well as they begin their work abroad as researchers or English teaching assistants. This is a wonderful opportunity to make international connections and to learn to see the world from another culture’s perspective.”

This year saw the largest number of UI applicants ever, with a total of 51 UI students completing the rigorous application and interview process. A record number of 42 semifinalists were selected to compete in the second round of the competition.

In the past five years, 82 UI students have received awards to 33 countries, supported by faculty and staff mentors with world region and country expertise.

For the fifth consecutive year, the UI received the honor of being named a top-producing institution of Fulbright students nationally.

“Iowa’s unprecedented success in this year’s Fulbright competition underscores the UI’s role as a national leader in global education,” says Russ Ganim, associate provost and dean of International Programs, which oversees the university’s Fulbright programs. “The sustained level of collaboration between faculty, staff, and students needed to achieve this success spotlights our dedication to providing high impact international opportunities to our campus community.”

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. State Department. It is designed to increase understanding between the people of the United States and other countries by providing participants the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

The Fulbright competition is administered at Iowa through International Programs under the guidance of Fulbright Program Advisor Karen Wachsmuth. Students interested in applying for the 2021–22 Fulbright competition should make an appointment to learn more about the application process.

“These excellent students represent the diversity of our university,” says Wachsmuth. “They have lived both in Iowa and in countries like Singapore and Kenya, they have studied diabetes in our labs, written hip-hop poetry, worked with prisoners, taught movement to the blind, volunteered in our hospitals, and been active in our student government. They bring their skills and talents from all parts of the university and, for the first time this year, UI awardees come from the fields of dance and economics. We know they will represent the best of Iowa abroad, and we look forward to hearing about their future as new members of our growing UI Fulbright family.”

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

This year’s recipients include:

Raj Chakrapani , of Cerritos, California, graduated from UI in 2017 with an MFA in creative writing. With his Fulbright study/research arts grant to Romania, Chakrapani will translate an anthology of contemporary poetry from women and Roma writers from Romanian to English.

Jorrell Watkins , of Richmond, Virginia, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with an MFA in creative writing and poetry. With his Fulbright study/research arts grant in creative writing to Japan, Watkins will study Japanese music and history, ultimately composing a collection of performance poems combining the aesthetics of hip-hop and blues with those of Enka, a genre of traditionally-styled Japanese music.

Caroline Baum , of Ames, Iowa, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with dual degrees in international relations and economics, and minors in Arabic and French. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Morocco, Baum will teach English at a Moroccan university, as well as organize a cooking club with her students.

Mark Schoen , of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BS in economics and a BA in studio art. With his Fulbright study/research grant in economics to Indonesia, Schoen will study the economic influence of Indonesia’s tax amnesty program and its impacts on inequality.

Alyssa Gersony , of Rutland, Vermont, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with an MFA in interdisciplinary studies (choreography and intermedia performance). With her Fulbright study/research grant in dance to Latvia, Gersony will develop a performance piece about her Jewish ancestry and create an after-school dance program for students at the Riga School for the Blind.

Lucas Fagre , of Waverly, Iowa, graduated from the UI in 2019 with a BS in global health, a BA in anthropology, and a minor in Russian studies. Fagre is the recipient of the only dual-country grant offered to Bulgaria and Romania this year . With his Fulbright Study/Research grant in public health, Fagre will perform a qualitative study of the reasons for low measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination rates among Roma communities located in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Senéad Short , of Iowa City, Iowa, graduated from the UI in 2018 with a BA in international studies and a minor in French. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Taiwan, Short will teach English and offer dance and art lessons to children in the community. Short is the seventh UI grantee to Taiwan in consecutive years.

Cassandra Bertolini , of Green Bay, Wisconsin, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BA in German, a BA in English and creative writing, and a minor in translation for global literacy. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Germany, Bertolini will teach English at a secondary school, leading exercises focused on promoting intercultural exchange and understanding.

Tess Van Den Hurk-Moran , of Emmetsburg, Iowa, graduated from the UI in 2019 with a BA in English and minors in Spanish and psychology. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Argentina, Van Den Hurk-Moran will teach English at a teacher training college in Argentina and plans to organize a creative writing and translation workshop for students and community members.

Sydney DeBoer , of Iowa City, Iowa, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BA in history and a BA in secondary social studies education. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to the Czech Republic, DeBoer will teach English at a secondary school and plans to organize a global issues club to inspire critical thinking on domestic and international issues.

Caroline Brown , of Iowa City, Iowa, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BS in biochemistry and a BA in Spanish. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Spain, Brown will teach English and science education in Galicia. She also hopes to volunteer at a local hospital or clinic, serving as a translator and nursing assistant.

Maggie Fischer , of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BA in German and a BA in history. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Germany, Fischer will teach English and work as a cultural ambassador at a local church and assist with local student choirs.

