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June 27, 2025
LITTLE ROCK, AR. (June 27, 2025) – Dr. Taren Massey-Swindle, a researcher at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI), has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Specialist Program grant to develop her work on nutrition promotion in early childhood education and care. She also serves as an associate professor in the departments of Pediatrics and Family and Preventive Medicine within the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
This honor, awarded by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, allows Dr. Massey-Swindle to travel to Australia to develop a collaborative project focused on sharing knowledge and building partnerships. This exchange will create valuable benefits for the researchers, institutions and communities through a range of educational and training activities.
Dr. Massey-Swindle will spend her Fulbright appointment sharing skills and best practices with Australian researchers and practitioners at Queensland University of Technology, a leader in practical application research. This collaboration will focus on improving nutrition in early childhood education and care settings, addressing key priorities like better mealtime practices and statewide nutrition support. Ultimately, this work aims to improve children's health and development in the United States and Australia.
“The Fulbright Specialist Program offers a meaningful way to build lasting partnerships between our two countries,” Massey-Swindle said. “I’m looking forward to working closely with colleagues in Australia to exchange ideas and approaches. By learning from one another, we can strengthen the systems that support children and help them thrive in both Arkansas and Australia.”
Massey-Swindle is one of more than 400 U.S. citizens who share expertise with host institutions abroad through the Fulbright Specialist Program each year. Recipients of Fulbright Specialist awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad.
ABOUT THE FULBRIGHT U.S. STUDY PROGRAM
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program expands perspectives through academic and professional advancement and cross-cultural dialogue. Fulbright creates connections in a complex and changing world. In partnership with more than 140 countries worldwide, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers unparalleled opportunities in all academic disciplines to passionate and accomplished graduating college seniors, graduate students and young professionals from all backgrounds. Program participants pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English abroad.
ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S
Arkansas Children's is the only health care system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' 850,000 children. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define and deliver unprecedented child health. Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS); and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children’s is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2024-2025): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Neonatal Care, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and Pulmonology & Lung Surgery. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the northwest Arkansas region, is a Level IV pediatric trauma center. ACNW operates an expanding inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. To learn more, visit archildrens.org.
ABOUT UAMS
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.
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