June NUI Galway Researcher Receives Fulbright Irish Award

An NUI Galway researcher, Pietro Marchese, will be awarded a Fulbright Irish Awards for 2020-21 by Minister Ciarán Cannon T.D. today. At a time when international education programmes face huge challenges, the enduring Fulbright Programme will 36 remarkable academics, professionals and students from Ireland to go to the USA and collaborate with their U.S. counterparts. 

Pietro Marchese is a PhD student at NUI Galway’s School of Medicine, funded by the Irish Research Council. He holds a BA in Biological Sciences and a M.Sc. in Plant Biotechnology from the University of Turin in Italy. His doctoral research focuses on marine natural products drug discovery for regenerative medicine, implementing high throughput screening strategies to detect drug candidates produced by marine filamentous fungi. As a Fulbright-Marine Institute Student Awardee to the University of South Florida in Tampa, he will investigate the chemistry of fungal strains isolated from the deep Atlantic Ocean in order to identify new bioactive molecules for diseases such as osteoarthritis or osteoporosis. While at USF, he will also improve the drug discovery program by testing a library of deep-sea fungal compounds for new medical targets. 

Professor Timothy O’Brien, Dean of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at NUI Galway, said: "I am delighted to extend my congratulations to Peitro Marchese. Exchanges such as Fulbright, expand knowledge bases and provide opportunities for new discovery. These academic and cultural exchanges, such as Pietro's project to identify new bioactive molecules for diseases and drug discoveries, help expose the talent of NUI Galway's research internationally."

The resilient Fulbright programme has served to strengthen international relations throughout turbulent times for over seventy years. Founded in 1946, it has enabled academic and cultural exchanges between more than 2,500 Irish and American citizens since 1957.

With an emphasis on cultural immersion and building long-term academic and professional connections, the Fulbright programme selects excellent candidates from all over Ireland to work with top U.S. Institutions across all disciplines ranging from science, technology and business, to the arts and culture.

Minister Ciarán Cannon T.D. said: “The role of Fulbright Awardees in driving international research and keeping global channels of communications open is more important than ever. Fulbright has always propelled collaboration between the brightest minds. I wish this year’s Awardees every success for their time in the United States.” 

The next round of applications for Fulbright Irish Awards will open on 31 August 2020, interested applicants should visit www.fulbright.ie for more information. 

-Ends-