Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award in Medical Sciences
Brazil
Number of recipients
In addition to being a prestigious academic exchange program, the Fulbright Program is designed to expand and strengthen relationships between the people of the United States and citizens of other nations and to promote international understanding and cooperation. To support this mission, Fulbright Scholars may be asked to give public talks, mentor students, and otherwise engage with the host community, in addition to their primary activities.
The Universidade de Sao Paulo Medical School (FMUSP) is looking for a scholar to interact with a multidisciplinary group of researchers in the area of Health Systems: Inclusion, Access, and Equity, aiming to develop an international research project and to promote the collaboration between U.S. and Brazilian research groups.
Teaching activities, if any, should not exceed three hours per week.
Please note that Fulbright Scholars may not engage in activities that require direct patient or clinical contact.
For further information about this award, please visit the Fulbright Commission website.
The Universidade de Sao Paulo Medical School (FMUSP) in Sao Paulo.
FMUSP is one of three founding schools of the Universidade de Sao Paulo, the largest and most prestigious teaching and research university in Brazil. It is the home of an Academic Health Center, composed of the medical school and eight public hospitals with 2,500 beds distributed over the General Hospital, the Institute for Children and Adolescents, the Institute for Psychiatry, the Institute for Orthopedics and Traumatology, the Heart Institute, the Radiology Institute, the Rehabilitation Institute, and the Cancer Institute. Over 200 independent research groups are based either at the Medical School or at the Medical Center units, where basic, translational, and clinical researchers work daily.
The awards can total two, three or four months long.
Two- or four-month awards can be split into equal segments of 1+1 months or 2+2 months between July 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026. Split awards are known as Flex Awards. For additional information, please see the Flex description below.
Please be aware that most institutions in Brazil take a recess between December and January.
Flex awards allow the stay to be split into two visits of one or two months each between July 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026. There must be a period of at least two months between the two in-country stays.
The Flex Award is designed for scholars who require multiple visits to the host country. This option allows grants to be conducted over two or three short segments. Applicants must select Flex in the application form, and clearly describe their plans for Flex in their project statement, including a project timeline. Flex grantees may be asked to give public talks, mentor students, and otherwise engage with the host-country academic community.
Health Systems: Inclusion, access, and equity.
Please note that Fulbright Scholars may not engage in activities that require direct patient or clinical contact.
For the award period, FMUSP will arrange housing at no additional cost for the scholar. It will also provide an English speaking student to help the scholar settle in.
All applicants must meet the Program eligibility requirements (click to review the requirements).
Candidates can contact the University of Sao Paulo Medical School (FMUSP) to discuss their research projects, plans, and shared interests.
Feel free to direct any project-related questions to Dr. Roger Chammas at FMUSP, and if you would, please copy the Fulbright Commission on your messages with FMUSP.
You will not be at a disadvantage if you do not communicate with FMUSP before applying.
Preference for tenured faculty.
Please note that Fulbright Scholars may not engage in activities that require direct patient or clinical contact.
You may be asked to participate in an interview as part of the in-country selection process.
The scholar will receive a fixed sum of US$ 5,400 per month to cover all expenses but housing. The Universidade de Sao Paulo Medical School (FMUSP) will arrange housing for the award period at no additional cost to the scholar.
Scholars who opt for a Flex Award will receive US$ 2,400 for two international roundtrip tickets. Scholars on non-flex awards will receive US$ 1,500 for an international roundtrip ticket.
Information on the following website can help scholars figure out the cost of living, meals, and incidentals in different capital cities in Brazil. There can be significant differences in smaller towns, with prices being less high. https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/country/brazil
The Universidade de Sao Paulo Medical School will arrange housing for the award period at no additional cost for the scholar. It will also provide an English-speaking student to help the scholar settle in.
