9 faculty, 34 students awarded 2026-27 Fulbrights

UNC Hussman alumni Bevin Adams ’26, Max Feliu Merce ’25, Lauren Rhodes ’26 and Karen Zhu ’26 received 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards to research, teach English and study abroad.

This story by University Communications and Marketing was originally published on unc.edu.

A record number of Tar Heels are taking advantage of opportunities to build global connections through a prestigious U.S. Department of State initiative.

UNC-Chapel Hill has 34 recipients of Fulbright U.S. Student awards and nine faculty and staff who received Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards for 2026-27, both the highest numbers ever. Student awards are for Tar Heels to study, conduct research and teach English abroad, while the scholar awards are for scholars, faculty, researchers and administrators to conduct research abroad and broaden international educational partnerships.

“The benefits of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards are innumerable, both to the individuals who receive them and to the University,” said Heather Ward, associate provost for global affairs. “When faculty return to Carolina from their Fulbright projects, they bring their international experience and new perspectives into their teaching and research, and often they continue working with their Fulbright hosts over years or even decades.”

In addition, 34 students and alumni received Student awards to 23 countries. This year, Carolina has its first-ever program grantees to Kosovo and Malta. Through the Fulbright program, Tar Heels will research linguistics in South Korea, film a documentary in Chile, work on public health in Malawi, study transportation systems in Germany and teach English around the globe.

“The record number of Fulbright recipients is testament to Carolina’s incredible students. Our students are committed to making positive impacts in communities in North Carolina and in countries around the world,” said Marc Howlett, executive director of the Office of Distinguished Scholarships. Last year, Howlett noted, only four universities had more than 34 recipients, and no public university has had more since 2012.

Carolina has a long history with the Fulbright Program, producing more total student recipients than any other public university over the past four years. Carolina has earned the distinction of being a Fulbright “Top Producer” institution for Fulbright U.S. Students for 16 of the last 17 years. Last year, it was also named a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Scholars for the first time in 15 years.

Carolina students and alumni interested in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program should connect with the Office of Distinguished Scholarships in Honors Carolina. The campus deadline to apply for most awards is Sept. 2. Those interested in Scholar awards should contact Marcia Van Riper at the Center for Faculty Excellence. Deadline for most awards is Sept. 15.

The Carolina faculty and staff who received Scholar awards are:

• JP Flores, graduate research assistant at the Phanstiel Lab in the UNC School of Medicine, received the Fulbright Italy Scholar Award to learn live-cell imaging techniques that will allow him to watch the genome reorganize in real time inside living cells and better understand how cells respond to their environment.
• Kevin Fogg, associate director of INSITE Asia, received the U.S. Scholar Research Award from Fulbright Indonesia to create a database of legislators there, using archival sources and governmental records.
• Mark Katz, the John P. Barker Distinguished Professor of Music in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ music department, received the Distinguished Scholar Award at Yonsei University in South Korea, where he’ll study the revival of communal music listening to understand how it shapes local culture and identity.
• Patricia McAnany, professor emeritus in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ anthropology department, received the Fulbright Belize Scholar Award to teach a course in cultural heritage.
• Benjamin Meier, professor in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ public policy department and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s health policy and management department, received the Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Health Law, Policy and Ethics Award. While in Canada, he will spend time with the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law and collaborate to develop textbooks and resources about public health, human rights and global health law.
• Gary Pielak, Kenneth Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ chemistry department, received the Fulbright Israel Scholar Award at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he’ll research how proteins behave inside living cells and under crowded conditions in vitro.
• Lindsey Smith Taillie, professor in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s nutrition department, received the Fulbright Australia Scholar Award to research how extreme weather events affect disease risk and food and water insecurity.
• Colin Thor West, professor and Carolina Population Fellow in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ anthropology department, received the Africa Regional Research Program Fulbright Scholar Award to document the agroecology of Kabiyé hill farmers in the Kara region of northern Togo.
• Amol Yadav, assistant professor in the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, received the Fulbright-Nehru Scholar Award to focus on developing clinical protocols and tools for brain-computer interface and neuromodulation trials for the Indian patient population.

These Tar Heels received 2026-27 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards to research, teach English and study:

• Bevin Adams ’26, teaching, South Korea
• Jesse Benedict ’26, study, Germany
• Akash Bhowmik ’26, research, Hungary
• Miyako Briggs ’26, teaching, Germany
• Kassandra Ciriza Monreal ‘26, teaching, Portugal
• Olivia Cole ’26, teaching, Taiwan
• Liam Cuppett ’26, teaching, Tajikistan
• Pranathi Reddy Dandu ’25, research, India
• Miriam Feigin ’26, teaching, Belgium
• Max Feliu Merce ’25, research, Chile
• Macy Floyd ’26, teaching, Spain
• Annabelle Gallinek ‘26, teaching, Kosovo
• Quintin Gay ’24, teaching, Kyrgyz Republic
• Rayna Haque, current medical student, Fulbright-Fogarty public health fellowship, Malawi
• Annika Herlant ’24, ’26 (MA), teaching, Malta
• Rose Houck ’25, research, Netherlands
• Lasya Kandukuri ’26, research, India
• Arman Karbassian ’26, teaching, Tajikistan
• Megan Lam ’26, teaching, Vietnam
• Kyung Ju Lee ’26, teaching, Argentina
• Kelly Mills ’26, teaching, Spain
• Kelsey Mueller ’26, teaching, Taiwan
• Nikita Muthakana ’26, research, India
• Daniela Paris ’26, teaching, Luxembourg
• Haley Prell ’26 (MS), teaching, Croatia
• Lauren Rhodes ’26, teaching, Bulgaria
• Shruti Sagar ’26 (MPH), research, India
• Olivia Sanchez Dunn ’26, combined award, Austria
• Katelyn Shadowens ’21, ’25 (MA), teaching, Taiwan
• Carlisle Shore ’26, teaching, Spain
• Samir Tusneem ’26, teaching, Indonesia
• Lei “Helen” Willard ’26 (and current linguistics graduate student), research, South Korea
• Shreeya Yarlagadda ’26, research, India
• Karen Zhu ’26, research, Czech Republic