We are excited to share that Marilyn Lionts (HRBL Lab, advised by Prof. Yuankai Huo) served as our inaugural VALIANT REACH Scholar, completing a June exchange in the laboratory of Dr. Lotta María Ellingsen at the University of Iceland. “I definitely thought it was worth it. I really, really enjoyed it,” she said, adding that the program let her “branch out of my normal area, but also really enhance the skills I need for my research topic,” underscoring VALIANT REACH’s mission to advance AI for societal benefit through immersive global collaboration.

During the one‑month “science sprint,” Marilyn shifted from her Vanderbilt focus on Raman spectroscopy and photonics (“my main work… is using AI for different applications of Raman spectroscopy”) to fingerprint image analysis for underdiagnosed developmental conditions. “There’s this condition called Kabuki syndrome… characterized by having fetal fingerprint pads,” she explained. While a previous study was able to differentiate these patients’ fingerprints from controls, a new dataset with similar physical fingerprint characteristics (Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome) has made the differentiation task more complex. The team asked, “Could we tell the difference between these two syndromes, or is the model only picking up the fat pads?” while exploring how a vision transformer might extend the prior CNN results within an emerging mobile fingerprint collection app.

Cultural immersion amplified the technical gains. Marilyn highlighted Icelandic National Day—“costumes and everyone there with their Iceland flags”—a Viking heritage festival with staged bouts (“even the little kids, which was so cute”), and a Golden Circle excursion: seeing geysers and “that big waterfall… that was really breathtaking.” These experiences, alongside peers from around the world, deepened her international network.

Reciprocal momentum now continues as Dr. Ellingsen’s student prepares to visit Nashville: “She should be here in October… we have a lot of things planned.” Marilyn’s guidance is clear: “It’s hard to imagine a person who shouldn’t do it,” and future scholars should “be very open minded and really make an effort to talk to all the people there… and really try to make those connections.” With this successful pilot, we look forward to expanding VALIANT REACH, applying lessons in advance project scoping, clinician engagement, and structured cultural exchange.