DES MOINES, IA (05/30/2012)(readMedia)-- Yogesh Shah, M.D., associate dean of global health at Des Moines University, has been selected for a Fulbright Specialists project in Rwanda at Kigali Health Institute (KHI), according to the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Dr. Shah will work with KHI to establish a Center of Excellence in Palliative Care training in Rwanda and neighboring African countries.

Dr. Shah is one of over 400 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad this year through the Fulbright Specialists Program. The Fulbright Specialists Program, created in 2000 to complement the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, provides short-term academic opportunities (two to six weeks) to prominent U.S. faculty and professionals to support curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at post secondary academic institutions around the world.

The Fulbright Program, America's flagship international educational exchange activity, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Over its 60 years of existence, thousands of U.S. faculty and professionals have taught, studied or conducted research abroad, and thousands of their counterparts from other countries have engaged in similar activities in the United States. Over 285,000 emerging leaders in their professional fields have received Fulbright awards, including individuals who later became heads of government and Nobel Prize winners, and leaders in education, business, journalism, the arts and other fields.

Recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement. Among thousands of prominent Fulbright Scholar alumni are Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economist; Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet; and Craig Barrett, chairman of the board of Intel Corporation. Distinguished Fulbright Specialist participants include Mahmoud Ayoub, professor of religion at Temple University, Heidi Hartmann, president and CEO, Institute for Women's Policy Research, Percy R. Luney, Jr., dean and professor, College of Law, Florida A&M University and Emily Vargas-Barone, founder and executive director of the RISE Institute.

For further information about the Fulbright Specialists Program, visit www.cies.org.

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Des Moines University (DMU) is the only private medical school in Iowa, offering graduate-level, professional degree programs in osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, biomedical sciences, anatomy, health care administration and public health. Founded in 1898, the institution offers superior academics in a collaborative environment. DMU students' pass rate on national examinations and board certifications is consistently higher than the national average and the rates at similar institutions.

Posted Wednesday May 30, 2012 at 04:01 pm by Des Moines University
Last Updated Tuesday July 24, 2012 at 05:06 pm