Fostering Success Through Fulbright

UHCOP's Salim to Share Academic Development, Research Expertise with Jordan University as U.S. Fulbright Specialist

July 13 — University of Houston College of Pharmacy Associate Professor Samina Salim, Ph.D., is embarking on an outreach assignment this summer through the U.S. Fulbright Specialist program to enhance academic and research development activities and aspirations of Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in the city of Irbid in northern Jordan.

Salim is one of 400 U.S. citizens who share expertise with host institutions abroad through the Fulbright Specialist Program each year. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Salim was appointed to the Fulbright Specialist Roster in 2020, but COVID-19 travel restrictions delayed finalization of her institutional match and itinerary. 

Salim will join the ranks of many distinguished program participants who have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs and university presidents, as well as leading journalists, artists, scientists and teachers. Fulbright alumni include 61 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 76 MacArthur Fellows, 16 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, and thousands of leaders across the private, public and non-profit sectors. 

A UHCOP faculty member and researcher since 2004, Salim has authored/coauthored more than 80 articles in peer-reviewed publications and more than 30 op-eds of general interest, co-edited several books and book chapters, and received awards at the college and university level for research, teaching and mentorship. Her research and academic interests include the effects of emotional/psychological stress and trauma and their implications on health disparities, especially within refugee communities, as well as mentorship of underrepresented postdoctoral researchers, undergraduate students and graduate students.

Additionally, Salim is involved in many social causes and serves on the advisory boards of several national and international non-profit organizations. She also is the founding president of a Texas-based 501(c)(3) cancer support organization that delivers cancer care and support to the underprivileged patients and their families in India. 

During her assignment, Salim will conduct a review of the institution's graduate programs and make recommendations for improvement, a workshop of scientific writing for graduate students and junior faculty members, and research on refugee health and disparities as part of a planned international collaborative grant. As a "Scholar-in-Residence" at the institution, Salim also will present a universitywide scientific lecture on "Understanding Stress: Insights from Animal Models and Human Subject Studies."

Salim’s institutional assignment also marks something of a reunion for her, as three UHCOP Pharmacology alumni – Nour Al-Sawalha, Ph.D. (’13), Karem Al-Zoubi (’07) and Abeer Rababah, Ph.D. (’13) – are faculty members at JUST.