Nigerian researcher receives Fulbright Award to study HIV/AIDS at UT School of Public Health

HOUSTON - (Dec. 15, 2009) - Frank Mojiminiyi, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology at Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Nigeria, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston during the 2009-2010 academic year.

"I am very grateful and thankful for this opportunity to be a recipient of this prestigious award," said Mojiminiyi. "As Eleanor Roosevelt said, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness and I hope my research at the UT Health Science Center will light the candle for Nigeria."

Mojiminiyi will study and evaluate U.S. models of school-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs to determine which ones are best for adapting and using at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University and secondary schools in Sokoto, Nigeria. Christine Markham, Ph.D., assistant professor of behavioral science at The University of Texas School of Public Health, will oversee Mojiminiyi's research. "We are delighted to host Dr. Mojiminiyi," said Markham. "We hope that collaborations such as this will help to develop effective theory-based HIV prevention programs for youth in Nigeria."

"Dr. Mojiminiyi embodies an enthusiasm for education and inter-cultural exchange and will no doubt make an impact on the people of Nigeria upon his return." said Roberta B. Ness, M.D., M.P.H., dean of the UT School of Public Health. "We are proud of his accomplishment as a Fulbright Scholar and are equally as proud to say he is conducting his research at the UT School of Public Health, and we look forward to a long partnership with Dr. Mojiminiyi."

The Fulbright Program, America's flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Since then, the Fulbright Program has provided approximately 294,000 people in the United States and abroad with the opportunity to observe each other's political, economic, educational and cultural institutions to exchange ideas and to embark on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare of the world's inhabitants. The program operates in over 155 countries worldwide.

Fulbright recipients are among more than 40,000 individuals participating in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year. For more than 60 years, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has supported programs that seek to promote mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars.

Jade Waddy
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