Microbiology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

Science is not a just profession, is a journey and journeys need motivation and support. Fulbright was my “ticket” to such a rewarding scientific adventure. In June 2024 I completed my fellowship at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) in Atlanta, as a Fulbright Fellow from the Fulbright office in Greece. The whole experience ran smoothly, from the pure scientific component to my everyday life in Atlanta.

The primary factor for this successful fellowship is first the continuous and effective support of the Fulbright office in Greece and IIE people, from the orientation day which took place a few weeks after the official results were announced to the grantees to … even today! I cannot thank you enough.

My host in Atlanta, Kostas Konstantinidis and his lab, is the next success component of my fellowship. I have been collaborating with Kostas for some years and I have visited his research group in the past, but this was my first time to actually work as a member of his group. The integration was immediate and to its fullest. Even from the first week I started interacting with other lab members, from undergraduate students to post-docs and research associates, not only for my specific project but also for theirs! GIT is a very dynamic academic environment and I had the opportunity to attend several scientific seminars but also learn several aspects of its academic organisation, a very important key component for academic culture transfer of best practices to my home institution.

Acknowledging the funders of Fulbright can never be enough; I wish to thank them all for keeping this unique opportunity to my career.

I know that the prestigious Fulbright award is highly competitive. But for no reason this should refrain anyone for pursuing it. All future applicants should transcend their own such limitations, after all science is about the truth itself, not our own beliefs and fears.