Neha Haque , of LeClaire, Iowa, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BA in English and creative writing. With her Fulbright Teaching Assistantship Award to Mexico, Haque will teach English, research herbal dental treatments, and engage the community with a Bollywood fusion dance group for local elementary students.

Jackson Guilford , of Indianola, Iowa, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BS in political science and minors in international relations and English. With his Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Serbia, Guilford will teach English and plans to organize a tennis club for K–12 students in the community.

Maya Mahajan , of Iowa City, Iowa, and Los Altos, California, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BA in political science, philosophy, and ethics and public policy, and minor in Spanish. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Spain, Mahajan will teach English and hopes to work with a nonprofit serving the needs of immigrant and refugees in the Canary Islands.

Margaret Wairimu Mungai , of Des Moines, Iowa, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BS in neurobiology and minor in Spanish. With her Fulbright Study/Research grant in biology to Spain, Mungai will be studying type 2 diabetes at the Institute for Research in Barcelona, Spain, improving our understanding of insulin’s responsiveness in the body.

Isabella Senno , of Evanston, Illinois, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BS in anthropology (gender and culture track), a BA in psychology, and a minor in Spanish. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Spain, Senno will teach English, conduct academic writing skills workshops, and volunteer with a local organization dedicated to empowering women.

Eric Baron , of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with an MFA in creative writing (fiction). With his Fulbright Study/Research Arts grant in creative writing to Germany, Baron will research and write a novel set in postwar Berlin, following the lives of Jewish survivors, East European asylum-seekers, and Germans under military occupation.

Margot Allscheid , of Oak Park, Illinois, graduated from the UI in 2019 with a BA in elementary education and a minor in Spanish. With her Fulbright Teaching Assistantship Award to Spain, Allscheid will teach English in the Canary Islands, organize a dance group in the community, and volunteer with a local LGBTQ+ rights organization.

Zainab Mousa-Makky , of Iowa City, Iowa, graduated from the UI in 2020 with a BA in international relations and ethics and public policy, and a minor in Arabic. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Morocco, Mousa-Makky will teach English in a public Moroccan university and lead a weekly conversation group, creating a space for Moroccan students to express themselves and share their unique backgrounds.

Cameron Keomanivong , of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, graduated from the UI in 2020 with a BS in neuroscience and a public health certificate. With his Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Laos, Keomanivong will teach English in a secondary school, help coordinate a youth soccer club, and become involved in local games of kataw (kick volleyball).

Megan Koch, of Adel, Iowa, will graduate from the UI in 2021 with an MS in Geoscience. With her Fulbright study/research grant to Poland, Koch will be studying ancient tectonic processes in the circum-Arctic region and evaluating their role in shaping the modern world.

Leon Pan, of Concord, California, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with an MFA in creative writing. With his Fulbright Study/Research Award in creative writing to China, Pan will write an English-language poetry collection set in Shanghai, China, exploring the relationships between architecture, language acquisition, race and ethnicity in the context of transnational/“migratory" corporatism.

Ajla Dizdarevic, of Waterloo, Iowa, will graduate from the UI in 2020 with a BA in English and creative writing and a minor in French. With her Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Croatia, Dizdarevic will teach English, organize weekly creative writing workshops, and facilitate a pen pal program to encourage cultural exchange between Croatians and UI students.

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San Jose State University

California, united states.

The MFA at SJSU balances literary study with creative writing workshops. The program is designed to give students the opportunity to develop their talents in more than one genre while increasing their knowledge of modern and contemporary literature in a variety of forms and across a diverse range of cultural and critical perspectives. The program also features courses that provide hands-on preparation for beginning one's writing career in a globalized, technologically enhanced world.

Situated in downtown San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley's cultural center, the MFA program offers students a portal into the writing life. SJSU is the literary incubator for Silicon Valley. Students will be taught by instructors who are themselves publishing poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, translators, and editors - many of whom work in both traditional and cutting-edge forms, and who are involved in the arts and technology networks of Silicon Valley.

The English Department publishes Reed magazine, one of the oldest campus literary journals on the West Coast, with over 60 years of continuous publication. Reed is student-produced and offers opportunity for the editing experience as well as a possible publishing venue.

Contact Information

Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing +

Undergraduate program director.

The goals of the BA in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing are: to provide students the opportunity to concentrate their studies in the field of Creative Writing. To provide these students a course of study in the craft, theory, and practice of writing fiction, creative nonfiction, and/or poetry. To provide these students a course of study in literature and expository writing which will support their studies in Creative Writing courses. Many students earning a BA in English with a Creative Writing concentration will continue on to apply for admission to the MFA Program in Creative Writing, or will pursue a professional Creative Writing career.

