Rhodes student selected for prestigious Cambridge scholarship

A chemistry PhD candidate from Rhodes University is among 77 scholars from around the world selected to be part of the prestigious Gates Cambridge scholarship programme.

It is the University of Cambridge's flagship international postgraduate scholarship programme and was established through a $210m donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000.

Since the first class in 2001, Gates Cambridge has awarded 2,100 scholarships to scholars from 112 countries who represent more than 700 universities globally, and more than 80 academic departments and all 31 colleges at Cambridge.

Cambridge's spokesperson Mandy Garner told TimesLIVE initially two South Africans were selected to be part of the programme but only one will go forward.

"We were only informed at the end of the week that the other scholar has changed their mind and is going to take up his studies elsewhere," said Garner.

Rhodes University scholar Kristen Burgess will join her counterparts later this year.

In addition to funding their research, candidates will benefit from the strong sense of community and identity that has been forged by their predecessors.

They come from 32 countries and are studying subjects ranging from the links between sleep patterns and the retrieval of emotional memories to what we can learn about biodiversity from burying beetles.

Burgess will use the opportunity to further her chemistry studies into diseases like cancer.

"I have always been interested in the underlying mechanisms of disease, particularly cancer. After my undergraduate degree at Rhodes University, I needed to decide between chemistry and biochemistry for my postgraduate endeavours," she said.

"Even though I love biochemistry, I opted for chemistry as it allowed me to explore diseases (and other topics) with a molecular approach and left a few more doors open. Over the course of my undergraduate degree and postgraduate research, this interest has been ignited and has ultimately developed into an insatiable hunger to understand more.

"I will now be doing my PhD with a broader focus encompassing both chemistry and biochemistry. This project will investigate the effect that Glioblastoma Multiforme (malignant brain tumours) has on the surrounding extracellular matrix within brain tissue, in order to enhance its progression and invasion."

Burgess said once the mechanism of the disease has been mapped out, an intelligent molecular intervention can be designed.

"I am just delighted about what this opportunity has to offer me in my quest for knowledge, filling the research gap, sharing my love for science and combatting this devastating disease."

Prof Eilís Ferran of the Gates Cambridge Trust, said: “These scholars, who have been selected by our expert selection panels, reflect the mission of the Gates Cambridge Trust established through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s generous and historic gift to the University of Cambridge.

“Like their predecessors, they are both intellectually outstanding and demonstrate the kind of leadership qualities needed to tackle the complex global challenges we face today.

“We know that these scholars will flourish in the rich, international community at Cambridge and will go on to make a significant impact in their fields and to the wider global community.”

TimesLIVE