It also, less frequently, refers to encouragement received from colleagues, friends, and family.
Postdoctoral researchers are particularly sensitive to the instability of support.
They're not students, nor are they faculty members. Their financial support is out of their control, usually dependent upon grants received by others. But this tale, like many ancient tales from her homeland, held a surprise and a prince at the end. Al-Mutairi came to HSPH last year as a Fulbright Scholar, in that longtime international exchange program that finances researchers in diverse fields. She had just earned her PhD in organic chemistry at Bristol University in England and wanted to move into the field of molecular biology.