A Georgetown University professor who specializes in medical anthropology received the esteemed Guggenheim Fellowship, which honors exceptional scholars in the social sciences, natural sciences, humanities and creative arts.

School of Foreign Service (SFS) professor Emily Mendenhall was one of 171 scholars chosen from a field of roughly 2,500 applicants to receive funding for an academic research project. With her grant, Mendenhall plans to study the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and various unrecognized symptoms of the virus.

Mendenhall is the author of four books, including her most recent publication “Unmasked,” which surveys the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in her hometown of Okoboji, Iowa.

Before the onset of the pandemic, Mendenhall researched syndemics, or the adverse interactions of disease and social conditions, in Soweto, South Africa. There, she profiled how spirituality and mental health can impact physical well-being. Though her time was cut short by the global health crisis, Mendenhall was still able to publish several journal articles about her research, including a case study about cancer in a South African town.

Mendenhall said the fellowship will offer a much-needed reprieve from a hectic period in her life, during which she hopes to not just expand her academic horizons but also give herself the time to reflect and recharge.

“I was eager to find a fellowship that would provide intellectual space to rest, think, read, and write after a hectic decade of having kids, working toward tenure and promotion, and living through a pandemic,” Mendenhall wrote to The Hoya.

Lahra Smith, an associate professor in the Georgetown African Studies program, said Mendenhall offers an interdisciplinary perspective that bridges the gap between biology and anthropological theory, two subjects that may not appear to be related at first glance.

“Her work has long focused on mental health broadly and her new project takes up the interconnectedness of disease and trauma in the context of long Covid,” Smith wrote to The Hoya. “Prof. Mendenhall is uniquely situated to bring comparative and field-based knowledge to these questions.”

Ken Opalo, an assistant professor in the SFS, said Mendenhall’s research adds key insight into the intersections between socioeconomic status and physical health on the continent.

“Her work provides a lens through which to understand how inequality and poverty may exacerbate medical conditions in African states,” Opalo wrote to The Hoya.

Opalo said Mendenhall’s “Unmasked” ties public thought into the world of the COVID-19 pandemic in an interesting way.

“More recently, her book on the pandemic showed how political/cultural identities influence people’s understanding and response to public health crises,” Opalo wrote.

In addition to her specialization in medical anthropology, Mendenhall said her recent work has allowed her to expand her literary interests by writing a historical novel about the fascinating life of a family member.

“I’m also finishing a novel about my great grandmother who lived under a secret identity for seven decades and was a spy for the Irish Independence Movement,” Mendenhall wrote. “The book is about trauma and recovery — as well as her extraordinary life. It’s been fun to explore a new genre of writing!”

Mendenhall said she hopes to help undergraduate students understand that pathways to success are often not straightforward and can include a healthy dose of setbacks.

“Take chances, accept failure, and keep trying,” Mendenhall wrote. “I wish students knew about the multitude of failures in my career — staying positive, taking risks, keeping an open heart and mind, and learning with and from people with different life experiences is crucial to growing and changing through life.”