Saint Lucia’s Whitney Henry is one of 42 international pre-doctoral students to receive fellowships to pursue graduate studies in U.S. universities.
An article published on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) states that Henry, and recipients from 19 countries, will be awarded $43,000 a year under a special program by the HHMI.
Henry, according to the website, will attend the Harvard University.
Other countries to receive the scholarships include Argentina, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Iran, Norway, South Africa, China, India, and Colombia.
The HHMI fellowship program started in 2011, and is now supporting 140 students from 35 countries during the most critical years of their PhD work, according to the article.
“The institute created the program because it recognized a problem: international students in U.S. graduate schools often have difficulty getting funding to support their studies. For example, they are not eligible for federal fellowships or training grant support, or other governmental opportunities that are generally reserved for U.S. citizens. The Institute chose to fund the third to fifth years of graduate school, because by this time most students have chosen a graduate advisor, identified a research project, and demonstrated their potential for success in the lab,” the article said.
Senior Director in Science Education at HHMI David Asai said, “We hope that the HHMI award will encourage each student to build on their already considerable accomplishments, to apply creativity to current problems and to explore new ideas, to venture forward without fear, and to take risks as they work to solve difficult problems.”
HHMI has invested nearly $10.8 million in the program over the last three years, including more than $1.8 million to support this year’s fellows. The International Student Research Fellowships build on HHMI’s commitment to funding international scientists, the article said.