WPI Student Nouran Abdelfattah Named Gates Cambridge Scholar

WORCESTER, MA (05/20/2013)(readMedia)-- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) senior Nouran Abdelfattah, a double-major in biology/biotechnology and biochemistry, has been named a 2013 Gates Cambridge Scholar. She is the first WPI student to hold this honor.

Gates Cambridge Scholars are selected on the basis of academic excellence, leadership potential, and a commitment to improving the lives of others. Gates Scholars are selected in two competition rounds, one for U.S. citizens and another for citizens of all other countries. In the U.S. competition, approximately 800 eligible applicants are reviewed to select 40 Gates Cambridge Scholars. As a citizen of Egypt, Nouran was selected in the international competition, which identifies 50 Gates Cambridge Scholars from a pool of more than 4,000 eligible applicants.

"Nouran has been a model scholar, student leader and community volunteer," said WPI Provost Eric Overström. "The depth and breadth of her studies are extensive, and she will continue to do great things in her career. She has made the WPI community proud both by her example and by being selected as the first Gates Cambridge Scholar from this university."

Abdelfattah, a native of Cairo, Egypt now living in Cambridge, Mass., will study for the MPhil in Clinical Science (Translational Medicine and Therapeutics) at Cambridge University in England. She plans to attend medical school after this one-year program. She has extensive research experience and is completing her major project on proteins in T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the Harvard Medical School Department of Pathology.

She had previously served as an intern at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Biogen, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Nouran also did research in Professor Reeta Prusty-Rao's laboratory at WPI's Gateway Park.  At WPI, Abdelfattah has been a Peer Learning Assistant in courses on genetics, organic chemistry, and introduction to biology and biotechnology. She was president of Mu Sigma Delta Pre-Health Society and a senator in the Student Government Association. She played a leading role in founding the new WPI chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the national pre-medical honor society. She has been a member of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and a volunteer at Mass General Hospital in Boston. Abdelfattah was the recipient of WPI's Two Towers Prize in 2012.

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is one of the most prestigious international scholarships in the world. The scholarship covers the full cost of studying for a postgraduate degree at Cambridge, including all university and college fees and a living allowance. It is awarded to outstanding applicants from countries outside the United Kingdom to pursue a full-time postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. The program aims to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others.

The program was established in 2000 by a donation of $210 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge. The first class of Scholars received their awards in 2001, and there are currently more than 1,100 Gates Cambridge scholars and alumni from more than 95 countries. Some 90 new scholarships awarded each year, 40 in the U.S. round and 50 in the international round.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 30 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.

Contact:

Martin Luttrell, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

508-831-4910, mluttrell@wpi.edu