This information session provides prospective U.S. applicants with an in-depth look at the Fulbright Specialist Program and the opportunity to hear from a panel of Fulbright Specialist alumni who completed projects in the field of Public/Global Health:
Alumni panelists:
Catherine Pirkle is an Associate Professor in the Office of Public Health Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her research focuses on women’s health across the lifespan, in which she specifically looks at how experiences during childhood and adolescence contribute to the development of chronic diseases and disability. She also works extensively on the links between environmental issues, such as exposure to contaminants like mercury and lead, and their effects on the food security and wellbeing of mothers and their children. Her work has brought her to the Arctic, Bermuda, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Mali, the Philippines, Senegal, and South Africa. She has served as a Fulbright Specialist at Universidad de Cartagena in Colombia (2020) and Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil (2017).
As an advocate, educator, and collaborator for over 20 years, Karen Kwok, FNP-BC, MPH, CIC supported communities with their wellness agenda in Public Health Advisor and International Development Consultant roles. Karen’s areas of scholarship include improving access to primary health care and development of community partnerships with recognition from American Nurses Credentialing Center, Robert Wood Johnson, Bill and Melinda Gates Institute, California Governor Gray Davis, President Obama, and Peace Corps for her service. Karen has contributed to global health initiatives including capacity development, strategic planning, and program evaluation with Ministries of Health spanning Latin America, Central and Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan. She served as a Fulbright Specialist at the Ministry of Health in Kosovo in 2019.