Undergraduate classes in Creative Writing at SJSU are supplemented by the readings and other literary programs sponsored by the SJSU Center for Literary Arts (CLA). Since 1986, the CLA has provided readings, lectures and seminars that allow the San Jose community to interact with writers of contemporary literature who have demonstrated exceptional voice and vision. Its mission is to spread the influence of and interest in literature throughout the South Bay area and to facilitate cross-cultural understanding in the region's ethnically diverse population through the appreciation of works of literature. The CLA's Major Authors Series has been the most significant literary series in the region, presenting to the community five winners of the Nobel Prize, fifteen winners of the National Book Award and twenty-eight winners of the Pulitzer Prize.

The CLA is funded by grants and donations from individuals and foundations.

SJSU also publishes REED Magazine, an annual student-run Literary Magazine published every Spring and featuring submissions of original poetry and short stories from across the nation. (For more information click on http://www.reedmag.org/drupal/.)

Below are requirements for this focused concentration in Creative Writing.

(To see a detailed description of the SJSU BA Concentration in Creative Writing curriculum and individual courses, click on: http://www.sjsu.edu/english/undergraduate/degreeplans/majorcreatwrit.)

PREREQUISITE: 3 Units.

ENGL 71: Introduction to Creative Writing (3) - NOTE: English 71 does not count toward 48 units listed below, but it does satisfy GE Area Requirement C2.

15 Units of Creative Writing

ENGL 105: Advanced Composition (3)

ENGL 130: Fiction Writing (repeatable up to 3X) (3)

ENGL 131: Poetry Writing (repeatable up to 3X) (3)

ENGL 133: REED Magazine (repeatable 2X) (3)

ENGL 134: Speechwriting (3)

ENGL 135: Creative Nonfiction Writing (repeatable up to 3X) (3)

LITERATURE REQUIREMENTS: 9 UNITS

ENGL 149: The Romantic Period

ENGL 150: The Victorian Age

ENGL 151: Twentieth Century Poetry

ENGL 153B: Nineteenth Century British Novel

ENGL 154: British and Irish Fiction Since 1900

ENGL 161: American Literature to 1830 (3)

ENGL 162: American Literature: 1830-1865 (3)

ENGL 163: American Literature: 1865-1910 (3)

ENGL 164: American Literature: 1910- 1945 (3)

ENGL 165: Topics in Ethnic American Literature (3)

ENGL 166: American Literature Since 1945 (3)

ENGL 167: Steinbeck (3)

ENGL 168: The American Novel (3)

ENGL 169: Ethnicity in American Literature (3)

ENGL 176: The Short Story (3)

ENGL 177: Twentieth Century Fiction

Foreign Language Requirement

One year of foreign langauge study at the college level or equivalency through examination.

CORE REQUIREMENTS: 24 UNITS

A. Core Shared with the General English Major:

ENGL 56A: Survey of English Lit

ENGL 68A: Survey of American Lit

ENGL 68B: Survey of American Lit

ENGL 100W: Writing Workshop (Expository Writing for English Majors)

ENGL 122: Comp Lit, or 123 A, B, C, or D Global Lit

OR 125A: Homer to Dante

ENGL 144: Shakespeare

OR 145: Shakespeare and Performance

B. Core Course For CW Concentration

ENGL 139: Living Writers Seminar

C. Capstone Core Course for CW Concentration

ENGL 193C: Capstone Seminar in Creative Writing and Self-Reflection

Total Concentration Plus Core Units:

Bachelor of Arts in English/Literature +

Minor / concentration in creative writing +.

SJSU offers English Majors a concentration in Creative Writing. All Creative Writing and upper division classes are 4 units.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing +

Graduate program director.

The MFA at SJSU is a dual-genre program that balances literary study with creative writing workshops. The program is designed to give students the opportunity to develop their talents in more than one genre while increasing their knowledge of modern and contemporary literature in a variety of forms and across a diverse range of cultural and critical perspectives. The program also features courses that provide hands-on preparation for beginning one's writing career in a globalized, technologically enhanced world.

Situated in downtown San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley's cultural center, the MFA program will offer students a portal into the writing life. Students will be taught by instructors who are themselves publishing poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, translators, and editors - many of whom work in both traditional and cutting-edge forms, and who are involved in the arts and technology networks of Silicon Valley.

