Research and Results
Biomedical Sciences and Anthropology Major Earns Marshall Scholarship
December 2012
Chris Counts, a Biomedical Sciences and Anthropology undergraduate student with his own successful non-profit organization, has been selected as a 2013 recipient of the prestigious Marshall Scholarship -- a fully funded opportunity to pursue an advanced degree in the United Kingdom.
Counts is one of only 34 U.S. students to receive the scholarship this year and the first CSU student to receive the scholarship since 1989. He plans to pursue a master’s degree in Public Health at the University College London next year before pursuing medical school.
An Opportunity for the Most Talented Young Americans
The Marshall Scholarship Programme, which is named after Secretary of State George C. Marshall, began in 1953 as a gesture of gratitude to the United States for the assistance provided to the UK under the Marshall Plan. The scholarships provide talented young Americans the chance to study for up to three years at a UK university of their choice.
"Chris has seized every opportunity available to him during his time at Colorado State, making him a well-rounded and highly competitive candidate as he applies to medical school," CSU President Tony Frank wrote in his recommendation letter to the Marshall Scholarship Committee. "Chris has been careful to seek out experiences that will prepare him to handle the more personal side of medicine."
A "Dream Student" With Varied Interests
Counts was selected for his academic achievement in maintaining a flawless grade point average in a course load including both undergraduate and graduate courses, as well his extracurricular activities.
- As a high school student in 2007, Chris started Hygiene for Humanity (H4H) in Arvada to promote health and hygiene among underserved populations – a program he has continued to grow while at the university.
- Counts participates in the Honors Undergraduate Research Scholars program and has taken on leadership roles in training both undergraduate and graduate students in the laboratory.
- In the summer of 2011, he completed an internship in Tanzania with Fighting Aids, a non-governmental organization.
- As an undergraduate, Counts’ research in HIV-1 protease, a virus-specific enzyme essential for viral infectivity, has received several awards in poster presentations at Colorado State University as well as the University of Colorado. His research findings have been compiled into a developing manuscript, soon to be submitted to a scholarly journal.
"He is a student that every mentor would dream for. He has been working on a project that is pioneering and challenging at the same time," said Chaoping Chen, Counts’ research mentor and associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. "Chris will be the first undergraduate from my lab who publishes an original research paper as the first author, which is well deserved."
