Claire Goudreau, Mar 4
Johns Hopkins University was named a top producer of Fulbright Student grantees for the 15th consecutive year, with 27 grants offered to Hopkins students and alumni in the 2024-25 grants cycle. The university had the second highest acceptance rate for doctoral institutions at 47.4% and was ninth in the category for total number of grants.
Founded in 1946 by the U.S. State Department, the Fulbright program is one of the largest and most prestigious international academic exchange programs in the world. Exchanges are meant to increase cross-cultural understanding and encourage friendly relations between nations. Approximately 2,000 U.S. students are given grants each year, with the full program supporting 9,000 people.
Spanning 16 countries and nine fields of study, this year’s Hopkins grantees are making an impact around the globe. The Hub caught up with six participating students and alumni to learn more:
Yuncong ‘Toby’ Mao
A&S ’23, BS in Neuroscience
Field: Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering
Location: University of Cologne, Germany
“My work is based at Krankenhaus Porz am Rhein, a hospital that serves a large refugee population from Syria and Ukraine. Since many marginalized patients lack access to advanced mapping machines and have lost their electronic health records during migration, we’re using EKG signals—easily obtainable data—as input for our deep learning model to predict regions of potential disease-causing tissue. This serves as a surrogate for advanced mapping techniques. In addition to my research, I’m also a visiting master’s student at the University of Cologne, where I’m studying advanced machine learning and computer vision.
“At first, [being in Germany] was very hilarious. I remember asking the cashier at a grocery store how her day was, and she had a three-minute conversation on her day. The customers before me were laughing. It turned out that Germans do not do small talk. If you ask someone how their day is, they will think it is a very serious question and will tell you honestly whether the day is good or bad.
“One of the things I noticed about German doctors is that they seem to care less about the hospital hierarchy. I was surprised to see the attending physicians roll their patients’ beds from the ward to the operating room and accompany them throughout the process. They also helped clean the patients after the procedure along with the supporting staff. As someone who wants to eventually become a physician, I was truly inspired by this and would want to be someone who is approachable and makes my team members around me feel comfortable and supportive.”
Mashoud Kaba
BSPH ’24, Master’s in International Health
Field: Public Health
Location: Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry, Guinea
“I came to Guinea as a researcher on the topic of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). This is the practice of maiming the female genitalia. It affects over 200 million girls worldwide, and in Guinea, the prevalence rate is 95% among girls and women aged 15 to 49. This is a topic I am very passionate about, and I came to Guinea with the hopes of interviewing cutters to understand their perception of the practice and what they gain from doing it. For my study, I am conducting qualitative interviews with cutters, a population group that is rarely interviewed. … It has shown me that they, too, are shaped by their environment. Even though they are carrying out something I, and many others, consider harmful, from their perspective, they believe they are preventing harm.
“It has been a worthy endeavor. Little by little women are responding back to us. I want the results of my study to help with the creation of effective interventions that consider the perspectives of those who sustain FGM/C by doing the cutting.
“The most rewarding part has been meeting all the amazing people I’ve encountered so far. … I presented my topic to top officials in the country, volunteered with other health projects taking place in Guinea, and even held casual English lessons. For example, my short conversations with the security officers in my building have led to English lessons that I hold for them on Sundays, their day off. I also volunteered to start and lead an English club at the University of Gamal, which has been incredibly fulfilling. Being able to share my knowledge with people who genuinely benefit from it is an amazing experience.”
Read more: https://hub.jhu.edu/2025/03/04/meet-the-jhu-fulbright-scholars-2025/
