UA Faculty Members Selected for Fulbright Awards

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Three University of Alabama faculty members were recently selected for Fulbright awards for educators.

Dr. Cory Callahan, associate professor of secondary social studies education, received a Fulbright Specialist Award and recently completed a trip to Prishtinë, Kosovo, to collaborate on the development of a teacher education program that centers around civic education.

“This Fulbright Specialist Award is a fantastic honor that, in accepting it, I hope highlights the talented colleagues and students I work with each day at Alabama, and the supportive family I am blessed with, especially my wife Amy,” said Callahan. “This award recognizes all of our important work and sacrifices.”

Callahan worked with education faculty at the University of Prishtinë to develop a civic education program, crafted syllabi and curriculum materials for teacher education courses and designed professional development opportunities for the nation’s society and environment, or social studies, teachers.

Dr. Y. John Kim, associate professor in the department of chemical and biological engineering, was selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar. He will join more than 800 U.S. citizens who will conduct research and/or teach abroad through the program.

Kim will visit the Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, or iBET, at NOVA University in Lisbon, Portugal. He will collaborate with Professor Paula Marques Alves, chief executive officer of iBET, on a joint project on advanced biomanufacturing of tumor organoids, which are miniaturized tissue-like three-dimensional structures that better recapitulate physiological features.

“I am thrilled and honored to receive this Fulbright Scholar Award and to represent our university and country,” said Kim. “The work we aim to accomplish has the potential to provide a more clinically relevant drug discovery platform that will help reduce the reliance on expensive animal models in the future. In addition, the award will help develop and strengthen the scientific and professional ties between our two institutions and countries.”

Through their research, Kim and Alves hope these organoids can serve as an improved platform for precision medicine and personalized drug development for patients with tumors.

“As an organic outcome of the relationships that will be built through the award, I dream of seeing talented Portuguese doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows come study and work at UA in the future,” said Kim. “I have high hopes that the award will be a catalyst for a long-term mutual benefit and help bolster both institutions’ global reputations.”

Dr. George Daniels, associate professor in the department of journalism and creative media, will participate in the pilot cohort of the Global Challenges Teaching Award through the US-UK Fulbright Commission and American Council on Education. Unlike traditional Fulbright Scholar awards that involve travel abroad to live and work in another country, the program provides opportunities for universities in the U.S. and United Kingdom to partner in a virtual international exchange using the Collaborative Online International Learning, or COIL, method of teaching.

Daniels and Dr. Amal Abu-Bakare from the University of Liverpool in Liverpool, England, were selected to collaborate and connect their respective classes focused on racial justice. The goal of the virtual international exchange between UA and Liverpool is to share and compare knowledge across nations, widen students’ perspectives and build vitally important trans-Atlantic links that will help tackle global challenges such as racial injustice collectively.

“It is quite an honor to be the first winner of the Global Challenge Teaching Award for Racial Justice in the U.S.,” said Daniels. “I am looking forward to learning new ways to globalize learning for our students and expanding my own horizons in the area of international education. I believe what I learn about virtual exchanges and collaborative online international learning can benefit others here in The University of Alabama community.”

As part of the virtual exchange, both will not only connect their classes online but also travel to each other’s campuses during the fall semester to engage in person with students from the other campus. Daniels will focus on race, gender and media, while Abu-Bakare will teach about the politics of race and marginalization.

The UA Capstone International Center offers guidance to students and faculty on prestigious international awards. Students and faculty interested in such awards can visit the Capstone International Center website.