“As a researcher it is very important to have interactions with fellow scientists and this Fulbright scholarship was a great opportunity to enhance my knowledge and meet professionals in my field of study. This is how my Fulbright experience started. In 2014 I attended a biophotonics summer school organized at Beckman Institute in Urbana Champaign, Illinois. Following the discussions I had at this school and due to the interest showed to my results, a collaboration with the Quantitative Light Imaging Laboratory from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign was initiated. This collaboration was made possible due to the Fulbright Senior Postdoctoral Program 2015-2016.

The Fulbright research grant allowed me to take my research one step further, learn new things and meet bright scientists. During the time spent in Urbana, I performed optogenetics experiments, studying the effect of light on neuronal cells and I have studied the effect of neuroleptic drugs on cell growth and development. Next to this I was involved in several other projects such as: the calculation of statistical dispersion relation for spatially broadband fields, the experimental set-up for a phase shifting diffraction phase microscope, and machine learning tools for automatic diagnosis to detect cancer with a label free method. The results obtained in the QLI lab were sent for publishing in ISI peer-reviewed journals.

During my stay I had the chance to experience the American traditions (Thanksgiving, Halloween etc.) which made me feel as part of the community.

Between December 9 and December 12 I have attended the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Enrichment Seminar in San Diego, California. This seminar (“Advocating for Human and Civil Rights for Minority Communities”) was dedicated to the minority rights (LGBTQ, immigrants, etc.). During this seminar we attended various speeches, presentations, and panel discussions with the members of the LGBTQ and the refugee community, learned of their activities, the problems they face every day and the ways they can be solved. As part of the social activities we visited the US-Mexican border, we had a dinner with an American family in the San Diego area, and attended a volunteer activity in the community (refugee support activities at a refugee support facility, packing Christmas presents for refugees at a community health center, and tree planting to protect natural habitats and creeks and reduce natural hazards in San Diego). More than 70 Fulbrighters from 40 different countries and various fields attended this seminar which allowed us to network, change ideas and share experiences.

This experience gave me the opportunity to extend my professional network with academics and professionals from my field and from other research domains, learn new things, and make new friends. The entire experience was enriching and I thank the Fulbright Commission for this opportunity.

At the end of the stay I visited some of the US cities which made the American experience complete.”