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The University of Texas at Tyler Announces Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Ali Azghani

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May 1, 2017

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
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Dr. Ali Azghani has been named a Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Martin Slann, The University of Texas at Tyler College of Arts and Sciences dean, announced.

The Fulbright Program is a prestigious international exchange initiative created in 1946 that awards grants to American scholars each year to teach or conduct research in the more than 125 participatory nations throughout the world.

A biomedical researcher, Azghani is a professor of biology at The University of Texas at Tyler whose expertise is in cell biology and lung disease. He is the second Fulbright scholar announced this year and the sixth overall among The University of Texas at Tyler faculty.

With the award, Azghani will travel next spring to Azerbaijan, where he will study antimicrobial resistance in certain bacteria affecting the lungs. His appointment is for the 2018 – 22 academic years.

"The discovery of antimicrobial drugs is one of the milestones in medicine and has saved the lives of millions of humans and animals. The overuse, underuse or abuse of precious therapeutics, however, has encouraged the development of antibiotic resistant organisms, or ARO," Azghani said. "The focus of this project is to understand the mechanism of emerging ARO in the context of the science and the culture of physicians and patients."

Funded by the U.S. government, Fulbright Scholars are chosen by the presidentially appointed 12-member J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Scholars are selected based on their leadership and academic merits and their abilities to teach, conduct research and contribute to solutions for shared international concerns.

"This global-minded research aims toward solving an international health challenge," Azghani added. "At the meantime, this is a feasible initiative for collaborative research programs between Khazar University in Baku and The University of Texas at Tyler."

Azghani currently is involved with a National Institutes of Health sponsored research project with UT Health Northeast colleagues to enhance patient care outcomes for those with empyema. He is the current president of the Texas Branch of American Society for Microbiology, and he also serves as the district director for the National Biological Honor Society.

Serving The University of Texas at Tyler since 1994, Azghani holds a master of science in microbiology and a Ph.D. in radiation microbiology.

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit http://us.fulbrightonline.org/.

One of the 14 campuses of the UT System, The University of Texas at Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at The University of Texas at Tyler, which has an enrollment of almost 10,000 high-ability students. The University of Texas at Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.