Two University of Chicago students have been awarded prestigious Marshall Scholarships for graduate study in the United Kingdom.
The recipients are Matthew Jones, a biological sciences and Germanic studies major from the Class of 2011, and Ben Umans, who graduated with the Class of 2010 with a degree in biological sciences and economics.
In all, five University students this year have received one of the major competitive scholarships for study in the United Kingdom – in addition to the two Marshall Scholars, three students received Rhodes Scholarships this year.
Jones, 21, refers to cancer as both a “disease and an intellectual puzzle.” After completing his Marshall Scholarship, he plans to attend medical school and hopes to work as a physician scientist. He aspires to a career that combines research in oncology with treatment of patients with cancer.
The idea is to “not only use the lab to help the clinic, but to use the clinic to help the lab,” Jones said. “I think there can be a dialogue between the two.”
Umans, 22, recalls being thrilled by the opportunity to study at UChicago. “I was looking forward to participating in seemingly disparate areas of inquiry, without sacrificing seriousness or facing a contradiction of intellectual purpose,” he said.
A native of Hyde Park, Umans currently works as a research technologist in the lab of Jerrold Turner, Professor and Associate Chair of Pathology. After studying at Oxford Umans intends to pursue a career as a biologist.
—Prof. Kunle Odunsi
