Michelle Sanford, a doctoral student in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University, has received a prestigious Fulbright Grant to conduct a study in Thailand for the 2007-2008 academic year.
Sanford, a California native, received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California—Riverside. In 2005, she began her doctoral studies at Texas A&M under Jeff Tomberlin and Jimmy Olson in the Department of Entomology.
Known as a talented student with a long-standing interest in the biological sciences, Sanford’s research focuses on mosquitoes. Her present research is on the associative learning abilities of mosquitoes.
“My hope is that through learning more about the behavior of these insects, we can understand the dynamics of mosquito-transmitted diseases,” says Sanford. Her long-term goal is to conduct a research program that integrates laboratory and field studies of mosquito behavior and ecology.
“I want to form a more complete picture of mosquito biology,” continues Sanford. “That way, I can provide meaningful insight into control and prevention of diseases such as malaria.”
With the support of the Fulbright Grant, Sanford will continue her research, especially in terms of mosquito feeding patterns. “Growing evidence indicates that a mosquito may return to take blood from a host (person or animal) that is similar to the one from which it initially took a blood-meal,” says Sanford. “Studies have also suggested that this phenomenon is a form of learning,” she continues. “If this is true, adding these data to an epidemiological model of malaria could allow for better prediction of outbreaks and deploying of resources to prevent and treat Malaria.”
Sanford will conduct comparative research on Anopheles species of mosquitoes, native to Thailand. In addition, her time abroad will provide a unique context for her research.
“Thailand has a strong public health infrastructure with ties to the World Health Organization and national public health offices,” points out Sanford. “And although Malaria control programs in Thailand have reduced the threat of Malaria infection in the central portion of the country, the primary vector species involved in Malaria transmission are present throughout Southeast Asia.”
As for the applications of her research, Sanford is quite clear: “This research may lead to greater precision in predicting disease outbreaks, and accurate prediction will increase our ability prevent and treat Malaria, which is very important, considering Malaria is becoming increasingly drug resistant.”
Sponsored by the Department of State, the Fulbright United States Student Program is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. In 2007, the program awarded over 1,300 student grants nationwide, allowing aspiring scholars to study, teach, and conduct research in more than 150 countries.
In the past 10 years, 20 Texas A&M students have received Fulbright Grants, studying such diverse fields as archaeology, engineering, and journalism in countries ranging from Chile to Japan to Poland.
The application cycle for Fulbright Grants for the 2008-2009 academic year is currently underway. For more information, please contact Kyle Mox, National Scholarships Coordinator in the Office of Honors Programs and Academic Scholarships at (979) 845-1957 or kemox@tamu.edu.
For more information, contact Tura King at (979) 845-4670 or tura-king@tamu.edu.
