April 2009 Acting US Ambassador visits NUI Galway to meet Fulbright Award Winner

Pictured (centre) is the Acting Ambassador of the United States of America, Chargé d'affairs Mr Robert Faucher on a visit to NUI Galway with (left) President of NUI Galway, Dr James J Browne and Ms Jacqueline Hynes. Originally from Drum, Athlone, Co. Roscommon, Ms Hynes is a recent Science graduate from NUI Galway, specialising in anatomy, and recipient of the 2009-10 Fulbright International Science and Technology Award. The Award is one of the most valuable and prestigious in the State Department's scholarship portfolio. Ms Hynes will be on a fully-funded PhD program in neuroscience at one of the top institutions in the US. Since graduating in 2007, Jacqueline has acted a research and teaching assistant in the Department of Anatomy at NUI Galway. Jacqueline carries out her research with Dr Siobhan McMahon in collaborative projects with NUI Galway's Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) and the Mayo Clinic of the US. She has presented her work in the area of spinal cord regeneration at a number of scientific meetings and has co-authored a number of recently submitted papers. Jacqueline also dedicates a large portion of her time to the teaching element of her job, where she assists in the education of medical and science students in a range of subjects, from cellular histology and neuroanatomy to microscopy techniques. She is also a registered learning disability worker for students of Anatomy at NUI Galway. The area of research that Jacqueline hopes to pursue for her doctoral studies is one that looks at the interface between the nature of the physical world and mind – human perception, awareness and attention. In the long-term, Jacqueline hopes that her work may also shed light on functional disorders such as Autism, ADD and Aspergers Syndrome. -Ends-