School Notes: Jackson School of Global Affairs
January/February 2026

Former World Fellow wins Nobel

Venezuelan opposition leader and 2009 Yale World Fellow María Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in October. An outspoken critic of the authoritarian regime of President Nicolás Maduro, Machado serves as leader of the Vente Venezuela party and was a member of Venezuela’s National Assembly in 2011–2014. She announced her candidacy for president in 2022 but was arbitrarily disqualified from public office for her role in anti-government protests. In spite of her disqualification, Machado has led massive rallies in Venezuela in opposition of Maduro and has become internationally recognized in the fight against authoritarian rule. “María Corina embodies the spirit of the Yale World Fellows—fearless in her convictions, steadfast in her pursuit of justice, and courageous in her deeds,” said Emma Sky, director of the World Fellows program.

Jackson faculty present research at UN

At a high-level session on early childhood development and peacebuilding at September’s UN General Assembly, Yale Jackson School anthropologist Catherine Panter-Brick presented scientific evidence showing how war trauma can alter gene expression and affect future generations. Joined by Jackson senior lecturer Bonnie Weir, Panter-Brick presented findings from her first-of-its-kind study on war and epigenetics among three generations of Syrian refugee families. The research, published in Scientific Reports in February 2024, found that women who experienced the violence of war during pregnancy showed altered epigenetic markings—and so did their children and grandchildren, even those who had never been directly exposed to conflict. “Violence leaves its mark on the human genome across generations,” said Panter-Brick, “which tells us that the legacy of war is not only social and psychological—it is biological.”