Juliana Odetunde '07 Receives Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowship in Public Health

May 29, 2013

Juliana O. Odetunde, a 2007 graduate of DePauw University who is now a third year medical student at the University of Kentucky, is the recipient of the highly competitive Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowship. Offered through a partnership between the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, the nine-month fellowship has been established to promote the expansion of research in public health and clinical research in resource-limited settings.

Odetunde's award will support "a long-term study that assesses the effect of rapid population growth in the slum communities of Salvador, Brazil, on the development of infectious disease and other chronic health conditions in the community," notes UK. "The project focuses on leptospirosis, one of the more common infectious diseases in developing countries. Study results could help in developing future proposals for public health policy changes that could establish a more quality living environment for the people in these slum communities."

"Through the Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowship, I will gain skills in addressing a problem with social, economic, clinical, social injustice, ecological and environmental complexities in an international setting," says Odetunde, who was a biochemistry major and Bonner Scholar at DePauw. "This opportunity will give me the boldness and skills I will need in order to pioneer my own research projects pertaining to community health in underserved and resource-poor communities."

"I haven't forgotten what a awesome experience I had at DePauw because of the Bonner program, Compton Center and Winter Term in Service," adds Odetunde, who holds a master's degree in physiology and biophysics from the University of Louisville and is eyeing a career as a physician and community-based clinical researcher. "These programs really shaped my life in major ways that are gradually unveiling themselves."

Juliana Odetunde is the seventh member of the DePauw University community to be announced as a Fulbright winner this spring. They include five members of the Class of 2013: Katlin "Katie" V. Kraska has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship and will conduct research and study in Indonesia during the upcoming academic year. K. Kartik Amarnath's Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship will support his project, "Development and Disability: Spatial Access and Agency for Kuala Lumpur’s Blind Population" in Malaysia. Kendall C. Quisenberry will use an English Teaching Assistantship to teach in Malaysia, while an ETA awarded to David Tykvart will send him to the Czech Republic to teach English, and Brittni E. Crofts will use an ETA to teach English in Vietnam.

Ian B. Davidson, a professor in the School of Music at Texas State University and 1980 graduate of DePauw University, will visit Tumaini University Makumira in Tanzania two times as a visiting Fulbright Scholar.

Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." The Fulbright Program has provided about 310,000 participants -- chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential -- with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

DePauw University is listed among the "Top Producers of Fulbright Awards for U.S. Students, 2012-13" in the Chronicle of Higher Education. DePauw was also cited as one of the USA's top producers of Fulbright Fellows in the publication's 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006 listings.

See the names of DePauw's Fulbright recipients here or visit the University's Fulbright page.

DePauw students and alumni who are interested in applying for Fulbright Awards may contact David N. Gellman, associate professor of history, or Marion "Marnie" McInnes, professor of English and women's studies and director of nationally competitive scholarships.

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