Med Program Grad Students Earn Top Awards

Two Rice graduate students enrolled in the Medical Scientist Training Program have received preeminent awards that will allow them to focus on their groundbreaking research.

Gwen Hoben and Kyriacos Athanasiou, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Bioengineering and director of the Musculoskeletal Bioengineering Laboratory.

Emmanuel Chang received a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship from the United States Department of Defense, and Gwen Hoben was named a 2005 Hertz Fellow by the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation.

Chang is a student in the laboratory of Rebekah Drezek, the Stanley C. Moore Assistant Professor in Bioengineering and professor in electrical and computer engineering, and he also works in collaboration with Jennifer West, the Isabel C. Cameron Professor of Bioengineering and professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering. His work at Rice focuses on development of biomedical imaging applications of quantum dots, with a particular emphasis on early cancer detection.

“Emmanuel is an incredibly creative, intelligent, and motivated student,” Drezek says. “His highly multidisciplinary background in biomedical engineering, optics, and chemistry enables him to insightfully synthesize advances from numerous fields in his own work, and his medical training allows him to readily identify applications with particular clinical relevance.”

Chang earned his bachelor’s degree in 2001 from Duke University, where he majored in biomedical engineering and electrical engineering with a minor in chemistry.

“One of the greatest privileges of being on the faculty at Rice is the opportunity to work with students of Emmanuel’s caliber,” Drezek notes. “He is an absolutely outstanding scientist.”

NDSEG fellowships are among the nation’s most prestigious and competitive, with only 4 percent of biosciences applicants receiving awards. The fellowship covers tuition and fees for up to three years. It also includes a $30,500 stipend that increases annually.

Hoben, meanwhile, is part of an elite group of 15 graduate students to be awarded a Hertz Fellowship. They are among the nation’s most prestigious and competitive fellowships, with awards given to fewer than 3 percent of those who apply. Rice is one of only 43 research universities whose students are eligible for Hertz fellowships. The prestigious awards are available only to students studying engineering or applied sciences, with a strong emphasis on the physical sciences.

A student in the laboratory of Kyriacos Athanasiou, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Bioengineering and director of the Musculoskeletal Bioengineering Laboratory, Hoben hopes to complete the medical scientist program around 2009. She completed her first two years of medical school at Baylor last year and began working on her PhD in bioengineering at Rice last fall.

“I have known Gwen for six years, ever since she was a sophomore,” says Athanasiou, whose lab conducts basic research on the healing processes of cartilage and applied research into methods of growing tissues. “Through this time, she has demonstrated consistency, purpose, and outstanding performance.”

Hoben, who received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Rice in 2001, says the Hertz Fellowship offers her more options to pursue the research that appeals to her. “It gives me a little bit more freedom,” she says. “When I first started six months ago, I was associated with a specific grant that focused on engineering knee meniscus tissue. With the Hertz Fellowship, I have more flexibility to move between grants and follow the interesting scientific questions, wherever they lead.”

The extra freedom is particularly valuable at this stage in her studies, because Hoben still is trying to decide what type of residency she’ll pursue. She is considering three surgical specialties—reconstructive, cardiothoracic, and trauma. Once she finishes her PhD studies, she’ll still have 18 months of electives and clinical rotations to complete at Baylor before she can start her five- to six-year residency. Regardless of her choice of residency, she knows that winning the Hertz will pay dividends for many years, even after the fellowship expires.

The Hertz Fellowship covers tuition and fees, and it can be renewed for up to five years. It also includes a $28,000 stipend for the year.

The Medical Scientist Training Program, an elite program offered by Baylor College of Medicine and Rice, allows students to undertake PhD studies from Rice at the same time that they are earning a medical degree from Baylor.

—Jade Boyd