What do snake venom and trade languages have in common? They’re both part of groundbreaking research led by USF’s newest Fulbright recipients.
This year, four University of South Florida students will travel across the world to conduct community-driven research projects. As selected participants in the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program, they will be fully funded to live and research internationally, embedding themselves in their host country’s culture and ways of living. Fulbright also offers student grants for one-year master's programs and English-teaching assistantships abroad.
To be awarded a Fulbright student research grant, candidates design a proposal for an independent research project in a specific country. This year’s recipients – Ella Guedouar, Tailyn Osorio, Aidan Cox, and Derrick Dawson – are pursuing projects in South Africa, Barbados, India, and the Dominican Republic.
Students apply for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for a variety of reasons. For Dawson, the promise of personal growth was a driving factor in his application.
“Fulbright’s mission of mutual understanding really resonated with me, and I saw it as a chance to grow not just as a researcher, but as a person,” said Dawson. “It's one of the most respected international exchange programs in the United States, and I knew it would challenge me in the best ways.”
Osorio, a PhD student interested in researching the lived experiences of deaf and autistic youth in Barbados sees the Fulbright student program as a valuable opportunity to make a change.
“Fulbright allows me to build on existing relationships I’ve already established with local community leaders, families, and scholars, while contributing to policy-relevant research at a critical time of educational reform in Barbados,” they said.
Student Research Profiles
Aidan Cox, World Languages and Anthropology — India
A recent graduate from USF's College of Arts and Sciences, Cox’s Fulbright U.S. Student
Program research project in India will analyze the interactions between Kui speakers
through intra-communal trade and inter-lingual trade with speakers of other Indian
languages. He will examine the role of language in identity, exploring how language
choice in trade settings reflects and shapes the speakers' sense of identity, cultural
heritage, ideas of indigeneity, and the overall linguistic diversity of the region.
His goal is to evaluate the multilingual situation present in the Kondha community
in Andhra Pradesh, India. By analyzing the usage of Kui in comparison to languages
of power in India — such as Telugu, Oriya and Hindi — he will evaluate linguistic
changes in the region and how they reflect the community’s unique identity.
Derrick Dawson, Anthropology — Dominican Republic
Dawson is pursuing a PhD in applied anthropology. His Fulbright research project to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic will explore the complex dynamics of transnational remittances and migration in the Dominican Republic, focusing on how these financial transfers impact family decisions, economic development, and community resilience.
Remittances, primarily sent by the Dominican diaspora in the United States, form a crucial part of the Dominican economy, supporting over 1.5 million households. The Dominican Republic is the highest receiver of remittances in the Caribbean, with funds sent by migrants significantly contributing to the country's foreign exchange, second only to tourism in terms of economic importance.
Ella Guedouar, Integrative Biology — South Africa
Guedouar’s Fulbright research grant to South Africa extends her dissertation research for her PhD in integrative biology with a concentration in ecology and evolution. It focuses on human-induced landscape changes and their impact on wildlife evolution. By examining snake venom — a rapidly evolving trait — she will address three critical questions: How do humans affect biodiversity? How do these changes influence snake diets? And what are the evolutionary impacts on venom?
South Africa's diverse snake populations and habitat types — ranging from protected reserves to highly disturbed urban areas — offer an ideal setting to explore these dynamics. This project will assess venom complexity, dietary breadth, and species diversity across habitats with varying levels of human impact. The findings will help inform our understanding of the broader evolutionary consequences of habitat alteration and may indicate changes in other functional traits. This may also help improve the development of anti-venom treatments for snakebites.
Tailyn Osorio, Anthropology — Barbados
Osorio's work in disability anthropology for their PhD in applied anthropology at USF led to a Fulbright research project to Barbados which will investigate the lived experiences of children with disabilities within informal learning settings in Barbados, employing critical disability studies and the anthropology of learning as guiding frameworks. Grounded in the belief that disability is not merely an individual impairment, but a social construct shaped by cultural, environmental, and societal factors, their study seeks to understand the diverse ways in which children with disabilities navigate their world and engage in learning beyond formal educational contexts.
Collaboration and Cultural Exchange
Together, USF’s cohort of 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awardees exemplify the spirit of global learning, using research and cultural exchange to deepen their understanding and make meaningful contributions beyond the classroom.
Eager to collaborate with researchers at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo — the oldest university in the Americas — and volunteer with local organizations supporting economically marginalized communities, Dawson looks forward to immersing himself in Dominican culture.
“In earlier research, I worked with Dominican participants who had immigrated to Spain, many from Santo Domingo. Now, I’ll have the opportunity to experience the place they once called home and to bring together those stories with what I learn on the ground,” said Dawson. “It’s a full-circle moment I feel incredibly grateful for.”
Cox, who will explore the intersection of cultural influences and language use in India, looks forward to learning from local communities through his research.
“I am excited to push my limits — academically, linguistically, and personally,” said Cox. “I look forward to building relationships with members of the Kondha community, learning from their knowledge systems, and collaborating on documenting their language and cultural practices.”
Shared Success
These scholars benefited from the investment of USF’s Fulbright Faculty Review Committee and the talented advisors at the USF Office of National Scholars (ONS). Lauren Chambers, associate director of ONS and the Fulbright Student Program Advisor, shares her pride for the students’ accomplishments.
“We’re incredibly excited to see how these students bring their Fulbright Research Grants to life through their innovative projects,” said Chambers. “Immersing themselves in new environments will open doors to learning experiences beyond what they ever imagined, and I’m confident their work will have a meaningful impact.”
For more information on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, learn more on the Office of National Scholars website.