Rosanna Fund for Women Grants

Winners 2024

Boshra Moosavi
Iris Hoornsman
Kubra Kizil
Raishna Bihari
Sofie Smeets

ROSANNA Fund for Women Winners 2023

Braaha Horani
Guusje Jol
Iza Zoetbrood
Joyce Angnayeli Eledi Kuusaana
Zainab Safar (Incluusion)
Honourable mention: Bilyana Manolova

Rosanna Fund Fellowship 2022 winners

Cindy Porras Acosta

grew up in Colombia in a single-parent family with hardly any income. She was determined to study medicine, and she succeeded, finishing her medical studies in Colombia. Now, she is a second-year Master's student in Clinical Epidemiology in Utrecht. "Studying at Utrecht University has been very fruitful and enriching. I am now working on my research at the Julius Center, focusing on evidence-based medicine to understand the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases, specifically cardiovascular diseases, a public health problem worldwide. My goal is to pursue a PhD in epidemiology.

Deniz Rana Kuseyri

is a first-year Master's student of Legal Research. She does research on law and social-economic inequalities and is active in, among others, study association Aletheia. "As a student with a first-generation, immigrant and low-income background, it has been difficult for me to dream of continuing my studies even further by completing a PhD; and yet achieving this does remain a dream of mine. The Rosanna Fund grant helps me on my way by allowing me to rise above my financial situation and the linits it has imposed on me."

Jahui Cai

is from China and studies Multidisciplinary Economics at Utrecht University. “If there is one word that can best describe my life so far, it would be "border-crossing. From my mother I have inherited the belief that education would allow me to cross the borders of social class.” For Jahui, Multidisciplinary Economics is the future of economics. She hopes to write her master's thesis on either the interaction between political institutions and economic development or on the impact of climate change, ageing, gender inequality and technological development on the labour market.

Rima Alkirawan

completed her studies in Chemistry in Syria and worked as a pharmacist and chemistry teacher. She came to the Netherlands as a refugee and studied Health Sciences here. After her studies, she volunteered to teach Arabic to women and children. Here she (re)discovered her passion for imparting knowledge. She will use her Rosanna Fund grant to follow the master programme 'Teacher Secondary Education'. In order to become a chemistry teacher again. "Especially as I am still drawn to and crave for chemistry, which is a tangible and practical science."

Honourable Mention 2022: Tessa van den Berg

is PhD candidate in Pedagogy and receives an honourable mention. "During my education I was already more interested in doing research than in the practical part of pedagogy. I am curious about where certain behaviour comes from and how it develops." Her PhD research focuses on the development of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPS) in adolescents. She is working on the development of an app intervention that can help with emotion regulation and reducing symptoms of BPS, such as self-harm, during the long waiting period for existing treatment programmes. The grant from the Rosanna Fund will enable Tessa to complete her PhD trajectory.

Winners of the Rosanna Fund for Women Fellowship 2021

Maha Al-Buhar

A Master student in International Relations at Utrecht University and an experienced Humanitarian worker with a demonstrated history of working with non-profit organizations such as Medicine Sans Frontier and Greenpeace. A Yemeni citizen who knows first-hand what it is like to live in a warzone; also exhibit an impressive record of over a decade of professional experience having worked in various capacities, as a language educator, translator, and as a project manager, administrator, mission coordinator assistant and executive director assistant. Skilled in team building, leadership and marketing.

Talitha Verhaar – Spanjersberg

"I am a veterinary science and PhD student. Since I started doing research at the end of my Bachelor's, I became passionate about One Health and translational research. During my Master’s, I continued working on this cardiovascular diseases research project using the dog as an animal model. All the support that I received, including the Rosanna fund, encouraged me to pursue this career, and I hope that by doing so, I can contribute to a better and healthier world."

Krista Ettlinger

is from the United States. She was previously a professional ballet dancer with the Dutch National Ballet. While dancing professionally, she completed a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with a concentration in business. Krista is currently completing a Research Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Organizational Science from the Utrecht University School of Governance. In addition to her studies, she works as a research assistant on topics such as the public innovation capacities of organizations and how municipal and provincial organizations respond to the increasing levels of datafication and digitalization in society.

Winners of the Rosanna Fund for Women Fellowship 2020

Ayça Alayli

Nancy Younes

"I am currently doing masters in educational sciences at UU and planning to develop my professional skills in the field of education. My interest in education comes from my experience in teaching at international schools. I also am very well-acknowledged with the principles of the International Baccalaureate Organization. I am a mother of two boys, they attend primary school and see their mama their future scientist. In addition to education, I am very interested in baking and decorating cakes. This is actually my hobby. I spend my free time growing my skills in this field."

