Sudanese Post-Doctoral Researcher's Work Supported by Scholar Rescue Fund

Hana Abdalla, a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Volker Briken’s laboratory, recently received a $11,032 fellowship from the Scholar Rescue Fund to support her work. This Institute of International Education fund helps scholars from around the world to escape persecution in their home country, and pursue opportunities at universities and research institutions which host them for a fellowship.

Abdalla, who is originally from Sudan, suffered arrests, persecution, and torture for her political activism in her home country. She left Sudan in 1997 in a cargo plane bound for London to escape the harsh conditions there, and was able to eventually pursue her PhD in Medical Microbiology at Linkoping University in Sweden. She applied to the Scholar Rescue Fund for a fellowship to support her work with Professor Olle Stendahl at Linkoping and was among ten candidates from around the world to receive an SRF grant.

Looking for a Chance to ExcelGET INVOLVED
Dr. Abdalla is looking for University of Maryland students, faculty, or staff to help organize events focused on raising awareness and money for the Scholar Rescue Fund. Adballa wants people to know what a difference this support makes: “It is not just about funding one person’s education. You give support for a whole society through one individual.”
To find out more, visit www.iie.org/srf or contact Abdalla at hanab@umd.edu.

After completing her PhD, she faced the decision of whether to return to Sudan to be with her family, from whom she had been separated for many years, and look for a position as a laboratory technologist, or to pursue her research elsewhere. Though she says the conditions in Sudan have improved somewhat since she left, she admits her career options there were slim. “The opportunities for women to achieve high positions are very limited in Sudan,” she says. “It is a combination of culture, male power, and the practice of religion that combine to suppress women’s chances.” 

In 2006, Abdalla met Dr. David Mosser at the Leukocyte Biology Meeting and discussed her interest in studying in the United States. Dr. Mosser put Abdalla in touch with Dr. Volker Briken, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, whose laboratory is focused on strategies to improve the vaccine for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She received additional support from the Scholar Rescue Fund to come to UM, and started working in Dr. Briken’s lab in January 2008. Abdalla is excited to be learning new technologies and laboratory techniques, and also received $80,000 from the Heiser Foundation for her work on tuberculosis.

Supporting a Whole Society Through One Individual

In addition to her research, Abdalla is now able to continue her political activism through her connections with groups like Human Rights Watch and the International Rescue Committee to help Sudanese colleagues who face arrest and torture for their beliefs. She hopes to recruit University of Maryland students to help organize events focused on raising awareness and money for the Scholar Rescue Fund. Adballa wants people to know what a difference this support makes: “It is not just about funding one person’s education. You give support for a whole society through one individual.”

Beyond the money required to support these international scholars, Abdalla emphasizes the importance of faculty participation in hosting and mentoring scholars. “People who come from a very different culture and society especially need someone who will help them through the process,” says Abdalla, “but it can be difficult to find the right people to help you through things.”