Auckland graduates receive Fulbright awards

Three University of Auckland graduates are heading to America to carry out post-graduate study after receiving three of the nine Fulbright awards for 2005.

The awards, valued at US$15,000 each, plus return travel to the US, are for promising graduate students who show academic excellence, leadership potential and the ability to be cultural ambassadors for New Zealand.

Nina Khouri, who currently works for Auckland specialist litigation and arbitration practice Gilbert Walker, will pursue a Masters in Law at New York University, specialising in the theory and practice of law as a mechanism for the peaceful resolution of disputes.

"My research in the US will involve jurisprudential enquiry into whether law is able to provide the rational and principled resolution of disputes we hope of it, together with an examination of alternative dispute resolution processes and alternative conceptions of law and legal systems.

Nina, who has an LLB (Hons) and an BA in Philosophy and Scandinavian Studies from the University of Auckland, would eventually like to work as a dispute resolution practitioner and as a legal academic, contributing to the development of legal dispute resolution policy in New Zealand.

Laurel Flinn is heading to John Hopkins University to pursue a PhD in history, specialising in modern British cultural history.

"I am particularly interested in representations of working-class culture - in literature, popular print, art, leisure activities and material culture - and in ideas of working class masculinity," says Laurel.

"I am fascinated by Victorian literature, art, theatre, clothing, patterns of leisure and consumerism and I enjoy the way that cultural historians try to incorporate all these aspects (and more) into their research and writing about Victorian Britain".
Laurel has a Master of Arts in history from the University of Auckland and after completing her PhD would like to continue researching and teaching history. She is currently a tutor in the Department of History.

Johanna Paddison is going to Harvard Medical School to undertake research in psychoneuroimmunology, which is an emerging field of study at a junction of immunology, psychology and neurology.

"I intend to investigate the fatigue that patients experience during chemotherapy. It is possible that changes that occur in the immune system during chemotherapy can influence brain activity and, as a result of this, people feel tired," says Johanna.

"The pathways behind what I'll be investigating are similar to those that make us feel tired as we start to get an infection. Questions like this interest me because they are examples of interactions between the body and mind."

Johanna hopes to return to New Zealand with a solid grounding in the research approaches being used in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, along with support networks to assist with research in the field.

Johanna is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Molecular Medicine at the University of Auckland.

In 2006 up to 20 awards, each valued at US$25,000 plus travel to the US, will be offered to New Zealand graduate students. Awards are granted for advanced academic study in the US.

The closing date for applications is 1 October 2005. For further details visit www.fulbright.org.nz

ENDS