Penn named top producer of 2025-26 Fulbright students
With 19 students and alumni offered an award, the flagship international education exchange program again recognized Penn as a top producing institution of Fulbright students.
The University of Pennsylvania has been recognized as a Top Producing Institution by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, one of the colleges and universities with the highest number of awardees for 2025-26. Last year, 19 Penn students and alumni were offered Fulbright grants to 16 countries.
The Fulbright Program, founded in 1946, is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, awarding grants to fund as long as 12 months of international experience. The U.S. Student Fulbright offers graduating fourth-year students, graduate students, and recent alumni the opportunity to pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English.
“For decades, the Fulbright has transformed the lives and careers of Penn students, helping them expand their horizons around the globe,” says Jane Morris, executive director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF). “The Fulbright U.S. Student Program fosters mutual understanding and builds connections across international borders and is an exceptional opportunity for students to continue to grow.”
Most 2025-26 Penn-affiliated recipients applied for the Fulbright with support from CURF. Penn students and alumni who are offered Fulbright awards for the 2026-27 academic year will be announced later this year.
Novel plant-based approach to a better, cheaper GLP-1 delivery system
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell investigates the use of a lettuce-based, plant-encapsulated delivery platform as a new oral delivery of two GLP-1 drugs previously approved by the FDA in injectable form.
No brain, no gain: Neuronal activity enhances benefits of exercise
Research led by Penn neuroscientist J. Nicholas Betley and collaborators finds that hypothalamic neurons are essential for translating physical exertion into endurance, potentially opening the door to exercise-mimicking therapies.
In honor of Valentine's Day, and as a way of fostering community in her Shakespeare in Love course, Becky Friedman took her students to the University Club for lunch one class period. They talked about the movie "Shakespeare in Love," as part of a broader conversation on how Shakespeare's works are adapted.
In Becky Friedman’s English course Shakespeare in Love, undergraduate students analyze language, genre, and adaptation in the Bard’s plays through the lens of love.
Beating the heat: Designing cooling for bodies in motion
Dorit Aviv, director of Weitzman’s Thermal Architecture Lab, studies how humans, technology, and design intersect, paving the way for the development of novel approaches to cooling people efficiently.