Safaa Naffaa

started her PhD on 1^st of September 2020 at the Physical geography department in Utrecht University. She is doing her research in Modelling the actual and future discharge and sediment yield of the Amazon: implications for the Guyana coasts. She holds a master degree in Environmental science from Damascus university/Syria in collaboration with university of Poitiers /France and another master degree in Environmental science from UNESCO-IHE Delft/Netherlands. After graduation, she worked at IHE Delft for 3 months in a project called water scarcity in the middle east and north Africa. Then she worked at Deltares for one year in various projects including collaborative modelling and water peace and scarcity. Prior to arriving in the Netherlands, Safaa has had the opportunity to acquire a wealth of experience as environmental consultant at the Ministry of Environment in Syria for 9 years. Aside from academics/work, she enjoy fitness, dancing, traveling, reading and spending time with friends.

Tambinh Bui

is a student of the four-year Selective Utrecht Medical Master (SUMMA) at Utrecht University. In 2018, she obtained her BSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences in Utrecht with cum laude honours. She received a Rosanna grant in 2020 to pursue a scientific internship in the lab of Professor Laura van ‘t Veer, a world-renowned molecular biologist and breast cancer researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. In the future, Tambinh hopes to become a clinician-scientist, and combine patient care with excellent medical research. Inspired by the activities of the Rosanna fund, she is determined to give back and support other women in every possible way to reach their full potential.

Saba Hamzah

is a Yemeni poet, scholar, and educator based in the Netherlands. Her research focuses on the politics of death and mourning. Her current work, Stranded, a collection of Memoirs, explores the multiple layers of violence that women are exposed to both locally and globally. She is also working on an artistic project in which she examines the power relations of borders, displacement, and the different forms of death. Saba has more than 15 years of experience in education, writing, and training. She works with alternative pedagogies and artistic research practices. She holds a master's degree in Gender Studies from Utrecht University. Saba has written several literary works, including Tartil Adhra, a collection of stories, held by various international libraries including the Library of Congress and Harvard University.

Winners of Rosanna Fund for Women Fellowship 2019

Annemiek Prins

is a postdoctoral researcher with the Department of Anthropology and Development Sociology at the Radboud University of Nijmegen. She conducted her PhD with the University of Aberdeen, focusing on cycle-rickshaw drivers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her doctoral dissertation, “Unfixing the City: Rickshaw Mobilities, Modernities and Urban Change in Dhaka”, explores different aspects of contemporary urbanism, including: mobility, informal labour, peripheral urbanization and urban modernity. Annemiek is currently developing a new research project that looks at the construction of the Padma Bridge in Bangladesh and focuses on the intersections between urbanization, infrastructure and climate change within a riverine context.

Christine Verbruggen

"I graduated from Utrecht University in 2019 with a master’s in Drug Innovation and am currently pursuing a PhD in Biology in Würzburg, Germany. Thanks to the Rosanna funds, I got the opportunity to do a research internship abroad at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. The lab I went to had the newest state-of-the-art equipment and allowed me to improve my laboratory and research skills. This internship really set me apart from other applicants on PhD positions and before I even graduated from Utrecht University, I was already accepted for my current PhD position."

Dalal Ghanim

"I am 25 years old. I fled from Iraq seven years ago. At the moment, I am studying Master of Pharmacy at Utrecht University. I also work in an outpatient pharmacy. Besides my studies and work, I draw attention to the Jezidi genocide committed by IS six years ago. In the Netherlands, I started by learning the Dutch language. Then, there were limited possibilities to continue studying for a university degree. At the time, I found a programme that allowed me to do 'vwo' in one year. After obtaining my 'vwo' certificate, I started to study pharmacy. In the future, I want to become a researcher by doing research on the medicines for the rare disease."

Huda al Baker

As a Palestinian refugee, Huda lived in Syria before coming to the Netherlands in 2015. "Education has always been my most important goal. I remember my grandmother saying: Leaving your family, your house, your properties, your country; you will be ok as long as you are educated. This will protect you anywhere in the world."

Winners of the Rosanna Fund for Women Fellowship 2018

Laial al Laham

Tagrid Dinar

is a motivated veterinarian with eight years of experience in Sudan, a Master's degree in Epidemiology from Utrecht University, and a great passion for science. She works since January 2020 as a researcher at the Faculty of veterinary medicine, Utrecht University. Tagrid was born and grew up in Sudan, where she completed her bachelor's degree in veterinary medicine. In 2013, she moved to the Netherlands as a refugee. Her life motto is: "Keep going! Each step may get harder, but do not stop! The view is beautiful at the top".

Matija Kajić

"My name is Matija Kajić, I was a lucky recipient of the Rosanna fund in 2018. Since I have made Utrecht University my home - by becoming a PhD candidate doing research on waste law within a Circular Economy, as well as an assistant lecturer in Administrative Law. The Rosanna Fund propelled me through my Master in Legal Research, and the community continues to support me in my further professional (and personal!) strides."

Winner of the Rosanna Fund for Women Fellowship 2017

Atafeh Cheheli Sobi

"I was born in Iran (Shiraz). I have the honour of being the first ambassador of the Rosanna Fund. I have completed my educational minor and I am studying mathematics, physics, and astronomy at the University of Utrecht. In Iran and the Netherlands, I have had several professions, including animator, art dealer, interpreter, fashion model, actress, and saleswoman. I also had a business. In my daily life, I am a maths and physics teacher at Boswell-Bèta."