{"id":3822,"date":"2023-03-13T12:12:17","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T16:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/?p=3822"},"modified":"2023-03-16T13:57:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T17:57:56","slug":"adventures-abound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/2023\/adventures-abound\/","title":{"rendered":"ADVENTURES ABOUND"},"content":{"rendered":"

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS<\/span><\/h2>\n

The U.S. Department of State sponsors the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which gives scholars the chance to research, teach and study in countries around the globe.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"headshot<\/b>Yasaswini Iyer (CWR \u201922; GRS \u201922, public health)<\/h3>\n

The last time Yasaswini Iyer performed Bharatanatyam\u2014considered the oldest classical dance in India\u2014she had an environmental epiphany. She\u2019d danced onplenty of U.S. stages, but during a 2019 performance in Chennai, India, found it difficult to breathe.\u201cI realized the only thing different was the environment,\u201d Iyer said.<\/span><\/p>\n

She later took a Case Western Reserve graduate course on the impact of climate change on health and also witnessed COVID-19\u2019s \u201cdisproportionate effect\u201d on different socioeconomic classes. The twin experiences propelled Iyer to study the environment\u2019s impact on heart health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Iyer\u2014who earned her undergraduate degree in chemical biology\u2014is now in New Delhi working with the Public Health Foundation of India and a local research institute to survey residents about air quality. She\u2019s excited about the research and investigating \u201cthe interplay between culture and medicine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"thin

Photo by Faith Sanchez<\/p><\/div>\n

Emily Belina (CWR \u201922)<\/h3>\n

As a teenager, Emily Belina began working in a series of medical labs focused on areas including cardiology, osteoporosis and retinal regeneration.<\/span><\/p>\n

This past fall, Belina\u2014who earned degrees in art history and biology, and minored in chemistry\u2014took her research skills to an ophthalmology lab at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universit\u00e4t Mainz in Germany. She\u2019s focusing on the function of cilia (microscopic hair-like structures) in the pigmented layer of the retina to better understand the factors the contribute to vision loss. That work builds on her retinal research experience at a Cleveland Clinic lab.<\/span><\/p>\n

Belina aims to become an ophthalmologist and hopes the international experience will allow her to compare how different cultures respond to medical conditions, and, in the long run, make her a more understanding practitioner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow do blind people in Germany fit into society?\u201d she asked. \u201cAnd how is it different from the U.S.?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"white<\/b>Kyle Barclay (CWR \u201921)<\/h3>\n

Ever since Kyle Barclay began studying Mandarin as a teenager, he imagined one day speaking the language abroad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By the time he arrived at Case Western Reserve, he\u2019d taken Chinese for six years, decided to be a physician and knew he wanted to structure his education around both interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

After majoring in chemical biology, he\u2019s now in Hualien, Taiwan, for a year, working alongside a local teacher with elementary and middle school children as part of the Fulbright\u2019s English Teacher Assistant Program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barclay aims to return to his hometown of Rockville, Maryland, to practice medicine and use his bilingual skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important to have the experience of living somewhere else,\u201d he said. \u201cDoctors should be teachers, and it\u2019s important for a doctor to be open-minded and to be able to relate to a variety of experiences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"white

Photo by Stella Favaro<\/p><\/div>\n

Veronica Madell (CWR \u201922)<\/h3>\n

Veronica Madell changed direction twice at the College of Arts and Sciences in ways that still resonate. First, she shifted from majoring in biology to studying English and education. Then, after the pandemic hit, she shifted gears again.<\/span><\/p>\n

During her junior year, she moved to Prescott, Arizona, where a company called A Place Beyond rented a summer camp to give students an in-person community while they remotely took their college classes. The experience fueled Madell\u2019s interest in going abroad.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt showed me,\u201d she said, \u201chow much you can learn from your peers and how life is more flexible than the plans we create in our heads.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019s now teaching as an English assistant in Chacheonegsao, Thailand\u2014and hoping she\u2019ll find inspiration for a young adult novel she\u2019s kicked around for years.\u201cI want to … see if I can write a book I can finish and get published,\u201d Madell said.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GOLDWATER SCHOLARS<\/h2>\n

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship program provides financial support for school and academic cachet to students with the potential to become the nation\u2019s next generation of research leaders in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"a<\/b>Victor Sanchez-Franco<\/h3>\n

Major: psychology<\/h3>\n

Anticipated Graduation: Spring 2023<\/h3>\n

Victor Sanchez-Franco was a high school student living in Puerto Rico and determined to study neuroscience at a university in the continental United States when he first heard of Case Western Reserve.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After arriving on campus, he landed in the neurosciences lab of School of Medicine Assistant Professor <\/span>Masashi Tabuchi<\/b>, PhD, where he has worked since his first year. He uses fruit flies to study, among other things, the relationship between Alzheimer\u2019s disease and sleep patterns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The experience in Tabuchi\u2019s lab has made Sanchez-Franco eager to pursue a PhD and become a research scientist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When he learned he had received a Goldwater award, he ran out of the lab ecstatic.\u201cI called my parents with the news, and I started crying and crying and crying,\u201d he said. \u201cSeeing that my hard work has paid off is really rewarding.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mitchell Valentine<\/h3>\n

Majors: biochemistry, psychology<\/h3>\n

Anticipated Graduation: Spring 2023<\/h3>\n

\"white<\/p>\n

Mitchell Valentine\u2019s life was forever altered in second grade when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though radiation therapy cleared her of the disease three years later, the desire to eradicate breast cancer stayed with her son.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a first-year student on campus, Valentine joined a biomedical engineering lab on campus and later the lab of School of Medicine Professor <\/span>Ruth Keri<\/b>, PhD, where he\u2019s helped research a particular protein\u2019s impact on breast cancer treatment. Valentine believes the Goldwater award\u2014and advice from past winners\u2014will help him reach his goal of earning an MD and PhD in cancer biology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His mother helps keep Valentine grounded and focused on the larger picture. \u201cThe purpose is not just to conduct research,\u201d he said. \u201cThe goal is to actually help people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS
\nThe U.S. Department of State sponsors the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which gives scholars the chance to research, teach and study in countries around the globe.
\n<\/b>Yasaswini Iyer (CWR \u201922; GRS \u201922, public health)
\nThe last time Yasaswini Iyer performed Bharatanatyam\u2014considered the oldest classical dance in India\u2014she had an environmental epiphany. …Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":3863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artscimedia.case.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/147\/2023\/03\/14144406\/P6_KyleBarclay_IMG_7873.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3822"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3925,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822\/revisions\/3925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}