Sophie Tomov ’26 experienced the Bulgarian health care system firsthand during her grandmother’s hospitalization. Tomov’s family is from Bulgaria, and she was able to see the system’s strengths and shortcomings up close. When it came time to apply for postgraduate fellowships and awards, she proposed a research and service project in Sofia, Bulgaria, in partnership with the For The Good Foundation, which works to improve health care and education for children.
“The project is designed to strengthen pediatric health care practices by addressing reported gaps in practitioner training and fostering collaboration with American health care professionals,” says Tomov, a pre-med biology major, French minor, and Shankweiler Scholar who has conducted undergraduate research at Muhlenberg and New York University. “In addition to facilitating this exchange, I plan to systematically assess these gaps and explore their underlying cultural factors. On the service side, I aim to contribute to the renovation of pediatric and family wards, helping to create more open, functional environments better suited to the needs of children and their families.”
Tomov recently learned that she earned a Fulbright U.S. Student Program research award, making her the first Muhlenberg student to have won a Fulbright for research in 25 years. Tomov will arrive in Bulgaria on September 1.
Muhlenberg was invaluable in my receiving this award. I could not have done this without the Muhlenberg community.
“Muhlenberg was invaluable in my receiving this award,” she says. The Career Center assisted with her CV, her professors wrote recommendation letters and helped inform her research proposal, and Associate Dean of Academic Life Kammie Takahashi set up mock interviews to practice for her commission interview. “I could not have done this without the Muhlenberg community.”
“As a pre-medical student, my academic training has prepared me well to undertake this public health project,” she adds. “As a Shankweiler Scholar, I developed a strong foundation for viewing medicine as a human-centered endeavor, while also gaining experience in understanding and conducting public health research. My additional research experiences across both the sciences and humanities have further strengthened my ability to engage in academic inquiry and design a cohesive, interdisciplinary project.”