Samuel Maio

Samuel Maio is the author of THE BURNING OF LOS ANGELES (1996), and CREATING ANOTHER SELF: VOICE IN MODERN AMERICAN PERSONAL POETRY (2005), both from Truman State University Press. His poems, essays, and reviews have been published widely in periodicals.

http://www.sjsu.edu/cwmfa/faculty.html

Alan Soldofsky

Alan Soldofsky is a veteran of the San Francisco Bay Area poetry scene. His 2013 collection of poems, IN THE BUDDHA FACTORY, from Truman State University Press, was a finalist for the T. S. Eliot Award. He has been a contributing editor of Poetry Flash, and co-host of the popular poetry show “Planet on the Table” on Berkeley’s KPFA radio. He has published three poetry chapbooks: Kenora Station, Staying Home, and Holding Adam / My Father’s Books, a chapbook that includes a selection of poems by his son, Adam Soldofsky. Over the last three decades, his poems have been published widely in magazines and journals,

http://www.sjsu.edu/people/alan.soldofsky/

Nick Taylor

Nick Taylor is the author of the historical novels The Disagreement (Simon & Schuster, 2008) and FATHER JUNIPERO'S CONFESSOR (Heyday, 2013). Nick's work has earned a Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship and the Michael Shaara Prize for Civil War Fiction. He has also received support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the William R. Kenan, Jr., Fund for Historic Preservation. Currently Nick serves as Associate Professor of English and Director of the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San José State University. In 2014, Doubleday published his first thriller, The Setup Man, under the pseudonym T.T. Monday.

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty_and_staff/faculty_detail.jsp?id=2136

Cathleen Miller

Cathleen Miller's biography of Dr, Nafis Sadik, CHAMPION OF CHOICE, is the result of ten years of work and many, many strange circumstances. Other publication credits include travel stories for a variety of newspapers and anthologies. Miller is also the coauthor of DESERT FLOWER, the life story of activist Waris Dirie which describes the Somali nomad's experience with female genital mutilation. This book's print version has sold 11 million copies in 55 languages, and was later adapted as a feature film released in 34 nations. Cathleen Miller is a professor of creative writing at San José State University.

http://www.sjsu.edu/people/cathleen.miller/

Scott Sublett

Scott Winfield Sublett, a veteran screenwriter screenwriting teacher, is known for writing BYE-BYE BIN LADEN (2009), GENERIC THRILLER (2009) and PIZZA WARS: THE MOVIE (2002). He also has published a screenwriting guide, SCREENWRITING FOR NEUROTICS (2014).

Sally Ashton

Sally Ashton is a poet, writer, teacher, and Editor-in-Chief of DMQ Review, an online journal featuring poetry and art. She earned her BA in English with a creative writing minor from SJSU, and her MFA in Poetry and Literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars.

She is the recipient of an Artist Fellowship, Poetry, from Arts Council Silicon Valley and a fellowship from Montalvo Arts Center. She is the author of three books of poetry, two of which were nominated for Pushcart Prizes. Poems also appear in the textbook, An Introduction to the Prose Poem, and Breathe: 101 Contemporary Odes, as well as in literary journals such as Sentence: A Journal of Prose Poetics, Brevity, Zyzzyva, 5am, Mississippi Review, and Poet Lore. She was awarded the Fish Flash Fiction First Prize, an international award, in 2014.

Ashton was appointed the second Santa Clara County Poet Laureate on April 1, 2011. During her term, she compiled a collection of the favorite poems of County residents posted on a project blog. Besides teaching at San Jose State University, she teaches private workshops and at writer’s workshops including Disquiet: An International Literary Program in Lisbon, Portugal.

http://www.sjsu.edu/people/sally.ashton/

Selena Anderson

Selena Anderson is a writer from Texas. She completed her MFA at Columbia University where she won the Transatlantic/Henfield Prize, and her Ph.D. from the University of Houston. Her stories have appeared in Glimmer Train, Kenyon Review, AGNI, and Cosmonauts Avenue, and The Best of Gigantic Anthology. She is working on a collection and a novel.

Publications & Presses +

Reed Magazine

Visiting Writers Program +

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Creative Writing Student Earns Fulbright Award to Israel

Fulbright winner Julia Grunes '23 (SUNY Geneseo photo/Matt Burkhartt)

Julia Grunes ’23, an English (creative writing) and psychology double major from Monroe, NY, has won a 2023–24 US Student Fulbright award to Israel. She will spend the year as an English Teaching Assistant in Netanya, a Mediterranean resort city in central Israel. She becomes Geneseo’s 47th US Student Fulbright awardee and the first to Israel. 

At Geneseo, Grunes serves as co-managing editor of the SUNY-wide literary magazine Gandy Dancer and was previously the poetry editor of Iris Magazine . At her placement school, Grunes plans to start a literary magazine to connect American and Israeli culture and the larger community by mixing Hebrew, English, and Arabic writing to demonstrate that “a literary product can be made that unifies even amidst conflict.”

“Julia is a brilliant young writer. She is probably one of the five best students I have worked with in 30 years of teaching,” says Rachel Hall , professor of English and creative writing. “Her stories are beautifully executed, nuanced, and peopled with convincing and complex characters. The writing shimmers with intelligence and insight.”

