Glea Habipaj, a junior majoring in biochemistry and Italian, has been selected as the first recipient of the SHRO Research Fellowship and will spend six weeks this summer doing molecular genetics research at a SHRO-sponsored lab at the University of Siena in Italy.

The fellowship is funded by the Sbarro Health Research Organization, which also supports the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine in the College of Science and Technology.

Habipaj is a native of Kucove, Albania, a town with only two doctors. 

“Growing up, the figure of the doctor was a very important one in my community,” she said. “This is a dream come true.”

Her eventual goal is to practice medicine and do biomedical research in Africa.

“The goal of SHRO is to promote young people at critical moments in their careers,” said Antonio Giordano, president and founder of SHRO and director of the Sbarro Institute, who will oversee Habipaj’s research.

“By experiencing what they have been studying, we hope to re-enforce their passion for science.”