Northeastern Students Earn Record Number of Fulbrights

It has been a wonderful spring for our Fulbright applicants, as a record number of Northeastern University Huskies have earned the award to represent the United States as cultural and intellectual ambassadors in the upcoming year. So far, 11 students, current undergraduate and graduate students and alums, have earned the Fulbright — a new record for the institution.

We’ll update this news as award notifications are made. Congratulations to our applicants and thank you to their mentors!

Emin Abrahamian COE’24, Bioengineering || Fulbright S/R to Spain, “Applying Business Analytics and Big Data to Bioengineering: The Bioinformatics Revolution”
Mentors: Billy Crotty, MIchael Jaeggli, Christina Agostinelli-Fucile

Emin is a graduating senior in the Bioengineering program and will be obtaining a master’s degree in Business Analytics and Big Data from IE University in Madrid, Spain, as a Fulbright Scholar. At Northeastern, his on-campus research and co-ops in biotech showed him the power of conducting business in a data-driven manner. Outside of his classwork, Emin dedicated his time to several student groups and held leadership positions in the Armenian Students’ Association and Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Society. He looks forward to living in Spain and learning the country’s language, culture, and rich history.

Ezra Acevedo CSSH’23, International Affairs || Fulbright ETA to Kyrgyzstan
Mentors: Boris Yelin, Philip Thai, Garrett Nelson

Ezra completed their Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs with minors in History and Global Asian Studies in December. They have worked at the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library and at the Museum of Fine Arts, and seek to pursue a career in museum work. They are an avid figure skater and a member of the Northeastern Archery team.

Victoria Dey PhD CSSH’26, History || Fulbright S/R to France, “Crossing Continents, Forging Bonds: Tracing Global Efforts for Black Liberation in the 1980s”
Mentors: Régine Jean-Charles, Heather Streets-Salter, Angel Nieves

Victoria is a dedicated World History PhD candidate, aspiring to unravel the intricacies of the Black radical tradition in France and the United States. With a keen focus on Black feminism and Afrofeminism, she delves into understudied decades, notably the 1980s. Victoria’s background includes roles as a Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress and as a researcher for the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, monitoring conflicts in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Western Uganda. As President of the History Graduate Association, she actively shapes academic discourse. Passionate about community-engaged scholarship, Victoria contributes to projects like Reckonings and 3D Black Boston, exemplifying her commitment to accessible historical research.

Fenner Dreyfuss-Wells CSSH’23, Politics/Philosophy/Economics || Fulbright ETA to Brazil
Mentors: Madeline Lee, Karen Sama, Daniel Bryan

Fenner is a Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major with a minor in Writing who has spent his Northeastern career embracing his passion for public service and public policy. While at the university, he has conducted research related to the impact of COVID-19 on the Spanish-speaking community in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and completed a co-op with the Boston Department of Youth Engagement and Employment. He has also worked with community organizations including 826 Boston and the Fenway Community Development Corporation.

Ben Field COE’24, Bioengineering || Fulbright ETA to Poland
Mentors: Elise Lambalot, Michael Jaeggli, Daniel Bassous

Ben will graduate this summer with a bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering, and a concentration in Cell and Tissue Engineering. He hopes to work as a scientist in the biotech industry. At his most recent co-op, he helped develop CAR-T therapies to treat multiple myeloma, which sparked his interest in the field of immuno-oncology. After graduation, Ben will spend a year at a Polish university, teaching English to undergraduate and graduate students studying biotechnology. He is excited to work and live in Poland, and to contribute to a rapidly growing field of research.

Andrea Gieseman CSSH’22, History || Fulbright ETA to Spain
Mentors: Richard Conley, Becca Berkey, Aline Flodr

Andrea is a 2022 graduate with a degree in History and Economics. She applied for the English Teaching Award in Spain because she wants to learn about diverse international education models before pursuing a career in education policy. Her involvement in Northeastern’s service-learning programs as a volunteer during a Dialogue of Civilizations in Sevilla, Spain, and as a Teaching Assistant in Boston showed her the profound impact community engagement, dance, sports, and other experiential opportunities have on improving students’ confidence. Andrea is currently a paralegal in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the office where she completed her second co-op.

