Sara Hardy ’05 is the recipient of a Fulbright Student Grant to pursue genetic research in Iceland. She will spend nine months at the University of Iceland researching hereditary cystatin C amyloid angiopathy (HCCAA), a genetic disease that occurs only in Iceland and leads to brain hemorrhaging in young adults. Sara will work with Dr. ÃstrÃður Pálsdóttir at the Institute for Experimental Pathology to study the role of the immune system in HCCAA. She also plans to take several courses at the university during her stay.
The flagship international educational program sponsored by the United States Government, the Fulbright Program is designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.”
With this goal, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 250,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study and teach in each other’s countries, exchange ideas, and develop joint solutions to address shared concerns.
The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Since its inception more than 50 years ago 255,000 “Fulbrighters,” 96,400 from the United States and 158,600 from other countries, have participated in the program. The Fulbright Program awards approximately 4,500 new grants annually.