Anna’s PhD thesis concerns the factors associated with the rising incidence of type 1 diabetes. She has just started her Fulbright year working at the Benaroya Research Institute (associated with the Virginia Mason Institute) in Seattle. While there she will research the regulation of the immune system in individuals at risk of type 1 diabetes, with the subsequent aim of examining immune regulation in individuals who develop disease more slowly than average.

The Fulbright Commission selects scholars through a rigorous application and interview process, and looks not only for academic excellence but a focussed application, a range of extracurricular and community activities, ambassadorial skills, a desire to further the Fulbright Programme, and a plan to ‘give back’ to the recipient’s home country upon returning.

The Commission is funded partially by the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the US Department of State, with additional support from a variety of individual and institutional partners including many leading UK universities and an annual contribution from the Scottish Government.