Clemson student receives fellowship in Paris

Yunhui Peng, a doctoral student in Clemson University College of Science’s department of physics and astronomy, was recently awarded a 2017 Chateaubriand Fellowship by the Embassy of France in the United States. Starting in fall 2017, Peng will travel to Paris Diderot University for a nine-month fellowship to advance his studies of disease-causing mutations. Peng, who originally is from China, is a fourth-year doctoral student in professor Emil Alexov’s lab. Alexov and his lab members focus their research on the computational modeling of biological macro-molecules. Funding for the Chateaubriand Fellowship is provided by the Embassy of France in partnership with French research organizations and the National Science Foundation’s GROW program, which supports opportunities for American graduate students to participate in international research. During his stay in France, Peng will work to identify potential drugs that can cure disease and rescue the effects of disease-causing mutations. Not only is he excited to study abroad, but he’s hopeful that his research will one day benefit others.