Alumna Receives 2026 Fulbright Global Scholar Award

 Alumna Lisa Mitchell-Bennett, DrPH, MPH, is a 2026 recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Global Scholar Award, which recognizes academic excellence and commitment to international collaboration. A Doctor of Public Health graduate at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Mitchell-Bennett has dedicated her career to improving health outcomes for communities around the world.  
 
The award will support her research in Mexico and South Africa, where she will strengthen public health partnerships and advance collaborative research to improve care for mobile and migrant populations.  
 
"I am very humbled to receive the Fulbright Global Scholar Award. Now, more than ever, it is important for us to connect with scholars and communities around the world so we can learn and share lessons, research, and resources to improve the health and well-being of our communities," Mitchell-Bennett shared. "I'm looking forward to collaborating with researchers in both countries and learning from their work."  
 
The Fulbright Global Scholar Award enables U.S. scholars to conduct research or combined teaching-and-research projects across two or more countries. Designed to address complex global challenges, the program fosters international partnerships that advance research, education, and cultural exchange.  
 
Supported by the award, Mitchell-Bennett will examine the role of community health workers and frontline health workforce serving mobile and migrating populations living with chronic conditions, including diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV, and depression. Through a mixed-methods case comparison study, she will conduct research in Johannesburg, South Africa, hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand, and in Tabasco, Mexico, hosted by the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco.  
 
This project builds upon her existing work, in which she's spent decades training and supporting community health workers in South Texas to prevent and address high rates of chronic disease.  
 
"I recognize the crucial role of this growing workforce in caring for marginalized and mobile populations as well as their potential role in developing additional cost-effective strategies to prevent and treat individuals with chronic conditions," she said. By examining the experiences, challenges, and best practices of community health workers across different health systems and cultural contexts, the project aims to strengthen workforce capacity and improve disease prevention and management for populations experiencing migration.  
 
"Global health challenges require global solutions," Mitchell-Bennett said. "This opportunity allows researchers to build meaningful partnerships with colleagues in Mexico and South Africa, learn from one another's experiences, and develop collaborative research that has the potential to improve health outcomes."  
 
Understanding the challenges, capacity, and best practices for community health workers to address disease management and prevention can help create more effective and efficient systems across global populations.  
 
For eight decades, Fulbrighters have been leaders at the forefront of discovery and innovation, conducting cutting edge research, advancing critical industries, and preparing future generations with new skills and perspectives. Fulbrighters have included 46 heads of state or government, 63 Nobel Laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners, 83 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders in all sectors and industries across the United States and around the world.