Jamie Donatuto, a clinical associate professor in the UW Department of Environment & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS), is one of four UW researchers selected as Fulbright Scholars for 2025–2026.
An environmental social scientist, Donatuto has worked with communities, particularly Coast Salish Indigenous communities, for more than two decades. She is also co-director of community engagement for the UW Interdisciplinary Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics and Environment (EDGE) and part of the UW Center for Disaster Resilient Communities.
She will use her Fulbright award in Spain, where she will work with the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the nation’s largest public research institution, to implement a comparative analysis of human-ocean engagement in the northeast Pacific and northwest Mediterranean coast regions.
The research will fill in a data gap identified by the United Nations’ Ocean Decade Vision Challenge — a lack of data describing the human-ocean connection.
“I am excited to connect with colleagues in Spain to advance transdisciplinary social science research on human-ocean connections and values in support of the UN Ocean Decade Challenge,” Donatuto said. “Ultimately, our goal is to provide much needed data sets in support of more effective ocean management strategies.”
Global reach and impact
Fulbright Scholars are college and university faculty, administrators and researchers, as well as artists and professionals, who build their skills and connections, gain valuable international insights and return home to share their experiences with their students and colleagues.
“These four Fulbright awards are yet another example of UW’s global reach and scholarly impact,” said Ahmad Ezzeddine, UW vice provost for Global Affairs. “The Fulbright program remains the flagship international educational exchange program, fostering academic collaboration and cross-cultural understanding for nearly eight decades.
“We are grateful for the State Department’s continued investment in this transformative program, which serves as one of our nation’s most powerful tools of citizen diplomacy,” Ezzeddine continued. “Through these prestigious fellowships, our faculty will advance research and teaching on the global stage, while serving as ambassadors of American higher education and building bridges with communities worldwide.”
The Fulbright Scholar Program for academics and professionals supports more than 800 people to teach and conduct research abroad. In February, the UW was recognized as a 2024-25 “Top Producer” of both Fulbright scholars and students.
Adapted from the original post here.
