Graduate Student Named Fulbright Scholar at the Capstone

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama graduate student Shaw Gargis of Muscle Shoals has received a Fulbright Scholarship to study abroad during the 2006-2007 academic year.

Gargis is the third UA student to receive the prestigious award this year. His appointment marks the largest number of student Fulbright Scholars UA has had in an academic year.

One of 10 individuals in the U.S. chosen to receive a Fulbright to study in New Zealand, Gargis will be going to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, to conduct research in the department of microbiology with Dr. Robin Simmonds.

Gargis’ wife, Amy, will accompany him and she will be working in the same lab.

Their research deals with extracellular enzymes that some bacteria produce that can kill other closely related organisms. In particular, they study enzymes that can kill bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (causative agent of skin infections as well as many systemic infections) and Streptococcus pyogenes (causative agent of strep throat and rheumatic fever).

“Our research involves studies on how the organisms that produce these enzymes protect themselves from the damage that the enzymes cause to the cell walls of other bacteria. Some of the enzymes that we study have potential for use as chemotherapeutic agents against bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics such as penicillin, vancomycin, etc.,” Shaw explained.

The couple (who are newlyweds) will be working with Simmonds and other well-known experts in their field while in New Zealand. They are both graduate students in the UA department of biological sciences and they both received their undergraduate degrees at UA (Shaw graduated magna cum laude in microbiology, Amy graduated summa cum laude in biology; Shaw is a graduate of Muscle Shoals High School, Amy a Tuscaloosa County High graduate.)

“The University of Alabama has provided me with many wonderful opportunities throughout my undergraduate and graduate years,” Shaw said.

“I would like to thank Dr. Gary Sloan, professor of microbiology and coordinator of prestige scholarships and awards at the University, who has helped tremendously as my research mentor and throughout the Fulbright application process. I would also like to thank Dr. Marilyn Emplaincourt (the UA representative to the Fulbright Program) for all of her encouragement and assistance,” he added.

UA students Megan Carper of Decatur and Amanda McMillan of Monroeville have also been named 2006 Fulbright Scholars. Carper, a psychology and international relations major at UA, will teach English as a foreign language in Turkey through her Fulbright appointment. McMillan, a math and German major at the Capstone, will teach English as a foreign language in Germany through the Fulbright Program.

Fulbright scholars receive round-trip transportation, tuition, book and research allowances, supplemental health and accident insurance, and living expenses for an academic year in an effort to increase mutual understanding between people of the U.S. and people of other countries.

The Fulbright Scholarship Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals. The program allows participants to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, and teaching in universities, elementary and secondary schools in more than 150 countries.