Affiliate Professor Dr. Amy Nichols-Belo to journey to Kenya as Fulbright Scholar
Dr. Amy Nichols-Belo, affiliate professor of anthropology and international well being research and chair of the Worldwide and International Research Division within the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Kenya.
From January to July of 2024, Dr. Nichols-Belo will educate on the Institute of Anthropology, Gender, and African Research on the College of Nairobi and conduct anthropological analysis on the lived expertise of COVID-19 in Kenya. This knowledge will contribute to a bigger examine evaluating the COVID-19 experiences of city Kenyans and Tanzanians.
“Kenya and Tanzania took radically totally different approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic with Kenya implementing sturdy insurance policies and adopting vaccination, whereas Tanzania did the alternative,” defined Dr. Nichols-Belo. “I’m actually involved in understanding how these totally different coverage approaches affected bodily and psychological well being and antagonistic financial penalties, together with meals insecurity.”
Dr. Nichols-Belo has taught within the international well being research and anthropology applications at Mercer since 2014. Whereas new to analysis and educating in Kenya, she has carried out analysis on concepts about witchcraft as a supply of sickness, conventional therapeutic and spiritual anti-witchcraft practices in Mwanza, Tanzania since 2001. Her earlier analysis was supported by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Analysis Overseas (DDRA) grant and funding from the College of Virginia and Mercer. She has additionally co-led three Mercer On Mission applications to Tanzania.
“Dr. Amy Nichols-Belo is a wonderful trainer and scholar and being named a Fulbright Scholar acknowledges the significance of her work,” stated Dr. Anita Olson Gustafson, dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Her comparative analysis relating to the divergent insurance policies associated to COVID-19 protocols in Kenya and Tanzania has important implications within the area of world well being research. I do know that Dr. Nichols-Belo’s expertise on the College of Nairobi will likely be professionally and personally enriching and can in the end profit her college students at Mercer.”
Dr. Nichols-Belo holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the College of Virginia, a bachelor’s diploma in historical past and worldwide affairs from James Madison College, and a grasp’s diploma in science and know-how research from Virginia Tech.
“I’m extremely excited to have the chance to work with Kenyan college students and school and to construct potential connections between Mercer and College of Nairobi,” stated Dr. Nichols-Belo. “Since arriving at Mercer in 2014, I’ve predominantly taught international well being programs. I’m trying ahead to creating a brand new analysis venture that integrates crucial medical anthropology and international well being.”
In regards to the Fulbright Scholar Program
The Fulbright Program, america authorities’s flagship program of worldwide instructional and cultural trade, gives passionate and achieved college students and students in additional than 160 international locations the chance to check, educate, conduct analysis, trade concepts, and contribute to mutual understanding. These gifted Fulbrighters from all backgrounds encourage, innovate, and contribute to discovering options to challenges going through our communities and our world. For extra info, go to fulbrightscholars.org.
