Alumnus Awarded Prestigious Fulbright to Study at University of Athens Medical School

Zach Yousef, a biomedical engineering (BME) major who graduated in May 2026, has received a Fulbright Scholarship to spend a year in Greece studying metabolic dysfunction and inflammation at the University of Athens Medical School.

Ioannis Androulakies, a professor in the Departments of Biomedical and Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, put Yousef in touch with Antonios Chatzigeorgiou, a researcher at the medical school of Athens. "I was very happy with this placement because of the work they are doing and the medical impact it has," Yousef says.

Yousef, Androulakis recalls, worked with him for two years through the BME Research Scholars Academy. "His research in my group has already resuled in one publication, and we are currently working on a second."

Studying Sleep Science

According to Yousef, his work with Androulakis and the BME Research Scholars Academy was in collaboration with physician Matthew Scharf, focused on circadian rhythms and sleep science. "We looked at data from thousands of patients who use a CPAP machine to treat their sleep apnea. This data lets us estimate when these patients go to sleep and wake up every day."

The research concentrated on a phenomenon called social jet lag, which is the difference in your sleep timing between weekdays and weekends, when many people go to sleep and wake earlier during the week but stay up and sleep in later on weekends. "We looked at how common this social jet lag is in those being treated for sleep apnea, and noticed how the trend changed as people aged," he explains.

Connecting with His Heritage

Currently beginning his Fulbright studies, Yousef reports that his time so far has been amazing. "Coming here is about academics, but it's also an opportunity for me to reconnect with my heritage," he says. "My mother was born in Greece and lived in Athens until she was 13 and moved to the U.S. with her parents."

He adds, "I've never been to Greece before, and am most looking forward to growing my cultural adaptability while doing meaningful research in a new environment. I'm hoping my research in metabolic dysfunction and inflammation may make a signficant contribution to the medical community."

An Engineering Perspective

As a SoE first year student, Yousef knew he wanted to be a doctor but was unsure of what engineering major to declare. BME looked like the right fit. "I wanted to be an engineer because I've always loved learning how things work. When I was young, I'd take apart and rebuild computers to figure out what was wrong with them. I felt that mix of diagnosis and technical skill blended naturally into BME," he remembers.

While far from certain what medical specialty he might ultimately pursue, Yousef is applying to medical school this cycle, which means he would begin his medical training with the Class of 2031. 

He especially values his Rutgers education and the people he worked with as well as the opportunity to try different things. "The program taught me to think like an engineer, and that's something I'd love to bring to the medical community, since it gives me a different perspective from my peers. 

"I worked as a scribe at RWJMS for three years, and I completed a co-op at Johnson & Johnson in sales analytics. Those experiences let me see medicine from both the clinical as well as the business side, all through the perspective of an engineer."