A record number of graduate students from The Ohio State University have been awarded prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program fellowships for 2023-2024. Six students are recipients of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards: Ellen Danford, Environmental Sciences Graduate Program, Karis Neufeld and Justin Salgado, College of Arts and Sciences, Haley Dunlop and Selina Vickery, College of Medicine, and Nancy Pellegrino, Center for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies.
Administered by the Department of State, the mission of the program is for both the awardee and the host community to grow through international exchange. These Fulbright fellowships offer U.S. graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists an opportunity to study, conduct research, and/or teach English abroad.
A master’s student in the Environmental Sciences Graduate Program, Ellen Danford was awarded the Chile Science Initiative Research Award in Chile for “Establishing the Codling Moth Parasitoid, Mastrus Ridens, with the Help of Native Plants.” The project seeks to combat the invasive codling moth, an insect which preys on fruit crops and threatens production worldwide, through the introduction of its natural predator, the wasp Mastrus Ridens. She will be affiliated with La Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her advisor is Mary Gardiner.
A medical student, Hayley Dunlop was awarded a Fulbright research grant to study “Where Values Meet Practice: Abortion Attitudes and Training in Spanish Medical Education” in Spain. Dunlop will be affiliated with the L'Associació de Drets Sexuals I Reproductius, the Foundation University Institute for Primary Health Care Research Jordi Gol I Gurina. Her study will survey medical students and OB/GYN residents in Barcelona to explore abortion training efforts for physicians and how conscientious objection and knowledge of different abortion techniques shape their decisions. Her advisor is Sheryl Pfeil.
A doctoral student in political science, Karis Neufeld was awarded a Fulbright research award to examine “Ethnicity and Nationalism in Cameroon.” Neufeld’s project examines national identification and ethnic group membership among Cameroonian citizens in the capital and three mid-sized cities. This work will contribute to knowledge about nationalism in African states and supports peace- and nation-building efforts throughout Cameroon. She will be affiliated with University of Yaoundé II. Her advisor is Amanda Robinson.
A master’s student in the Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Graduate Program, Nancy Pellegrino was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Romania. The Fulbright ETA allows Pelligrino to further strengthen her ties to Romania and improve her teaching skills. She uses a constructivist, student-centered approach to teaching that encourages students to explore U.S. culture while strengthening their speaking and comprehension skills. Her advisor is Angela Brintlinger.
A doctoral student in history, Justin Salgado was awarded the Fulbright-Garcia Robles All Disciplines Research Award, Mexico to study “AIDS on the Margins: The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in El Paso and Cd. Juárez, 1987-2000.” The research centers on the involvement of Latino people living in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, who are often overlooked in the scholarship on HIV/AIDS. It examines the history of bidirectional mobility through a population that resided on the geographic and social margins. Salgado will be affiliated with Escuela Nacional de Anthropología e Historia. His advisor is Clayton Howard.
A medical student, Selina Vickery was awarded the Fulbright Queen Mary University of London Award, United Kingdom. Vickery will enroll in the master's degree program in global public health and policy at Queen Mary University of London. She will examine theories and evidence underpinning social determinants of health, how primary care can serve as a direct extension to patients as a platform for effective public health action, and the intersections between population need, politics and policy. Her research will blend with global public health studies and apply her epidemiologic and statistical training to examine the intricacies of specific preventative public health interventions. Her advisor is Shauna Schord.
Two Fulbright alternates were also named. Henry Misa, a doctoral student in history, and Caralee Shephard, a doctoral student in entomology.
Fulbright Students are recent college graduates, graduate students, and early career professionals, while Fulbright Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators, and established professionals. The Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition for graduate students is administered through the Office of International Affairs. For more information contact Joanna Kukielka-Blaser. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition for undergraduates is administered at Ohio State through the Undergraduate Fellowship Office. To view the 2023-24 undergraduate Fulbright U.S. Student Program awardees, visit the Undergraduate Fellowship Office.