Grunes grew up attending the synagogue in her hometown, where she learned the Hebrew alphabet, basic Hebrew phrases, and history of the Jewish homeland. Family visits to the country in 2013 and 2017, followed by a Birthright trip in 2022, motivated her to seek a long-term immersive experience in Israel.   

Grunes is a member of the Jewish student organization Hillel at Geneseo , which is committed to providing a pluralistic, egalitarian, and inclusive community, encouraging Jewish students to grow intellectually, spiritually, and socially. Hillel International is the nation’s largest Jewish campus organization on 850 colleges and universities, supporting more than 140,000 students.

After her Fulbright year, Grunes plans to enter an MFA or PhD program for creative writing. “A year in Israel is the only way for me to truly explore my heritage and find my voice as an author before applying to a graduate program,” she says. “As a writer, I wonder ‘What right do I have to tell a person’s story, a people’s story?’ Through the lens of an outsider, I don’t know if I have a right. Immersion in Israeli culture will allow me to create the connections that will allow me to write in a more nuanced and concrete way.”

Fulbrights at Geneseo

In five of the past six years, Geneseo has been named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in its annual article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. For the 2017–18 Fulbright cycle, Geneseo was the first dedicated SUNY institution to be named a Top Producer of US Student awards in any category—bachelor’s, master’s, research, or special-focus four-year institutions.

The Fulbright US Student Program provides grants for individually designed graduate study, research programs, or English teaching assistant programs in many foreign countries. Grunes is the first awardee of the seven semifinalists in this year’s competition, and reporting for the 2023–24 cycle will continue through April.

The US Student Fulbright competition is open to students and alumni. It is administered at Geneseo by Director of National Fellowships and Scholarships Michael Mills, who can be reached at [email protected] and 585-245-6002. For more information about the Fulbright and other nationally and internationally competitive scholarship and fellowship programs, visit Fellowships and Scholarships .

—Michael Mills

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Santa Clara University

The jesuit university in silicon valley.

The SCU English Department is ranked #4 in the nation by the  "25 Best Colleges for English Majors 2020" list  compiled by  gradreports.com . 

The Department of English is the home for reading and writing at Santa Clara University. You'll take classes from best selling authors, ground-breaking scholars, and award winning teachers . You'll go beyond the page–learning from experience through community-based coursework , internships , and independent research – all while being immersed in the innovation, energy, and opportunity of Silicon Valley. You’ll engage critically in this cutting-edge environment through lenses of race, gender, spirituality, sexuality, language, and more. We offer an English Major and Minor , a Creative Writing Minor, and a Professional Writing Minor .

About Our Program

The Department of English affords students a rich undergraduate education in the liberal arts centered on literature, cultural studies, and writing. Critical, professional, or creative writing projects are integral to every course in the English major. Students and faculty in the English Department discuss and write about British, American, and global literatures, rhetoric, technical and professional communication, new media, and film. A range of theoretical approaches are used, sometimes with a focus on visual rhetoric and cultural studies. The department also offers the Creative Writing Program , which provides students with a coherent course of study in the writing of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction and the Professional Writing Program , which focuses on the theories, ethics, and practice of writing in industry and public contexts. The English major prepares students to read and write critically, to bring intellectual flexibility to academic and professional problems, and to enter the workforce as individuals with trained skills in analysis and self-expression.

Nadine Koochou , Rhiannon Briggs , and Natalia Cantu , provide a preview of the projects they’ll spend this year working on with their faculty mentors

The English Department is happy to announce that two outstanding English majors, Teresa Contino and Octavio (Tavi) De Leon , have received Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) awards to teach English abroad in the 2023-24 academic year.

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Christina Büchmann College Consulting

“I can't tell you just how relieved and proud I am. Relieved to have finished in time, and proud to have submitted something I couldn't have done any better. For both of those feelings, I thank you.”

Applicant having finished

“Christina helped my daughter find her authentic voice and express it beautifully. Christina’s style is one that encourages students to stretch themselves and take creative risks which distinguish them in the college process.”

Mother of college freshman

“If you want attentive, personalized tutoring for your student, Christina is the best! She is very perceptive about her students' needs and extremely clever in motivating them to tackle challenges—with excellent results.”

“Writing was not our son’s strength, so his essay took numerous drafts. The final essay, however, read like our son jumping off the page.”

“The passion with which Christina approaches her work with students gets results. Our sons produced their best writing and were accepted to excellent colleges.”

“Christina’s keen understanding of character made me feel that she grasped immediately who I was, intimately. Just as importantly, she appreciated in me the qualities that I was trying so hard to articulate through my writing, and pushed me to write more boldly and more honestly than I had dared to previously. Christina helped me weave together the threads of my narrative into a tapestry that showed exactly who I was. I went on to be accepted at Harvard, where I completed my undergraduate degree in English.”

“Christina has the gift of being able to make each student feel special. She brings the best out of each student, even when the student does not feel he/she is good at writing.”

