Making an Outsized Impact

Nelson Totah has always been curious about the world 카지노 웹사이트� a lifelong trait that has led him on unexpected paths: from medicine to neuroscience, and from the U.S. to Europe and Finland, setting up his own research lab, during which a Fulbright Finland travel grant blossomed into a research breakthrough. 

카지노 웹사이트�When I was looking to start my own lab, I looked almost all over the world. And one of the places I applied was the University of Helsinki, with no idea what to expect,카지노 웹사이트� he recalls. 카지노 웹사이트�But boy, am I glad I came here, because things kind of fell into place,카지노 웹사이트� he says with a smile. 카지노 웹사이트�One reason I카지노 웹사이트�m really glad I came to Finland is that fate landed me some interesting things to do, and I카지노 웹사이트�ve been able to have what I think is an outsized impact.카지노 웹사이트�

Now this enterprising academic has taken on yet another challenge: hands-on international science diplomacy, engaging face-to-face with U.S. policymakers to develop more support for Fulbright Finland카지노 웹사이트�s professional exchange programs. 카지노 웹사이트�Finland is a relatively small country, population wise, that punches far above its weight in science, technology and I would even say in global affairs. It카지노 웹사이트�s a country that shares a border with Russia, and that, like the United States, is an Arctic nation.카지노 웹사이트�

카지노 웹사이트�I think some of the most impactful things I카지노 웹사이트�ve ever done with my life are being done in Finland, because I see the work I카지노 웹사이트�m doing is strengthening the personal connections between the United States and Finland in a way that can really benefit not only both countries, but I believe it benefits the entire world. The work that people like Terhi Mölsä are doing with Fulbright in Finland can help reshape the world into a better place.카지노 웹사이트�

From Medicine to Neuroscience

Nelson initially set out to study medicine at college, and indeed later qualified as an emergency medical technician and spent around a decade working with a disaster medical team. However, after taking some medical classes on the brain, he discovered his true passion, and decided to switch to neuroscience and behavioral biology, the focus of his bachelor카지노 웹사이트�s degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. 카지노 웹사이트�I realized that neuroscience brought together everything I wanted. It was about psychology and the mind, it was still hard science, about how things are working in the world in a very physical way.카지노 웹사이트� 

Nelson completed his PhD in neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh, followed by postdoctoral training at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Germany, before moving to Finland to set up his very own lab at the University of Helsinki. 카지노 웹사이트�Running a lab in academia, you카지노 웹사이트�re literally an entrepreneur. The University of Helsinki has a great sense of community and a lot of support, but you can feel very dissociated because you have to get your own grant money, you have to hire people, and sometimes fire people. It카지노 웹사이트�s a bit like running a start-up, except that outside of your lab, you카지노 웹사이트�re also doing classroom teaching. It카지노 웹사이트�s an interesting career.카지노 웹사이트� 

Nelson and his team investigate neuronal networks for cognitive control, which includes research on the brain activity of rats. 카지노 웹사이트�We try to understand how the activity of the cells in the brain generate mental functions 카지노 웹사이트� things like attention, learning, memory, and volitional actions or what some might call free will,카지노 웹사이트� he explains.

카지노 웹사이트�One of the things we카지노 웹사이트�re well known for is recording neurons deep in the brain stem. That카지노 웹사이트�s an incredibly challenging place to put a probe because the brainstem moves around a lot and this causes electrodes to damage the brainstem instead of recording from it 카지노 웹사이트� the field of neuroscience has needed a probe that would be so thin and so flexible that it would just integrate into the tissue and move with the brainstem.카지노 웹사이트�

Collaboration Through Fulbright 카지노 웹사이트� and a World-first Neuroscience Breakthrough

That카지노 웹사이트�s what brought Nelson his first experience of Fulbright, he explains. At a scientific conference, he met Dr. Chong Xie, an Associate Professor at Rice University specialized in biomedical engineering, who was working on precisely what Nelson was looking for: flexible neural probes. 

Nelson secured a Fulbright Finland Travel Grant for Research Collaboration, which enabled him to go to Houston to work with Chong Xie카지노 웹사이트�s lab in developing the technology for use in the brainstem 카지노 웹사이트� a professional exchange which allowed his research to take a giant step forward.

