Introducing our new two cohorts of 11 Jordanian JFDP grantees who in June of 2021 traveled to the United States to start their programs at two host institutions covering the fields of One Health and Sustainability.
Fulbright Jordan is pleased to welcome and introduce its eleven grantees who received their Fulbright Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP) award of the year 2020. The Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP) is an award that brings junior faculty in various discipline-based cohorts to the United States for intensive 10-week programs for faculty development, mentoring, and cultural exchange activities. The intent of these programs is to equip junior academics with the knowledge and tools needed to build higher education capacity in Jordan to advance education for future generations and foster long-term collaboration and institutional linkages.
This is the first time this program has been offered in Jordan, and has run in other neighboring countries for years such as in Iraq and Egypt. You can read more about the program on the Department of State website. Fulbright is confident that this experience will equip these academics with the knowledge and tools needed to build higher education capacity in Jordan to advance education for future generations and foster long-term collaboration and institutional linkages, each in their own special way. For this cohort, the program was offered in the two disciplines of Sustainability and One Health. Each of the two cohorts started their awards in the month of June of 2021 at two different host universities in the United States; the Sustainability cohort is currently on their program at The University of Florida in the city of Gainesville, Florida, whereas the One Health cohort is hosted by The University of Nebraska Medical Center in the city of Omaha, Nebraska.
Meet the Environmental Sustainability Grantees
Dr. Firas Obeidat is currently an assistant professor at the Renewable Energy Engineering Department at Philadelphia University. He received his B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Mosul in 2001 and his M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology. Dr. Obeidat earned his PhD in 2006 Electrical Engineering from Tsinghua University in China. He has many research interests and they include renewable energy systems, multilevel converters, and reliability of power electronics.
Dr. Adham Alsharkawi is an assistant professor at the Mechatronics Engineering Department at the University of Jordan. He received his Ph.D. from The University of Sheffield (UoS), the UK in 2017. His main research and teaching areas are System Dynamics, Automatic Control, Artificial Intelligence, and Solar Energy.
Dr. Esraa Tarawneh is an Assistant Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Mutah University. She completed her PhD at Liverpool University. She completed her master’s degree and undergraduate studies at Mutah University. Her research interests lie in water resources and the hydrology of arid regions.
Dr. Husam Abu Hajar is an Associate Professor and Researcher at the University of Jordan. He earned his Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Ohio University and his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Jordan. His areas of expertise include water and wastewater treatment, stormwater best management practices, solid waste management, sustainable development, and green growth.
Dr. Mohammad Al-Qaralleh is a PhD holder of structural and bridge engineering, currently, he works as an assistant professor in Mutah University. He has seven years of work, and three years of teaching experience. His research interest includes advanced and sustainable materials, solid mechanics, and reinforced concrete.
Dr. Alaa Yehya, a researcher and instructor at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Yarmouk University. Following her PhD project at the University of Montpellier (UM) in France on biomarkers for Tauopathy, she started working on projects in applied pharmacology and toxicology, in addition to screening pharmacogenomics markers in the Jordanian population. Her research interests focus on developing new approaches to deliver concepts of pharmacology. Dr. Yehya is a member of the British pharmacological society, the Pharmacogenetics & Stratified Medicine Network in the UK and the society of neuroscience in France.
Dr. Mohammed Aldalaykeh is an assistant professor at Jordan University of Science and Technology, Department of community and mental health nursing. He teaches several courses for nursing students. His research interest focuses on adherence to mental health treatment services. He likes to visit new places and explore other cultures.
Dr. Zeinab Arabeyyat is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Basic and Marine Sciences at the University of Jordan, Aqaba branch. She earned her PhD from the University of Hull in the UK in 2017 and also became an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK. She is particularly interested in widening her knowledge and evaluating future research collaborations.
Dr. Anas Abu-Humaidan is a Medical Doctor interested in research and education involving Microbiology and Immunology, particularly host-pathogen interactions. His research aims to understand the role of innate immunity, mainly the complement system, in health and disease. Dr. Abu-Humaidan aims to further his research and pedagogical skills through Fulbright’s JFDP.
Dr. Nasr Alrabadi is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine at Jordan University of Science and Technology. He is coordinating several courses for nursing, dentistry, applied medical sciences, and medical students. His research interest focuses on molecular and clinical Pharmacology, Pathology, ethics and education, and crisis management.
Dr. Amani Alhadid is PhD holder of Biological Sciences - Biochemistry. Currently, she is an Assistant professor of Biochemistry and Nutrition at Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan. Her research interests primarily focus on anti-glycation strategies and glycemic control. Currently, she’s conducting three research projects that aim at developing novel therapeutic approaches to control glycemia, and investigating the bioactivity of selected natural and synthetic compounds. Dr. Alhadid, by spending the last 21 years in the academic field dealing with different disciplines of science, has shown her that science may not always be rewarding but is always worth the effort paid for it.
As our grantees engage in their respective awards, we wish them the best of luck to pursue their goals and represent our beloved Jordan, and look forward to having them back in September to hear more about this enriching experience.
