Natick Resident and University of Vermont Alumna, Emily Lubell, Wins Fulbright Scholarship to Study in Chile

BURLINGTON, VT (06/15/2010)(readMedia)-- University of Vermont alumnus Emily Lubell '09 has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Scholarship to pursue an independent research project on the correlation between socioeconomic status and the prevalence of kidney stones among the population in Arica, Chile. Lubell will spend the year working with public health officials determining if people of a lower socioeconomic standing are more susceptible to kidney stones. If that's the case, Lubell plans to investigate Arica's drinking water and determine if the quality of the city's drinking water combined with a lack of access to bottled water is leaving poorer residents at higher risk for kidney stones.

For Lubell, the Fulbright award is her opportunity to continue research she started while studying abroad. Lubell, who was inspired by her UVM courses and professors to pursue a career in public health, was participating in a public health research program in Arica during the spring of 2009. Lubell studied Arica's potable water quality and was appalled to discover that the level of hardness in the city's drinking water was well over the maximum level recommended by world health authorities. While in Chile she hypothesized that the hardness of the water (a well-known cause of kidney stones) may be putting all residents at risk, but especially the residents who were too poor to buy bottled water. The Fulbright scholarship will enable her to complete her research.

Lubell, a Natick, Mass. native and psychology major, graduated from UVM this past December, and has been working for the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program in Burlington. She will leave for Chile in March; when she returns she plans on becoming a public health official.

Three other UVM alumni won Fulbrights this year to teach or study abroad: Matthew Greene '10, from Westerly, R.I., Dzeneta Karabegovic '08, from Burlington, Vt., and Hannah LeMieux '10, from Phillipston, Mass.

Karabegovic, Greene, LeMieux and Lubell are four of more 1,500 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2010-2011 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.

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A high-resolution image of Lubell is available for download at the following link: http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/images/high_res/lubell_high_res.jpg