After two years of effort, his lab, in collaboration with the Xie lab, has successfully recorded activity from many neurons simultaneously in the brainstem of an awake, behaving animal 카지노 웹사이트� a feat never before accomplished, Nelson explains. The breakthrough, led by doctoral researchers Amelien Vreven from Belgium and Dmitrii Vasilev from Russia, was underpinned by the techniques developed by Nelson카지노 웹사이트�s Fulbright-funded collaboration.

Nelson and Chong are continuing their joint work, writing a successful grant proposal to the U.S. National Institute of Health which brought in significant funding to support their ongoing research. 카지노 웹사이트�Fulbright Finland gave me €3 000, and this enabled me to get €400 000 in money to Finland, to do first-of-its-kind scientific work. There was this huge return on the investment of Fulbright Finland funds.카지노 웹사이트�

The experience made Nelson an enthusiastic advocate for Fulbright, actively posting on social media and speaking at various events about the importance of international exchange 카지노 웹사이트� which in turn, led to an invitation from the 카지노사이트 for him to join the board.

Fulbright Finland카지노 웹사이트�s Unique Focus on Experts and Professionals

카지노 웹사이트�When people in the U.S. hear Fulbright, they tend to think of college or graduate scholarships 카지노 웹사이트� and these are of course incredibly important. I believe that you have to reach young folks at the age where they카지노 웹사이트�re forming their relationship with the world, trying to figure out what their place is in it. Your entire perspective of what카지노 웹사이트�s possible changes when you live and work abroad 카지노 웹사이트� it reshapes you completely.카지노 웹사이트�

카지노 웹사이트�But it카지노 웹사이트�s important to realize that every single binational Fulbright Commission is unique, and can come up with their own programs,카지노 웹사이트� Nelson emphasizes. 카지노 웹사이트�The 카지노사이트 has some of the broadest programming in the world, and a lot of the programs are focused on experts and professionals, which can have a huge policy impact.카지노 웹사이트�

I think the time to invest in this relationship is now. Both governments have been incredibly supportive, and Fulbright Finland카지노 웹사이트�s programs have paid, and will continue to pay, massive dividends for both societies. 

The U.S. and Finland: Arctic Nations, with Expertise to Share

Nelson describes one very telling example of the wider benefits this kind of professional-level exchange can have, in the context of the United States and Finland카지노 웹사이트�s shared status as Arctic nations 카지노 웹사이트� where a single Fulbright Finland mid-career development grant could have a game-changing impact on the U.S.카지노 웹사이트�s presence in the Arctic.

카지노 웹사이트�America needs to be in the Arctic. As the sea ice there melts and changes, this is opening up new shipping routes, which will cut the distance to get goods from Japan to the European Union in half. It카지노 웹사이트�s going to affect the whole world as we see more maritime traffic travel through the Arctic, as well as opening up lots of resources there.카지노 웹사이트�

However, Nelson points out, the U.S. currently has only one heavy ice-breaking ship, which is forty years old. A Mid-Career Professional Development (MCPD) grant, awarded to U.S. Coast Guard Executive Officer William Woityra, currently Oceania Policy Division Chief at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, enabled a valuable exchange of knowledge with Finnish ice-breaking ship experts 카지노 웹사이트� with what Nelson defines as an 카지노 웹사이트�outsized impact카지노 웹사이트�, with experts able to share knowledge across national boundaries.

카지노 웹사이트�That카지노 웹사이트�s where professional exchanges with Finland can make such a difference,카지노 웹사이트� he says, highlighting another recent professional exchange which took a U.S. grantee to Finland to collaborate on coastal erosion research.

카지노 웹사이트�Together with his Finnish colleague, he wrote a first-of-its-kind policy manual for small, medium and large American cities on how to deal with coastal flooding due to coastal erosion. I cracked this book open myself, and I was incredibly surprised and very happy to see that it카지노 웹사이트�s really written for a non-specialist. It uses flow charts and checklists, meaning that a mayor or a city councilwoman can flip through it and figure out practical things that they can do to solve that challenge,카지노 웹사이트� Nelson says.

