Behold Matt Heilbronn (Microbiology ’23), recipient of a Fulbright graduate study award to the United Kingdom! Matt, who minored in both Wildlife Bio and Zoology at UVM, will earn a Master’s in Veterinary Epidemiology at Royal Veterinary College in London. Just weeks ago, Matt completed his service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon, where he worked as a math and biology teacher.
A prolific researcher, Matt received the the 2022 Gilman T. Dedrick award from CALS, as well as a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and two mini-grants from FOUR, on his journey to earning his CALS Distinguished Undergraduate Research Award. Matt was a longtime officer of the Beekeeping Club. He presented his undergraduate research at both internal and external conferences. After graduating he worked at the UVM Vaccine Testing Center on clinical trials for a new Lyme disease vaccine.
"Spillover, the event in which a pathogen ‘jumps' from one species to another, is a normal but devastating act of nature,” Matt wrote in his Fulbright application. "In the 21st century alone the world has seen over half a dozen viral spillover events resulting in major outbreaks. While sweeping plagues make headlines, all pandemics once started small...The pandemic of tomorrow begins with today's spillover, so failure to adequately understand any one component can lead to tragic misses in the prevention and control of future outbreaks.”
In his application, Matt relied not only on his impressive research resume and the alacrity with which he frames research as public service. He also made an airtight argument for the goodness of fit between his chosen program and his emerging footprint as a scientist: "Royal Veterinary College is the only school in the world with a veterinary epidemiology program...I not only know my academic niche, but I know the skills required for success. To dive deep into the science of pathogen spillover I must understand epidemiology in an applied and focused animal specialty and engage at the cutting edge of veterinary public health research."
Congrats, Matt; we can't wait to continue to watch your star rise!
Huzzah to Sam Bjorklun (Environmental Sciences ’24) for winning a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Thailand! An active undergraduate researcher, Sam was one of UVM’s 2023 nominees for the Goldwater Scholarship. She was also a 2022 Kidder Scholar, one of forty 2023 McDonald’s/Asian Pacific Islander Scholars, and won the Class of ’67 Senior Award at her Commencement.
A first-gen college student, Sam was a Resident Advisor for two years and an active member of the Mixed Experiences club. Sam earned a TEFL certificate after graduating. She's currently an Outdoor Educator at Nature's Classroom in Massachusetts and is a former Production Scientist in Washington, D.C.
Sam wrote in her application, "In my Production Scientist role at Edvotek, I transformed complex scientific concepts into accessible classroom-ready experiments, supporting both teachers and students…In Thai classrooms, I hope to weave these strategies into dynamic lessons, such as through storytelling exercises, art-based projects, and interactive discussions, that help students find their voices in English, build confidence, and see language as a bridge to new opportunities. By incorporating themes such as environmental awareness and agriculture, I aspire to link language learning with the rhythms of students' daily lives and the landscapes that surround them.”
Congrats, @samsunflowerss !
Welcome, Anna Grunes (M.S. in Environmental Engineering ’25; B.S. in Environmental Engineering ’22), to the ranks of Fulbrighters! Anna has been granted a prestigious Fulbright research award to New Zealand.
A prolific researcher, Anna is a two-nominee and one-time winner (2021) of UVM’s Environmental Engineer of the Year award. As a UVM undergrad Anna was Vice President of Chicks on Sticks and a backcountry ski trip leader through the Outing Club.
Describing her Master's research on flood modeling, Anna wrote in her application, "I worked to contextualize this research across national and global research initiatives, presenting work at global conferences as well as working collaboratively with researchers from other universities and federal agencies. In addition to fellow scientists, I also engaged with recreational, operational, and student audiences. My interaction with stakeholders like the National Weather Service emphasized the importance of this work in the context of emergency management. This project offers a distinctive synergy between academia and public forecasting.”
Anna’s Fulbright research will improve scientists’ ability to predict rain-on-snow flooding events. “Vermont and Aotearoa New Zealand experienced highly destructive flood events in 2023 and 2022, respectively,” she wrote in her Fulbright proposal. “Both floods were unexpected due to inadequate prediction and unusual weather conditions, and they caused unusually severe destruction...Both Vermont and New Zealand have seen a large increase in flood risk due to their marginal snowpacks—characterized by warm winters, transient snowpacks, and mid-winter warming and runoff. Working with snow hydrologists in New Zealand on the same problem we face in Vermont will foster a meaningful international collaboration to address this shared issue. I will use both observational data and computer models to evaluate rain-on-snow flood severity across the South Island. This research will improve knowledge of rain-on-snow physics and inform flood forecasting models and warning systems in mountainous headwaters globally.”
