Book en Fulbright-forsker

Exploiting NRF2 Pharmacology to Potentiate Oncolytic Virotherapy in Aggressive Brain Tumors

Dr. David Blake from Fort Lewis College focuses on utilizing different natural products to activate NRF2 in combination with oncolytic viruses to increase the efficacy of virotherapies to destroy brain cancer cells in collaboration with David Olagnier from Aarhus University. His project also includes utilizing protein inhibitors from Dr. Anders Bach (University of Copenhagen). The project will strengthen the current collaborative NRF2 research group and generate high-quality data from 3D organoid models using primary human cancers. Data obtained will determine the efficacy of NRF2 activators against brain cancers to improve clinical outcomes.

Other topics of interest

• Cancer and immunomodulatory treatment.
• Neglected Tropical Disease #1 – Leishmaniasis.
• Neglected Tropical Disease #2 – Snake envenoming and treatments.

Slum Lore: A Cultural History of Modern Urban Poverty

The slum imaginary—the meanings, emotions, and associations surrounding spaces of urban poverty—was formed in the imperial capitals and rapidly industrializing newer cities across Europe and the U.S. and circulated the globe as colonial cities were redeveloped into ‘native’ slums and ‘modern’ administrative zones. Dr. David Pike examines how the slum remains a dominant form for thinking and talking about urban poverty. It traces the slum imaginary, the urban spaces it describes, the lives it affects, and its uses over the past two hundred years. “Slum Lore” aims to disentangle actionable facts about the dwelling-places of the poor the imaginary affectively interwoven with those facts.

Other topics of interest

• Post-apocalyptic books, films, television, and culture
• Bunkers, bomb shelters, and cold war culture
• Border walls, tunnels, and closed communities
• Urban undergrounds (subways and subcultures)
• Ghettos and slum in film and music
• Changing attitudes, images, and policies around poverty
• Corruption and contemporary culture

Mindful Money Matters in Mass-Consumption Cultures

In today’s “spend over save” consumer-driven culture, Todd Saville’s project helps students examine the psychological, behavioral, and cultural forces driving financial decisions. It asks: Is financial well-being about knowledge—or the discipline to act on it? Is it literacy or responsibility? Todd Saville explores these questions with his students through class discussions, assessments, and other engagements, while gaining practical strategies and insights into money matters. With this project, he aims to strengthen financial habits and reframe mindsets to support long-term success and personal well-being, while exploring American and Danish views and values on money matters.

Other topics of interest

• The growing challenge of consumer debt and financial stress
• How money mindsets are formed and influence behavior
• The historical rise of American consumer culture
• The psychological and marketing forces that shape spending habits
• Practical strategies for developing financial awareness, intentional spending, and healthier money behaviors