Mother of college senior and college sophomore

“Christina is much more than a College Application Coach—she is a mentor who stretches the boundaries for her stundents and instills in them a high level of critical thinking. Our two daughters returned to her, on their own, for her astute guidance when applying for a Fulbright Scholarship and law school. She is outstanding!”

“Christina's experience, knowledge, intense dedication, and brutal honesty made me feel like there was someone extraordinarily competent on my side. In the fall I am attending a school I am thrilled about, and to be frank, I don't know how I would have fared without her.”

College freshman

“Christina worked miracles to reengage and inspire our son, a college dropout with a rather complicated academic history, to apply to colleges he had never heard of, which turned out to be so interested in him that he was accepted on a merit scholarship.”

“I'd thought my essays would be the weakest part of my application, but arguably they are now the strongest part.”

Applicant on finishing

“Sending my daughter to Christina was the best gift I could have given her as preparation for college! Christina worked with my daughter on her writing skills, but mainly made her reach inside herself and discover who she really is and what her strengths are. My daughter is now a much more confident young woman.”

Mother of a psychology major

“He made it to Stanford! I want to thank you for all the help you have given him and his sister. I keep bumping into people who ask me about the recipe for Ivy kids. I think one of our key ingredients is you and I would refer them to you.”

Working with college applicants is an unusual opportunity because the situation makes students extra receptive. They need to figure themselves out and—quickly—learn to write about their mature selves. My goal is to produce applicants confident enough to hold themselves to higher standards. It's an exciting process. My preparation includes my own education:     · Ph.D. in English, U.C. Berkeley     · B.A. in English, Yale     teaching in universities and high school programs:         · Yale College Bass Writing Program         · U.C. Berkeley, Department of English         · Castilleja School, Palo Alto, CA         · Academic Talent Development Program, U.C. Berkeley     training in the college admission process:         · Interviewing for the Yale College Office of Admissions         · Supervision of college applications of more than a hundred seniors at Castilleja School         · College essay workshops for the Academic Talent Development Program at U.C. Berkeley and for its International Division         · Western Association for College Admission Counseling         · Overseas consulting with applicants to American colleges         · Staying in touch with students to hear their college and work experiences         · Over ten years as an independent counselor The result is familiarity with the admission office perspective, knowledge of how various personality types fare in different educational environments, and a sense of how far a student can be pushed to work more ambitiously.

“There was no sugar coating of the competitive reality of the college admissions scene, but at the same time, Ms. Büchmann's approach was very supportive, encouraging, and confidence building. With her vast knowledge of the “college market out there,” Ms. Büchmann spared no effort to really get to know my daughter and was thus able to help her finalize that balanced list of desired colleges that could be a good match for her.”

Applicant mother

“Christina was so inspiring to my ‘writing-averse’ son! She discussed the college essay with him, drawing out what the college was specifically looking for and gently allowing him to come up with his own ideas for how to approach the essay topic. This was empowering and motivating for him. When multiple drafts were necessary, Christina was able to encourage him to persevere through the sometimes tedious editing process. He was accepted to his top schools and is now completing his freshman year at a great school! He could not have done it without her support and guidance.”

“Right from the start, Christina formed a special bond with my daughter, one that worked magically in managing the stress and anxiety which had kept her from working efficiently even though she had always been a very good student.”

Applicant parent

“Just wanted to remind you: You said I should apply to X University because when I got my first acceptance, I'd be glad to have that option. I just got into X University. ARE YOU ALWAYS RIGHT?!”

Relieved applicant

“As a student from an international family I thought that personal statements were boxes that didn't fit me; Christina helped me craft an essay that showed both my intellectual and my artistic sides. Her deep understanding of the process of transforming lived experience into concise, witty, and moving writing is only matched by the boundless energy with which she approaches each student as an individual.”

“I ended up accepting a spot at the Rochester Institute of Technology with $12,000 per year scholarship. Thank you so much for everything you did to help me in this process. I definitely wouldn't have been accepted into this caliber of school without you!”

“Christina is very tuned-in and perceptive about her students' strengths, weaknesses, quirks, and creativity. When it comes to learning differences, she is especially patient and becomes both the student's and the parents' best ally for coping with these differences.”

Mother of history major

“I didn't know how to convert the ideas in my head to words on the page. Christina taught me how to engage with the reader to effectively make my points. The skills I learned with Christina carried me through college and now, the law-school application process. Her coaching has been an integral part of my education.”

