Auburn doctoral student becomes university’s sixth 2019 Fulbright Scholar

Article body

Auburn University doctoral student Katie Izenour has been awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, bringing Auburn's number of Fulbright Scholarship recipients for this year to six, tying last year’s Auburn record. The five other recipients were announced in June.

Izenour, who is pursuing a doctorate in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Pathobiology, will spend a year in Egypt conducting research on human and animal interaction from the public health perspective.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential.

“I cannot say enough to express my gratitude to the governments of both the Arab Republic of Egypt and to the United States for working together to afford me this opportunity,” Izenour said.

She grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and completed her bachelor’s degree in biomedical science at the University of South Florida in 2007. While working on her Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology at Tulane University in 2008-2009, Izenour’s eyes and heart were opened to the burden of infectious diseases around the world and she found specific interest in zoonotic infectious diseases of domestic animals.

She worked as a government contractor for several years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, before enrolling at Auburn in May. Her decision to pursue her doctorate was the result of spending two months volunteering for animal rescue groups in Cairo.

“I believe the Middle East is particularly underrepresented in international conversations about public health preparedness and response,” she said. “I hope my research on zoonotic infectious diseases will fill valuable knowledge gaps and provide a platform for other organizations to collaborate with Egypt.”

Paul Harris, Auburn’s former associate director for national prestigious scholarships and current chair of Department of Political Science, said, “Katie is inquisitive and engaging with a range of interests and activities that go well beyond the research lab and range from volunteering with animal rescue to the study of cultures of the Middle East and Arabic. She will gain so much from her stay in Egypt and she will represent herself, Auburn University and the United States with distinction.”

More information on Auburn’s Fulbright Scholarship Program is available by contacting Alex Sauer in the Honors College at ras0046@auburn.edu.

Related Media

Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.