RCSI Bahrain is pleased to announce the joining of the first Fulbright Scholar, from the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program, at the university’s Clinical and Biomolecular Research Centre.

As part of RCSI Bahrain’s strategic aim to become a hub for clinical and patient-centred research, the University earlier this academic year welcomed its first Fulbright Scholar, Ms Maria Morcos, from the state of New York, USA. Ms Morcos, graduate of the MSc Physician Assistant programme from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), has a keen interest in the understanding of pulmonary health. 

During her year at RCSI Bahrain, Ms Morcos will be participating in a research project led by Professor Stephen Atkin, Head of School of Postgraduate Studies and Research for the development of an educational programme to enable women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) to make lifestyle changes and reduce the risk of future PCOS-related complications. She will also be supporting in a research project led by Professor Ghufran Jassim, Head and Associate Professor of Family Medicine, to develop recommendations and update guidelines in relation to the management of mild asthma in adults in the Middle East. 

The United States Embassy in the Kingdom of Bahrain commented, “The Embassy is enormously proud of its partnership with RCSI Bahrain and is delighted that RCSI Bahrain is hosting an American Fulbrighter this year. This program will serve to strengthen the already profound people-to-people ties between the United States and Bahrain, and will advance our shared priorities: health, education and friendship.”

Among the research team of RCSI Bahrain, two of our most senior researchers recently featured in the prestigious “World’s Top 2% Scientists” list published by Stanford University, USA. The research interests of Professor Stephen Atkin, Head of School of Postgraduate Studies and Research, and Dr Alexandra Butler, Senior Research Fellow, include insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome and Type 2 diabetes. According to the Scopus database and the citation metrics used, Professor Atkin’s research has been cited 13,425 times by 11,297 publications and Dr Butler’s research has been cited 10,839 times by 8,141 publications, which is a testimony to the importance of their research works among the 180,000 active researchers worldwide.

President of RCSI Bahrain, Professor Sameer Otoom commented, “With the notable recognition of Professor Stephen Atkin and Dr Alexandra Butler and welcoming our first Fulbright Scholar, Ms Maria Morcos, we at RCSI Bahrain continuously strive to develop a dynamic research-intensive environment to carry out world-class biomedical research and to integrate basic and clinical research that are directly translated into patient treatments.”

RCSI Bahrain places innovative research at the heart of enhancing human health and patient care.