Congratulations, @anna_grunes , and thanks for your good work!
Huge shout-out to Lamija Semic (Biology ’26), who’s won a Fulbright research grant to Bosnia and Herzogovina! An Agroecology minor, Lamija has been active since her freshman year in Dr. Yolanda Chen’s Insect Agroecology and Evolution Lab, where she now trains new undergraduate researchers. Lamija received a SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) award from FOUR in 2025 and presented at UVM’s Student Research Conference in both 2024 and 2025. Lamija is active in the Horticulture Club and is a trail steward in the Burlington area.
Lamija’s research in Bosnia will be a continuation of the work she’s done in Dr. Chen’s lab examining the invasive Colorado Potato Beetle’s resilience to insecticides. "Pest management has existed globally for thousands of years,” Lamija wrote in her Fulbright application, "the practices passed down through generations of farmers driven by the need for food security.” Informed by geographic and agricultural similarities between Vermont and Bosnia, "My research will compare the stress response of Colorado Potato Beetle populations in the U.S. (Vermont) and Bosnia (Mostar). My objective is to clarify the neurological effect octopamine has on the phenotypic stress response in invasive insect pests across global populations, and improve our understanding of how to best predict and manage their behavior.”
@lamija.semic is pictured here at the Stari Most (Old Bridge) in Mostar while visiting family in Bosnia.
Coyotes howling. The steady buzz of cicadas. A downpour. A rocket launch. Each conjures a different image and emotion, and all are heard in the newest @universityofvermont collaborative laboratory: The Listening Lab.
Led by Dr. Peter Newman, Dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and Dr. Morgan Crump, Postdoctoral Associate in the Rubenstein School and Gund Institute for Environment Fellow, the lab provides detailed acoustic assessments in national parks across all 50 states.
Learn more about the lab at the link on our bio.
Last week, Catamounts all over campus joined the OVPR to celebrate our fifth annual Research Week. From student research and humanities receptions to curated fashion and the Vermont Advanced Computing Center, there were so many ways to celebrate not just the research enterprise, but the students, scholars, and investigators who make it all possible. Visit uvm.edu/research to learn more
We recently hosted our second annual Pitch Night. This event had Leahy grantees “pitch” their projects to Vermont-based investors, foundations, and leaders to sustain, support, and build stronger ties with the community. The Leahy Institute and our partners are excited to be championing collaborations and partnerships that uplift rural communities.
To read more about our work, visit the Linktree in our bio.
Congratulations to Anna Maassel in winning the @universityofvermont ’s third annual 3 Minute Thesis completion, a fast-paced part of #UVMResearch Week! Anna’s research focuses on the intersection between human well-being and the environment, exploring how landscapes influence health.
Can women change the world of business leadership?
📘 Can Women Save a Man’s World?
The Influence of Gender- discriminating Institutions on Female Family CEOs’ CSR Performance
👩🏫 Research by Dr. Dita Sharma, University Distinguished Professor &
Schlesinger–Grossman Chair of Family Business
This global study of family firms across 29 countries shows that companies led by female CEOs demonstrate stronger corporate social responsibility—especially in countries with legal gender equality.
The research highlights how leadership, gender, and institutional context shape responsible business practices worldwide.
🔗 Link in bio to read the full article and explore the research.
#ResearchWeek #GrossmanSchool #FacultySpotlight #WomenInLeadership #CSR #FamilyBusiness #UVMResearch #AcademicImpact
Research Week at the @universityofvermont continues with a tour of the Vermont Advanced Computing Center, housing some of the highest performing supercomputers in New England. #uvmresearch
From film and art and public monuments to a short history of forged documents, humanities research was on full display at the 2nd annual @uvm_humanities Research Reception. Visit the full #UVMResearch Week schedule at go.uvm.edu/researchweek
In support of UVM’s Research Week, we will be posting from our My Why series. This series seeks to celebrate the people and the purpose behind the science - exploring stories that reveal passion, highlight life-saving innovations, and showcase breakthroughs shaping the future of medicine. 🔬 🧪
Read more about what brought Christian Pulcini, M.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., to medicine and how he found his passion in pediatric emergency medicine with the link in our bio!
#uvm #MyWhy #larnermed #vermontmedicine