Recommended Plan for the High School Years: 9th grade Introductory consultation about the student's and parents' expectations.     Optional:                      Potential activity advising                      Curriculum priorities                      Parent orientation 10th grade Student pursues studies and interests. 11th grade Planning ahead and consultation about college visits     Optional:                      Summer internship planning                      Decisions about testing                      SAT and ACT testing prep                      Reflective writing prep                      Recommendation planning Summer between 11th and 12th grades As much of the application-writing as possible 12th grade Completing applications, reading acceptance letters, choosing where to go to college.     Optional:                      Interview prep                      Portfolios

EL SALVADOR

SOUTH KOREA

International

International students may need additional support in areas such as Orientation:     American programs of study     Types of institutions     The American ideal of well-rounded students Practical:     Explaining one's educational system     Showing extracurriculars     Reflection in the personal essays     Interviewing skills     Guidance for recommenders     Finding scholarships Planning for future entrance in professional programs I have worked with international students visiting Palo Alto, as well as over Skype, internet, telephone, and overseas visits. Students have come from: Argentina Belgium Brazil Canada Colombia El Salvador England France Germany Greece Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Israel Italy Japan Jordan Lebanon Mongolia Nicaragua Pakistan People's Republic of China Phillipines Poland Romania Russia Scotland South Korea Sri Lanka Sweden Thailand Turkey

Frequently Asked Questions

What can strong students get from advising? An objective sounding board, encouragement to take good risks, more college options, more scholarships, help squeezing in more information, ways to make the information show more of them, higher standards. When should a student start working on his/her applications? Ideally the writing should start the summer before senior year of high school. Does everyone need to spend the same amount of time with a college counselor? Not at all. Some come in only at the beginning and the end; some make a weekly routine of showing work; some only consult about the writing. Is it useful to apply early? It doesn't always help, but this can be figured out based on the particular student's profile. Is it worth polishing my essays to apply to the UC system? Yes, the UC admissions officers read essays quite alertly, looking for specific information. Do others use college counselors?     Yes. Do people ever not finish their applications in time?     It doesn't happen. Will I get into college?     Yes. But you have to apply.

Signs of Progress

The student shows up looking taller and broader, beaming because he has finished his first essay. The student who hates writing about herself discovers that short sentences work. They just have to add up. They can juxtapose interesting information. The student finally fills out the Special Circumstances box—and discovers that no one else thinks he should be ashamed. The student mentions that she now offers editing help to her friends at school—“they have a lot to learn.” The student, halfway through the season, announces that he will try a new topic—“I've cared about this for years; I just didn't think anyone else would be interested.” The student gets an acceptance and merit scholarship while still working on her other applications. The student lets his parents see his finished essays and everyone exclaims that they can hear his voice as they read. The student returns to the first draft of her first essay and laughs tolerantly. The student returns from college to tell me that I must tell others to come to his college because it's the best place he can imagine.

Contact Christina Büchmann

Telephone: +1-650-704-2875 Email: [email protected] Office: Downtown Palo Alto, CA

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Choyt receives fulbright.

Tobias Choyt '24 is the recipient of a Fulbright to study grazing in Uruguay in 2024-2025.

For the second year in a row, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has recognized Dartmouth as a  Fulbright Top Producing Institution , ranking it in the top echelon of colleges and universities with the highest number of students selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. 

For the 2023-24 academic year,  16 Dartmouth students accepted  Fulbright awards, placing Dartmouth at number 23 among universities nationwide. (A 17th student was also named a Fulbright recipient but declined).

The recognition marks the second consecutive year Dartmouth has received the honor and the fifth time receiving the Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Students designation since 2009. 

"Whether they are teaching English, pursuing graduate degrees, or undertaking independent research and creative work, our Fulbright scholars represent the exciting breadth of Dartmouth's liberal arts education," says  Christie Harner , assistant dean of faculty for fellowship advising. "We are proud of the impact they have, and of the knowledge and experience they also gain overseas."

Lee Satterfield, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, says the Fulbright Top Producing Institutions "represent the diversity of America's higher education community. Dedicated administrators support students and scholars at these institutions to fulfill their potential and rise to address tomorrow's global challenges. We congratulate them, and all the Fulbrighters who are making an impact the world over."

Our Fulbright scholars represent the exciting breadth of Dartmouth's liberal arts education.

CHRISTIE HARNER, ASSISTANT DEAN OF FACULTY FOR FELLOWSHIP ADVISING

Since 1949, more than 275 Dartmouth applicants have received and accepted Fulbright awards, with some other potential recipients opting not to enter the program. Still others who attended Dartmouth may have applied to the Fulbright program via other institutions, Harner says. 

This level of success points both to the diverse strengths of Dartmouth's student and alumni body and also to the efforts of Fellowship Advising to expand awareness of the opportunity and mentorship on the application process, Harner says.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship international academic exchange program. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided over 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds with the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. Fulbright alumni have included 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 80 MacArthur Fellows. 

More information about Fulbright awards through Dartmouth  is available through the  Office of Undergraduate Advising and Research .

