Undergraduate Neuroscience Student Named Fulbright Award Winner
By Heidi Opdyke
Six Carnegie Mellon University seniors and alumni will be heading east and west later this year to conduct research and teach as 2019 Fulbright Award winners.
The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors the Fulbright U.S. Student Program to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." Winners are selected based on a number of factors, including their proposal, called a "Statement of Grant Purpose," academic record and personal qualifications.
CMU's Fellowships and Scholarships Office provides support to students who are interested in applying for nationally competitive fellowships and scholarships.
One of the award winners is Siddharth Annaldasula, class of 2019, who will graduate with a bachelor of science in computational biology with a minor in neuroscience.
Annaldasula will be studying transcriptional regulation in cell differentiation models using computational methods with Dr. Andreas Mayer at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Genetics in Berlin as part of his Fulbright Study/Research Grant.
"I will be looking at mechanisms behind the pausing of transcription in cell developmental models," Annaldasula said. "These results could provide insight into the pausing epigenetic mechanisms that occur in many diseases, including cancer and other disorders."
Annaldasula said CMU has helped him along the way by providing needed tools to excel at various opportunities.
"The knowledge I learned from my classes, research and experiences at CMU allowed me to be successful at internships and research fellowships, including presenting at various conferences, as well as my future career plans," he said. "Personally, CMU has constantly challenged and always required me to be my best. However, CMU has also allowed me to pursue other goals, such as service and outreach."
Annaldasula said he chose Germany because it is a frontrunner for cutting-edge research in fields he is interested in, especially computational biology, genomics and neuroscience.
"Also, I love the culture and food, and I'm a fan of the Bundesliga soccer league - Borussia Dortmund are one of my favorite teams!" he said.
