Merve Ileri-Tayar turned her curiosity about the human mind into a rewarding graduate research experience.
Not many graduate students turn down a Fulbright Scholarship, but few have the options, accolades, and awards of Merve Ileri-Tayar, who earned her PhD in psychological and brain sciences this past May.
A native of Turkey, Ileri-Tayar declined a Fulbright in favor of a scholarship from the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, a program that brings top students from around the world to WashU. In addition to the generous scholarship, she was drawn by the kind of research taking shape in WashU’s nationally recognized psychology graduate program. “I’d never lived in the United States before, but I knew WashU was my dream destination,” she said. “I felt so fortunate to be here.”
For Ileri-Tayar, the McDonnell scholarship was a prelude to greater things. In 2025, she won the Dean’s Award for Graduate Research Excellence, recognizing her work uncovering the brain’s ability to shift attention from one topic to another. In 2026, she was chosen as the graduate student speaker for the Arts & Sciences Hooding and Recognition ceremony, highlighting her leadership and impact within the graduate community.