Gillings faculty member and alum named Fulbright Scholars

August 30, 2024 

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health alum Amber Amparo and Professor of Nutrition Anthony Hackney, PhD, DSc, were each recently named Fulbright Scholars.

Amber Amparo

Amparo, a Bachelor of Science in Public Health graduate from the class of 2023, received a Fulbright Award to conduct research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute this fall as she continues her journey toward becoming a physician scientist.

In the lab of Rene Bernards, she’ll study how treatment strategies developed in the lab can be applied to pediatric neuroblastomas, a type of cancer that forms in nerve cells. Amparo has been studying cancer since her time at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, when she conducted research in Channing Der’s pancreatic cancer lab.

“The Fulbright program spoke to me as an opportunity to engage in cross-cultural dialogue at scale, becoming a cultural diplomat and also participating in cutting-edge research,” Amparo said. “The Netherlands Cancer Institute is a world-renowned cancer center associated with its own hospital, and the Bernards Lab has made incredible strides for improving accessibility of therapies to patients.”    

Dr. Anthony Hackney

For his part, Hackney will be associated with the PANIC study (Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children) at the University of Eastern Finland as the Fulbright-Saastamoinen Distinguished Chair in Health Sciences. It is his fourth experience as a Fulbright Scholar.

“If I had to name one thing that has profoundly helped to shape me into the person I am today, it would be the Fulbright program,” Hackney said. “It has made me a better professor in the classroom and the laboratory — a better all-around person — and enriched my life and that of my family. It has been and is a ‘win-win’ experience.”   

As he looks ahead towards his work abroad this fall, Dr. Hackney says that, “From a professional perspective, the Finnish scientists I am working with are considered some of the best in the world in the area I specifically study. So, even at my advanced age, I expect and plan to learn new things to bring back to Carolina. Concurrently, I will get to experience firsthand the country that has been voted several times the ‘happiest in the world.’” 

For general information about Fulbright opportunities for the Carolina community, contact UNC Global Affairs. Faculty interested in pursuing Fulbright U.S. Scholar and Specialist awards should reach out to the Center for Faculty Excellence. Students interested in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program should reach out to the Office of Distinguished Scholarships.

Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.