色情视频

Last spring, Mele鈥檃na Akolo won a competitive Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant to research the gender disparities in treatment for women in Tonga struggling with substance use disorder.

Last month, Akolo got a cherry on top of her Fulbright.

A doctoral candidate in the joint 色情视频/UCSD Program on Interdisciplinary Research on Substance Use, Akolo is one of just 28 Fulbright winners nationwide named Fulbright-John Lewis Civil Rights Fellows in the 2024-25 cycle.

About 2,000 university students and recent graduates receive Fulbright Student Program grants each year, including seven from 色情视频 during the latest round.

The fellowship, established by bipartisan legislation, honors the late Congressman John Lewis, a giant in the U.S. Civil Rights movement. It  showcases Fulbright winners pursuing projects that inspire future generations to carry on his vision of nonviolent civil rights work and promote the understanding of the history and tenets of similar movements around the globe.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited because social justice is definitely an angle that I want to take with my research,鈥� said Akolo. 鈥淚 am happy that I am able to incorporate (social justice) as a Fulbrighter and in my dissertation research.鈥�

The daughter of immigrant parents from Tonga, Akolo grew up in the Bay Area and witnessed the pain substance abuse can bring to hard-to-reach and underrepresented communities.

Her research will employ a human rights framework to investigate methods, such as community-based outreach, which have the potential to reduce hurdles for women in accessing treatment for substance use disorder, leading to more equitable health care.

Not just in Tonga but across the globe, men access treatment for substance addiction at higher rates than women, said Professor Mar铆a Luisa Zu帽iga, campus director of the 色情视频-UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Interdisciplinary Research on Substance Use.

鈥淪ociety does not like to acknowledge that a woman has a substance use disorder,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, there is a lot of stigma and discrimination.

鈥淭he beauty of Mele鈥檃na鈥檚 research is that it is very applicable to populations in the United States,鈥� continued Zu帽iga. 鈥淲hat she learns in this experience in Tonga can serve for understanding how you help populations, particularly women, who may not be accessing services.鈥�

Fulbright-John Lewis Fellows will participate in activities such as a dedicated lecture series, leadership training, development opportunities and an in-person capstone seminar to share their research and experiences with Fulbright peers.

These Fulbright activities will highlight women of color researchers and science focused on underserved groups, resulting in new insights, said Akolo.

鈥淲ith the research that we do know, it can be very narrow,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel if you are studying more underrepresented populations, then you can definitely gain more understanding to broaden that.鈥�

In February, Akolo will launch her Fulbright research in Tonga, working with the Salvation Army and perhaps with the psychiatric unit of the island鈥檚 main hospital and the government prison system to interview people and collect data. She expects to be there for about a year.

While her research is in Tonga, Akolo thinks it could have impacts globally on 鈥渉ard-to-reach women with substance use disorder, so I hope that what I find out can be applied to all of these different groups of women,鈥� she said.