Med-school bound Joshua Niska named to newspaper's All-Academic
Team
PHOENIX, Ariz. - June 9, 2010 - Joshua Niska, a 5-year intern at
the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), capped a
string of major academic honors today by being named one of the
nation's top 20 college students by USA TODAY.
Niska and other members of the national newspaper's 2010 All-USA
College Academic (First) Team will each receive a $2,500 cash
award. They were selected, according to the newspaper, based on
their leadership, activities and, most importantly, how the
students extended their intellectual talents beyond the
classroom.
Joshua Niska, a 5-year TGen intern, is named one of the nation's
top 20 college students by USA TODAY.
Meanwhile, another recent 4-year TGen intern, Eric Anderson - who
last year was named to USA TODAY's list (Second Team) of the
nation's top 40 college students - has received a Fulbright
Scholarship to pursue genomic cancer research at the Academic
Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam, and later will
attend the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Both Niska and Anderson recently graduated with honors and at least
4.0 grade-point averages from Barrett, the Honors College at
Arizona State University. Niska majored in Biochemistry. Anderson
majored in Bioengineering, Biochemistry and Biological Sciences.
Both interned at TGen under the direction of Dr. Heather Cunliffe,
Head of TGen's Breast and Ovarian Cancer Research Unit.
"Both Josh and Eric are extraordinarily talented young scientists,
and both have extremely promising and exciting futures ahead of
them. I'm positive that both will make significant contributions to
the betterment of medicine and human health,'' Dr. Cunliffe
said.
Niska, 22, of Gilbert, Ariz., will attend Harvard Medical School
this fall.
Niska's compelling application thesis to USA TODAY involved his
desire to bridge cultural gaps in medicine.
He took a Spanish immersion course at Inhispania International
Language Center in Madrid, Spain, following an independent research
summer project at the Andes and Amazon Field School in Tena,
Ecuador, where he shadowed an indigenous shaman and an allopathic
physician, interviewed government health officials and Peace Corps
workers, and volunteered in local community projects. His
subsequent honors thesis with Dr. Jane Maienschein, a Regents'
Professor at ASU's School of Life Sciences, focused on improving
cross-cultural medicine, using his experiences to inform research
on how to bridge other cultural divides in medicine.
"My experiences in Ecuador with the indigenous community and their
physicians, shamans, and other healthcare providers, made me
realize the importance of cultural understanding and the need to
evaluate all forms of medicine in order to improve healthcare for
patients of all backgrounds," Niska said. "I hope to continue to
investigate diversity in medicine throughout my career as a
physician, with the perspective that all patient encounters are
cross-cultural."
Niska was an ASU School of Life Sciences Undergraduate Research
(SOLUR) Fellow. And he participated in both the Helios Scholars
Program at TGen and TGen's Undergraduate Research Fellowship in the
Brain Tumor Unit and in the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Research
Unit.
Niska's name already has appeared on no fewer than five
peer-reviewed scientific papers and manuscripts, involving
discoveries in breast and brain cancer, and in overcoming language
and cultural barriers in medicine and health care.
Among his academic achievements, Niska won:
- A 2009-10 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship of up to $7,500, considered the nation's highest undergraduate award for research in science, math and engineering.
- A College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Undergraduate Research Scholarship of $2,500 in the natural sciences for the fall 2009 semester.
- The 2008-09 American Association for Cancer Research Thomas J. Bardos Science Education Award for Undergraduate Students.
- An American Association for the Advancement of Science Travel Grant, for the spring 2008 and spring 2010 semesters - granted through the Distinguished Teaching Academy at ASU's Barrett Honors College and the university's Center for Biology and Society - for scientific poster presentations at international AAAS annual meetings.
- The Moeur Award from the ASU Alumni Association.
And just for good measure, Niska was a 2009 Rhodes scholarship
finalist, and was named the Spring 2010 Outstanding Graduate from
Barrett, the Honors College at ASU.
In addition to his academic awards, Niska was: an Executive Board
Member and Chair of Community Service for the ASU American Medical
Student Association; a writing tutor at ASU's Writing Center; a
mentor at ASU's Barrett Honors College; captained intramural
basketball and soccer teams; and served as a volunteer with ASU's
Mathematics Education Service Learning Program, in which he tutored
fifth grade mathematics students at Phoenix's Herrera Elementary
School.
He also volunteered in the Surgical Department at Maricopa County
Hospital and in the Emergency Department at Scottsdale
Healthcare-Osborn.
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About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix,
Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting
groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at
TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer,
neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of
translational research where investigators are able to unravel the
genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with
collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen
believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency
and effectiveness of the translational process. TGen is affiliated
with the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
For more information, visit: www.tgen.org.
Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
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