Matthew Hiller COE’25, Bioengineering || Fulbright S/R to Ireland, “Investigation HDAC6 Inhibition in Multiple Myeloma and Impacts on the Tumor Microenvironment”
Mentors: Michael Calter, Bruce Conway, Lee Makowski

Matthew is a graduating Bioengineer from Madison, Connecticut. Through his co-ops and research experience, he developed an interest in cancer biology, metabolomics, and immunology. His goal is to characterize how cancer metabolism impacts the immune cells surrounding tumors, and how it can be leveraged in cancer therapy. Matthew has worked in protein engineering labs at Wesleyan University and during his co-ops at Jounce Therapeutics and Biogen. He has an interest in global public health and has worked closely with Professor Lee Makowski on projects related to his nonprofit organization, For Ghana Bio Innovation. Additionally, Matthew is an all-conference lacrosse player on Northeastern’s Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association team.

Natalie McGowan COS’21, Behavioral Neuroscience || Fulbright S/R to Australia, “Facilitators and Barriers to Succesful School-Based HPV Vaccination”
Mentors: Sean Patrick Heffron, Kayoll Gyan, Javier Apfeld

Natalie studied Behavioral Neuroscience and worked in several research labs as an undergraduate, and more recently, she was a Research Coordinator at NYU Langone Health. Her research interests are in cervical cancer, which is caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV), meaning the cancer can be prevented through the HPV vaccine. During Natalie’s research project, she will interview immunization nurses in New South Wales, Australia, to understand the facilitators and barriers to conducting school-based vaccination programs. At Northeastern, she participated in clinical research, wet-lab research, and medical assistant co-ops, and in the Peer Health Exchange.

Tom Murtha CSSH’23, Political Science/Business Administration || Fulbright ETA to Taiwan
Mentors: Shellyce DeBow-Leard, Lee-Ann Burdick, Denis Sullivan

Tom is a recent graduate with a degree in Political Science and Business Administration. Through co-op experiences in early education and policy, he gained an understanding of the challenges facing teachers and policymakers as they work to improve outcomes across educational systems. His time abroad gave him an appreciation for the urgency of an equitably educated world. At Northeastern, he participated in NUImpact and Husky Ambassadors, among other organizations, where he discovered interests in education and social impact.

Grayson Peel CSSH’23, Cultural Anthropology || Fulbright S/R to Ecuador, “Testimonios de Confrontación: LGBTQ+ Policy and Extralegal violence in Ecuador”
Mentors: Nina Sylvanus, Carie Hersh, Daniel Noemi Voionmaa, Gordana Rabrenovic

Armed with a BA in Cultural Anthropology, Grayson will be investigating the societal factors contributing to the discrepancies between Ecuador’s pro-LGBTQ+ policies and quotidian violence against queer and trans Ecuadorians on a Fulbright Scholarship to Ecuador in 2024–2025. Grayson’s experience as a research assistant to Dr. Gordana Rabrenovic at the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict and taking classes in the Anthropology department inspired their interest in engaged research on the marginality of and tactics of resistance utilized by LGBTQ+ communities. Grayson loves to cook, play the guitar, and spend time outdoors.

Maxwell Pirtle Khoury’24, Computer Science || Fulbright S/R to France, “Candidacy for the Research Master’s in Computer Science at ENS Rennes”
Mentors: Gene Cooperman, Kyle Rokita, Martin Quinson

Maxwell graduated with a degree in computer science and a minor in entrepreneurial startups. His interests lie in computer systems and formal verification, striving to boost programmers’ confidence in their multithreaded applications. In 2023, Maxwell completed a self-developed co-op in Rennes, France, at the IRISA lab, where he applied his interests to the SimGrid model checker while indulging in his love of the outdoors by exploring France. Maxwell will return to Rennes this fall to pursue his master’s degree at the École Normale Supérieure de Rennes as part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.