Local resident and Tufts University graduate studies in France on Fulbright grant

MEDFORD, MA (03/19/2014)(readMedia)-- Alyson Yee, a resident of Arlington, Va., and a 2012 graduate of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University, is working on a year of post-graduate study in France through a Fulbright scholarship for the 2013-2014 academic year.

A 2008 graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Yee double majored in French and biology as a Tufts undergraduate. She also competed on the varsity sailing team. Her work in Professor of Biology Barry Trimmer's laboratory at Tufts and Rachel Dutton's laboratory at Harvard University, and a semester studying in Nantes, France, inspired her to do additional research abroad in microbiology.

Yee is currently studying at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Rennes, France, where her Fulbright research focuses on characterizing the flavor compounds produced by propionibacteria in Swiss types of cheese. Strains of these bacteria are responsible for creating the holes associated with Swiss cheese.

Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected based on academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program's purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world. The Fulbright Program, America's flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Approximately 1,700 U.S. students receive Fulbright scholarships each year.

"Fostering leadership, learning and empathy between cultures was and remains the purpose of the international scholarship program," the late Sen. Fulbright said.

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Tufts University, located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville, and Grafton, and in Talloires, France, is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States. Tufts enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence and for the preparation of students as leaders in a wide range of professions. A growing number of innovative teaching and research initiatives span all Tufts campuses, and collaboration among the faculty and students in the undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across the university's schools is widely encouraged.