February 6, 2013

Eleven Drexel students and alumni were selected as finalists for the prestigious Fulbright US Student Program for study and research or teaching English abroad in 2013-14. We are so proud of these students who spent lots of time developing research proposals, crafting application essays, and incorporating feedback from supportive readers.

After being chosen as finalists by national screening committees their applications have now been passed to country-specific committees for final selection.

Seyi Aderotoye

DUCOM, MD ‘15
Nigeria

Seyi's proposed project aims to determine the cultural and socioeconomic effects on pain management treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD) patients in Nigeria. The hope is to discover the hindrances and potential alternative management interventions for SCD patients in reducing pain and improving psycho-cultural outcomes. Of Nigerian descent herself, Seyi hopes to use her Fulbright experience to bring together Western and African understandings of sickle cell treatments.

From Washington, DC, Seyi studied Public Health as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland. She focuses on hematology, and received the NIH Heart, Lung, Blood Summer Research Fellowship for work at Case Western’s HLB program. Seyi hopes to eventually work in international medical research and policy.

Steffanie Altman

International Area Studies, PHC, BA '13
Spain

Steffanie plans to research the fight for civil rights in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community in Asturias, Spain during and after the transition from Franco's dictatorship to democracy by conducting interviews with three generations of the LGBT community.

A Philadelphia native, Steff studied abroad in Spain and Costa Rica. She also interned at the Department of State’s Office of International Religious Freedom, volunteering on the newly formed LGBT task force while there. Steff hopes to join the US Foreign Service post-Fulbright.

Liesl Driver

Global and International Education, Master's '14
Peru, ETA

Liesl has applied to teach English in Peru.  Her graduate research has focused on indigenous bilingual education in Peru, and she hopes to maintain local languages in a globalized world.

From Lewisburg, PA, Liesl studied abroad and worked as an English teacher in Mexico. There, she also studied the two indigenous languages Nahuatl and Zapotec after realizing that Mexico’s culture cannot be fully understood through the Spanish language alone. She hopes to work at the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages after the ETA in Peru.

Lauren Forbes

Public Health, MPH '13
Ethiopia

Lauren proposes to work with the Ethiopian Public Health Association on a project to improve reproductive health services for adolescents in the Amhara region. She will be investigating their opinions on reproductive health issues and related cultural factors.

From Portland, OR, Lauren has been a student representative to the Maternal and Child Health Working Group while at Drexel. Lauren also spent time in The Gambia and South Africa working on preventive healthcare, perinatal and community health projects. (Thesis advisor, Dr. Suruchi Sood)

Josa Hanzlik

Biomedical Engineering, PhD ’14
Netherlands

Josa proposes to work with the researchers of The Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, Netherlands, to create mathematical models determining the implant or patient factors that increase the amount of bone ingrowth into porous implants. Beyond Mechanobiology, she also hopes to investigate which factors contribute to the low number of women in STEM fields both in the Netherlands and the US.

Originally from Rochester, NY, Josa is a member of Professor Steven Kurtz’s Implant Research Center. She was also President of Drexel Graduate Women in Science and Engineering and is actively engaged in science outreach activities, especially those targeting girls and women.

Elizabeth (Liesbet) Manders

Creative Arts Therapies, PhD ’14
Germany

Liesbet proposes to join a study on autism in Heidelberg, Germany.  She plans to investigate if participants in dance/movement therapy can learn to coordinate their body movement with a partner and if this will improve their social interactions.

From Pittsburgh, PA, Liesbet has been working as a dance/movement therapist and mental health professional for several years. She is now pursuing a PhD at Drexel after realizing the lack of sound research evidence in the largely clinical field of dance/movement therapy (advisor: Dr. Sharon Goodill).

Nicholaus Meyers

Mechanical Engineering, PHC, BS/MS '13
Germany

Nick proposes to work at the University of Ulm on a project to characterize the mechanical properties of fracture fixation devices in order to directly compare research results from various fracture healing studies. This project will allow for optimization of fracture fixation devices and ultimately better care for those who suffer a bone fracture.

Originally from Chamblee, GA, Nick studied abroad in the UK while at Drexel and has completed two coops at Synthes, a medical device company. There, he worked alongside Swiss and German engineers and surgeons, which inspired his desire to research overseas.  Nick was also a Hess Undergraduate Research Scholar. 

Sean Miller

Biology, BS '11
Sweden

Sean plans to research Alzheimer's disease with world-renowned scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

From Reading, PA, Sean started research in Dr. Aleister Saunder’s lab in his first year at Drexel through the STAR program and conducted Alzheimer’s research there until he graduated. Since graduating from Drexel, he has been a research assistant at the Harvard Medical School/ Massachusetts General Hospital working on the genetic and molecular basis of Alzheimer’s disease

Hunter Snyder

Film and Video Studies, BS '12
Greenland

Through traditional and visual ethnography, Hunter seeks to explore the relationship Inuit have with labor and land in light of the transformations caused by mining activity in the Arctic.

Born in Worms, Germany, Snyder contributed to a documentary on Maine’s first community-owned wind turbine project in Vinalhaven and later on  a documentary about a third-generation Mainer’s working and cultural relationship to fishing and art making. He has since expanded his interest in fishing economies to the Arctic.

Since graduating from Drexel he has been working in Yale University’s World Oral Literature Project and in its digital ethnographic archives. He plans to pursue an MPhil in Polar Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK post-Fulbright.

Nathan Taylor

Mechanical Engineering, PhD ’15
South Korea

Nathan proposes to use electrical plasma discharge to treat water contaminated with pollution from fuel extraction in conjunction with Kwangwoon University. He hopes to expand his expertise on water treatment techniques by utilizing Kwangwoon's plasma science knowledge.

Originally from Carlisle, PA, Nathan completed his undergraduate degree at Drexel and has been active in the American Society of Mechanical Engineering, working as a judge during ASME’s Human Powered Vehicle Challenge and contributing to professional development opportunities for students. Nathan is a research assistant at the A. J. Drexel Plasma Institute (advisor: Dr. Young Cho).

Sarah Lightfoot Vidal

Materials Science and Engineering, BS/MS '13
Chile

Sarah proposes to do research at CIPA’s Functional Polymer Department, in conjunction with the Polymers department at the Universidad de Concepción. She will be working on developing a polymer blend of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) for use in the medical field.

Originally from Corvallis, OR, Sarah has been volunteering as an undergraduate researcher at Dr. Marcolongo’s Biomaterials Research Group for two years and is a regular contributor to the Journal of Young Investigators.