Feature Stories Campus Events All Stories

W&L’s Abby Moore ’25 Selected for Fulbright to Australia Moore will conduct biomedical research at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia.

Abby-Moore-scaled-600x400 W&L’s Abby Moore ’25 Selected for Fulbright to Australia

Washington and Lee University graduate Abby Moore ’25 has received a Fulbright Open Research Award to conduct biomedical research at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. At W&L, Moore was a neuroscience major with a minor in creative writing. Moore is a native of Marysville, Michigan, and a graduate of Marysville High School.

For Moore, the Fulbright is an important step in her plan to pursue an M.D.-Ph.D. in oncology, and she looks forward to building long-lasting research partnerships with her future colleagues at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. She will work with the world’s only mouse model of Cyclin-E1 amplified ovarian cancer to target its driving mutation through immunotherapy agents in combination with a novel inhibitor. Moore is also grateful for the chance to work under the direction of Dr. Shom Goel, whose lab is the first to develop a Cyclin-E1 inhibitor that has successfully entered first-in-human clinical trials for breast cancer patients in both the United States and Australia.

“With this opportunity, I am so grateful to utilize my strengths in biomedical research to forge strong collaborations with the global cancer research community,” said Moore.

Moore credits Fiona Watson, associate professor of biology, with inspiring her to pursue a research career, and teaching her “what it means to be an intuitive, independent and deeply curious scientist.” She also spent the summer after her first year studying in Vienna, Austria, and after taking courses in health and social psychology there, felt motivated to explore global approaches to healthcare and research.

On campus, Moore was involved in the Outing Club, Campus Rec and club softball, and conducted independent research in the Department of Neuroscience. She also participated in the youth literacy program through the Rockbridge Regional Library and volunteered at Kendal at Lexington as part of the Opening Minds through Art program.

With the Fulbright award, Moore will depart in January 2026 for her nine-month program. Upon completion of the program, she will pursue an M.D.-Ph.D. in oncology.

~~~

Washington and Lee University is proud to be included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2024-2025 Fulbright U.S. Students for the seventh consecutive year.

The Fulbright Program was established more than 75 years ago to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

If you know a W&L student who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.