October 3, 2017
The Department of Anthropology has 3 graduate students who have received the Fullbright-Hays fellowship. Congratulations Achsah, Hannah and Samantha!
Seven students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were awarded grants under the 2017 Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellows Program, making Carolina one of the top producers of Fulbright-Hays DDRA fellows.
UNC was awarded $190,722 in funding for the program by the U.S. Department of Education. These fellowships allow doctoral students to pursue dissertation research abroad in foreign languages and area studies for 6 to 12 months. During this time, fellows are able to deepen their subject knowledge and develop capabilities not available to them through opportunities in the U.S.
The Fulbright Program, of which the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program is a part, dates to 1946 when the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright sponsored legislation to create the program as a means to increase mutual understanding between the U.S. and the rest of the world. For more information about the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellows program at UNC, visit the Center for Global Initiatives website.
Achsah Dorsey is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology. Dorsey’s dissertation, titled “Iron, Infection and Malnutrition in Lima, Peru,” investigates iron deficiency and its connection to negative health outcomes in multi-generational households within a migrant community on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. Her global immersion experience will involve close coordination with clinic staff as well as a local non-profit institution dedicated to research on health and nutrition in Peru.
Hannah Jahnke is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology from Wayland, Massachusetts. Jahnke’s dissertation,
titled “Intergenerational Effects of Maternal Stress in the Galapagos Islands,” investigates perinatal maternal stress and its effect on the development of the infant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis). Her research will include interviews with new and expectant mothers, analyses of psychosocial stress and key stressors on the islands, and biomarker collection.
Samantha King is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology from St. Louis, Missouri. King’s dissertation, titled 
“Investigating Transitions in Agricultural Livelihoods: Global Change, Response Diversity and Local Food Production in Dominica,” investigates how small farmers in the Eastern Caribbean are adapting to global economic and environmental change. Understanding these dynamics will advance knowledge on rural development and the sustainability of agriculture and food systems across the social sciences.