UQ PhD graduate wins prestigious Fulbright Scholarship

University of Queensland PhD graduate Professor Alex Loukas has been named as one of three UQ graduates to be awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.

Professor Loukas, who now works with the Queensland Tropical Health Alliance at James Cook University, will spend three months at the University of California-Irvine courtesy of the Fulbright Senior Scholarship.

Professor Loukas will work alongside Dr Phil Felgner at the University of California, Irvine, with whom he has recently established a research collaboration into antigens that could be developed into a hookworm vaccine.

“Helminths (worms) infect two billion people in developing countries. Despite the enormous morbidity and mortality that these parasites impose, there are currently no vaccines for any human helminth infection,” Professor Loukas said.

“Whilst hookworms can be treated with anthelmintic drugs, this does not prevent re-infection, and there are concerns about resistance to these medications. A vaccine is therefore a highly desirable goal.”
 
Other UQ Graduates to also be awarded scholarships include Katherine Truss and Dr Michael Findlay.
 
The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind, created by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and the U.S. Government in 1946.

Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it operates between the U.S. and 155 countries.

In Australia, the scholarships are funded by the Australian and U.S. Governments and corporate partners and administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission in Canberra.

Applications for Fulbright Scholarships in 2013 open on June 1. For further details, visit www.fulbright.com.au.
 

 

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