Congratulations to the department of chemistry professor Coray Colina who has received a Fulbright Scholar award for the 2020-201 academic year. Dr. Colina will conduct research on molecular chimeras for opioid receptor modulators and serve as a lecturer at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City. Colina will research/lecture at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico as part of a project to perform research on Molecular Chimeras for Opioid Receptor Modulators. She will study methods of achieving high-performance bioconjugate-based drug delivery systems for opioid receptor modulators, which combine state-of-the-art computational chemistry and QSAR methods, so as to enable the next-generation of opioid receptor modulators for the bioconjugate delivery in the body (e.g. gastrointestinal tract.)She will also lecture on the fields of computational chemistry and biomaterials, with a particular emphasis on the applications of bioconjugates in hybrid materials (e.g., the opioid receptor modulator with PEG chains).

As a Fulbright Scholar, Colina will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Mexico. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 86 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.