Brianna Natale, a Le Moyne College senior from Latham, N.Y., has been offered a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program Study/Research Grant to the Netherlands. Brianna is a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship at Le Moyne, where she is an Integral Honors student double majoring in psychology and biology, with a concentration in neurobiology and a minor in chemistry. She worked on the application with the College's Fulbright Program Advisor Deborah Cromley, Ph.D., professor of practice in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
“I’m beyond thrilled to be the recipient of a Fulbright grant!" said Brianna. "Since my freshman year, when I first heard about the Fulbright Program, I’ve been waiting to apply for this opportunity, so it’s still very surreal to me that, over three years later, I have been awarded a Fulbright. I can’t emphasize enough how immensely grateful I am to have had the support of family, friends, and Le Moyne faculty, especially Dr. Cromley, throughout the application process. I’m so excited and honored to have the opportunity to live in the Netherlands to pursue my Master’s degree and to conduct research in a field I am extremely passionate about as a Fulbright recipient.”
"We are so proud of Brianna for this amazing accomplishment," said Le Moyne President Linda LeMura. "The Fulbright is a life-changing experience that is awarded to the best and brightest college students in the nation. Beyond the remarkable research opportunity, Fulbright scholars also share with and learn from cultures around the world. I'm confident that Brianna will make the most of this remarkable experience and represent Le Moyne well in all that she does." She also praised the work done by Dr. Cromley (herself a Fulbright recipient as an undergraduate student) for her role in Brianna's successful application.
In the Netherlands, Brianna will enter a Behavioral Science Research Master’s degree program at Radboud University in Nijmegen. She plans to conduct research in the Developmental Psychobiology Lab, contributing to the Basale Invloeden op de Baby Ontwikkeling (Basal Influences on the Baby’s Development) project, a longitudinal study of how environmental factors on a mother’s health during pregnancy can affect the development of her child’s physical and psychological health. Brianna’s long-term goal is to research the generational effects of stressful prenatal environments on children’s psychological development, in order to expand our current understanding of the biopsychological factors that can affect mental health, which Brianna hopes will contribute eventually to better treatment and prevention strategies for mental illness worldwide.
The
Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments, host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The Program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.