A Unique Commission

카지노 웹사이트�These are the sorts of policy impacts we have. We카지노 웹사이트�re this unique commission, doing some amazing programming targeted at professionals and experts, making an impact on everything from climate change to rural energy needs to Arctic security, and a lot on emerging and dual-use technology, quantum, and other leading-edge areas. And that카지노 웹사이트�s unique,카지노 웹사이트� Nelson points out.

카지노 웹사이트�These Fulbright Finland professional and expert programs have unbelievable policy impact 카지노 웹사이트� and they카지노 웹사이트�re cheap. But because of recent cuts in public funding support for exchanges, we are in danger of having to cut these programs.카지노 웹사이트�

This gave Nelson an idea: 카지노 웹사이트�I said, well, we카지노 웹사이트�re part of both governments, we카지노 웹사이트�re a bilateral Commission set up by agreement of both the U.S. and Finnish governments. As a U.S. citizen, I can go talk to Congress on behalf of the Commission that I serve on 카지노 웹사이트� that카지노 웹사이트�s my way of serving my country.카지노 웹사이트�

This kind of science diplomacy was a completely new experience, Nelson explains. 카지노 웹사이트�I didn카지노 웹사이트�t know what would happen. I wrote to a lot of different members of Congress engaged on these topics, everyone involved in foreign policy, like the House Foreign Affairs Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I also wrote to members that have oversight of the U.S. Coast Guard, maritime transportation, and infrastructure.카지노 웹사이트�

In total, Nelson has personally met with 83 different Congressional offices from both parties and across both chambers, and in addition corresponded with 37 offices. To all of them, he has highlighted the reasons for special funding targeted to Fulbright Finland and focused on professional and expert grants.

The Outsider Diplomat

카지노 웹사이트�Policymakers get a lot of white papers, briefings, and statements from various groups. But there카지노 웹사이트�s no substitute for sitting down in a room and talking with people, whether formally or informally. Just sitting face to face. People can read your body language. You can communicate really fluidly and you can come to some decisions as a group that hopefully helps the situation.카지노 웹사이트�

카지노 웹사이트�I think that personal interaction is the importance of diplomacy for me. I was never trained in diplomacy 카지노 웹사이트� I카지노 웹사이트�m coming at it as an outsider, but I think that outsider approach is a good thing and I카지노 웹사이트�m hopeful that I can help both countries,카지노 웹사이트� Nelson says.

카지노 웹사이트�Fulbright Finland is incredibly grateful to the U.S. Congress for their unwavering support of the Fulbright program for so many decades, and I believe Congress is very protective of the Fulbright program.카지노 웹사이트�

Fulbright Finland has some of the broadest programming in the world, and a lot of the programs are focused on experts and professionals, which can have a huge policy impact.

카지노 웹사이트�Finland is also an amazing partner. Both the former and current Finnish governments have been incredibly supportive and we카지노 웹사이트�re so grateful to Finland for it. But we think we can do more. We want to continue these professional expert grants 카지노 웹사이트� and this is where I believe Congress can devote a special injection of money to support them,카지노 웹사이트� he adds.

Fulbright Finland in Support of U.S.-Finland Relations

Again, Nelson emphasizes the 카지노 웹사이트�outsized impact카지노 웹사이트� that Fulbright Finland카지노 웹사이트�s programs can achieve.

카지노 웹사이트�What I tell members of Congress is that while NATO ensures the relationship between the United States and Finland in the military realm, Fulbright Finland is the primary platform we have for ensuring the relationship in the diplomatic, economic and research realms.카지노 웹사이트�

카지노 웹사이트�We need to take a much wider angle lens on the possibilities for the Fulbright program, given Finland카지노 웹사이트�s rapidly growing role in global affairs,카지노 웹사이트� Nelson affirms.

카지노 웹사이트�I think the time to invest in this relationship is now. Both governments have been incredibly supportive, and Fulbright Finland카지노 웹사이트�s programs have paid, and will continue to pay, massive dividends for both societies.카지노 웹사이트�

Nelson Totah
Associate Professor of Neuropsychology and Pharmacology, University of Helsinki
2020카지노 웹사이트�21 Fulbright Finland Travel Grant for Research Collaboration
Vice-Chair of the 카지노사이트 Board of Directors

Read the Fulbright Finland News 1/2024!