Beatrice Handlin Awarded Fulbright to Teach in Bulgaria

The Language Center and the Institute of Linguistics  are thrilled to announce that Communications and Technology Assistant, Beatrice Handlin has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) grant in Bulgaria for the 2024-2025 school year. This grant aims to improve the quality of English language instruction in Bulgarian schools and to expand the educational and cultural exchange between Bulgaria and the United States.

Beatrice has worked at the Language Center since Fall 2021, when she was hired as a student office and administrative assistant. She worked at the center throughout her undergraduate degree and in Fall 2023 she graduated from the University of Minnesota, with a BA in English and Creative Writing and a track in Secondary Education. After her graduation, she transitioned into working full time for the two units.

She wants to thank the Language Center and Institute of Linguistics staff members and community for their support throughout her years in undergrad and the Fulbright application process. She will continue to work in both units until her departure in late August.

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International Programs

Ui alumna maria osman awarded fulbright to indonesia.

Maria Osman, who received a BA in international studies from the University of Iowa in 2022, is the winner of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to Indonesia for 2024-25.    Hometown: Iowa City, Iowa  Degree: BA, international studies (Islamic & Middle Eastern world studies), certificate in human rights    Could you give us a brief synopsis of what you'll be doing with your Fulbright?  I will be teaching English to high school students in Indonesia! I will also be establishing two projects as a part of my Fulbright award (one where I will create an English art club and another where I will create an American literature and film club).    How do you envision this will influence your life/future career?  After my time in Indonesia, I plan to obtain my master’s in international development where I will focus on project development and research in rural communities. This award will provide me with the adaptability, flexibility, leadership skills, and international experience needed to work in the development field.    What advice do you have for future students interested in applying for a Fulbright?  I had thought that an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) was only for those wanting to teach English as a career, but I learned that that isn’t the case at all, and you can learn so much from being an ETA that will benefit your career. Aside from that, they also offer other grants to conduct research, study, or creative grants as well. Even if you don’t think you’re qualified or you won’t get it, you should still apply and when you do, make sure to meet the priority deadline and keep editing your essays. I know the priority deadline is optional, but it makes a difference to submit it by then.    Were there experiences at the UI that inspired you to pursue a Fulbright?  While I was applying to study abroad at Iowa, I received the Gilman scholarship. After this, I learned that Meredith Gall (my advisor) had nominated me for Fulbright. I had only heard about Fulbright and didn’t know what it was, but after looking into it, I realized it was the perfect opportunity.     Are there individuals you'd like to thank for their investment in this process?  Of course! I would love to thank Karen Wachsmuth for helping me with the application process and Ari Natarina for meeting with me so much to help me with editing my essays and evaluating my Indonesian language level. I’d also like to thank my recommenders: Asma Ben Romdhane (my Arabic teacher), Kristine Djerf (who was my study abroad advisor), and Meredith Gall (my degree advisor).    EXPLORE THE MANY FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES OPEN TO UI STUDENTS AND ALUMNI   

International Programs  (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement.  IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.  

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International Programs at the University of Iowa supports the right of all individuals to live freely and to live in peace. We condemn all acts of violence based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and perceived national or cultural origin. In affirming its commitment to human dignity, International Programs strongly upholds the values expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights .  

The 2025-26 Competition is now open. Applications must be submitted by the national deadline of October 8, 2024 at 5pm ET.

Current U.S. Student

United States citizens who are currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate degree programs are eligible to apply.If you are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a U.S. college or university, you will apply through that institution, even if you are not currently a resident there. Find the Fulbright Program Adviser on your campus.

U.S. Citizen but not a Student

If you are a U.S. citizen, will hold a bachelor’s degree by the award start date, and do not have a Ph.D. degree, then you are eligible to apply. Non-enrolled applicants should have relatively limited professional experience in the fields (typically 7 years or less) in which they are applying. Candidates with more experience should consider applying for the Fulbright Scholar Program .

The Getting Started page will provide information on eligibility and next steps.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program welcomes applications in the creative and performing arts. Arts candidates for the U.S. Student Program should have relatively limited professional experience in the fields (typically 7 years or less) in which they are applying. Artists with more experience should consider applying for the Fulbright Scholar Program .

Creative & Performing Arts projects fall under the Study/Research grant category and are available in all countries where Study/Research grants are offered.

U.S. Professor/Administrator

If you are a U.S. citizen and a professor or administrator at a U.S. institution and are interested in applying for a Fulbright Scholar Award, you will need to apply through fulbrightscholars.org .

To support your students in applying for a U.S. Student Program award, please connect with the Fulbright Program Adviser at your institution.

Non U.S. Citizens

If you are a non-U.S. citizen interested in applying for a Fulbright Award to the United States, you will need to apply through the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy in your home country. Find out more information on the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program or Fulbright Foreign Student Program .

Fulbright Grantee Directory