Faculty member receives Fulbright Award to Hungary

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Dr. Andrew Meszaros, UT assistant professor of neuroscience, will achieve personal and professional goals as a Fulbright Scholar to Hungary.

Meszaros was selected to spend five months at the University of Szeged next year by the Fulbright Commission in Hungary. He will teach advanced muscle physiology, anatomy and neuroscience courses, as well as contribute his expertise in the study of how fatigue affects the nervous system to ongoing research at the University of Szeged.

“Hungary, like America, has an increasing population of older individuals so there are a lot of health-care concerns on how to care for the movement disorders often found in these individuals,” Meszaros said. “Hopefully, I can bring back what I learn while researching this topic there to address the same concerns here.”

In addition to the collaborative research and teaching opportunities, Meszaros was interested in a Fulbright experience in Hungary because his parents are from the country and spoke Hungarian in the house growing up. Now that he has children of his own, he wants to pass on that family history to them.

“I didn’t do enough early in life to understand my cultural heritage,” he said. “This is an opportunity for me to go deep into Hungarian culture and at the same time advance my science and see the education system at one of the best schools in central Europe.”

Administrators with the UT College of Medicine cite Meszaros as the only faculty member to receive a Fulbright grant while on faculty at the college now or while with the former Medical College of Ohio.

“It’s a great honor for Dr. Meszaros, and for all of the UT faculty, to be selected a Fulbright Scholar to share his knowledge and expertise with another country while absorbing its education and culture,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, Health Science Campus provost, executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine. “We’re proud of his accomplishment and look forward to hearing about his experiences in Hungary and enhancing our educational programs.”

Meszaros will leave in January for Szeged, Hungary, with his family and will come back in June. Upon his return, he said he hopes to also share his experiences with the Toledo community.

“Toledo has strong Hungarian roots and if this Fulbright also helps contribute to the long-term traditions in this city, then that is an added benefit that goes beyond me personally,” Meszaros said.

The Fulbright program, established in 1946, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. About 1,000 U.S. faculty and professionals travel abroad annually through the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program.