Congratulations to Almudena Sanz Gutiérrez, our 2026-2027 William R. Walker Graduate Research Fellow!
Almudena is a PhD student in the Department of Population Health Sciences. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and a Master of Science in Clinical Research from Universidad de Barcelona. Before enrolling at Virginia Tech, she coordinated the implementation of two large-scale randomized trials for malaria control and investigated malaria transmission from a One Health perspective. She is leveraging her background in epidemiology to research disparities in safe drinking water access in the US, where technical advances in drinking water systems have dramatically improved population health over the last century, yet these benefits have not been equally distributed. Almudena aspires to use her interdisciplinary expertise in public health and water resources to serve as a bridge between engineering, hydrology, and health professionals working to expand access to safe drinking water.
This fellowship honors the legacy of William R. Walker, the founding director of the Center, and has been awarded annually since 1999. It recognizes graduate students who are making meaningful contributions to water resources research—especially those who are either shifting fields from their undergraduate studies or returning to academia after time in the professional world.