During their grant period, Fulbright U.S. Scholars in the Western Hemisphere (WHA) region may apply for a short-term regional travel grant for activities such as workshops, seminars, presentations, lectures, performances, exhibits, curricular advising, and similar projects, at institutions in eligible WHA countries (Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados and Eastern Caribbean, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay). The Regional Travel Program covers travel to and from the destination; lodging may be offered by the hosting institution. Scholars may only apply for this grant once in country on their Fulbright grant. Scholars who apply for the Flex award are ineligible for the Regional Travel Program. Additional information can be found at the Regional Travel Program website.
Final grant amounts will be determined prior to the start of the academic year and are subject to the availability of funds. The United States Department of State and the Fulbright Commission in the host country reserve the right to alter, without notice, participating countries, number of awards and allowances.
Brazil
To learn more about Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards in Brazil for 2024-25, please view our archived webinar and slides to hear directly from the Fulbright Commission, IIE staff and U.S. Scholar alums regarding award details, the scholar experience and application guidance.
Summary
Up to 41 awards are available in Brazil. This includes up to 30 All Disciplines awards for early and mid-career scholars, professionals, artists, and 11 Distinguished Scholar Awards in all regions in Brazil. The Distinguished Scholar Awards are opportunities for mid-career and senior academics with experience in Health and Technology, Medical Sciences, Planetary Health, Social Innovation and Sustainability in Multicultural Contexts, and other disciplines.
Fulbright Interdisciplinary Network (FIN)
To promote proficuous dialogues about contemporary issues in the Brazilian context from a U.S. perspective, the Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Embassy in Brazil have created the Fulbright Interdisciplinary Network (FIN). FIN is an opportunity for Distinguished Scholars to connect with five Brazilian universities during the award period and enrich their experience through online and onsite discussions, working collaboratively with faculty and advising students from all regions of Brazil.
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and it is similar in size to the continental United States. It is also the largest country in South America and the largest Portuguese-speaking country globally, with around 211 million people and 43% living in its Southeast region. As to ethnic background, like the United States, Brazil has a very diverse population. According to the Brazilian Statistics Bureau, Brazilians self-identify as White (42.7%), two or more races (46.8%), Black (9.4%), and of Indigenous or Asian descent (1.1%). The most important economic sectors are agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and services. In spite of poverty reduction achievements over the last decades, inequality remains at high levels in one of the world's largest democracies and economies.
After achieving universal coverage in primary education, Brazil is now struggling to improve the educational system's quality and outcomes, especially at the lower and upper secondary levels.
Brazil has a wide range of higher education institutions, with over 200 universities, as well as 3,472 master’s programs and doctoral programs with 122,000 graduate students. There are currently over 37,000 research groups around the country, with more than 200,000 researchers. Its leading research centers in agriculture, energy, biotechnology, environmental sciences, and epidemiology attract scholars and students worldwide. Among the top 20 universities listed in the Times Higher Education 2020 ranking, 13 are from Brazil. Additionally, Brazil is responsible for 52% of Latin American publications in indexed journals, which places the country as fourteenth worldwide by the Scimago Journal and Country Rank.
The extended coverage of Fulbright U.S. Programs in the country has been possible thanks to the significant contributions from Brazilian strategic partners such as the Brazilian Government through the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES).
2017-18 Study and Researcher Kainen Bell in Olinda, Brazil
2015-16 and 2019-20 U.S. Scholar John Spencer in Ilha de Marajó, Brazil
2017-18 Study and Researcher Vanessa Castaneda in Salvador, Brazil
2018-19 Fulbright U.S. Student Matthew Aruch
- Blog from 2019-2020 U.S. Scholar to Brazil Theresa Robbins Dudeck in Theater Studies in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais: https://www.theimprofessor.com/single-post/2019/11/29/impro-in-brazil-endings
- News from 2019-2020 U.S. Scholar to Brazil King Chung in Audiology in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba and Bauru, Sao Paulo:
Visit our Scholar Directory to view and search all Fulbright alumni. You can also learn more about Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors.