Med Student earns prestigious Fulbright Scholarship

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By Kyle Glennie

Thane Kubik was chosen for an International Fulbright Science and Technology Award: photo by Bruce PerraultFor the first time ever, a Faculty of Medicine student has won the International Fulbright Science and Technology Award for Outstanding Foreign Students, arguably the most prestigious international scholarship in the world. Thane Kubik, a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) program where he majored in biomedical sciences, was chosen for the award by the Fulbright committee for his unique aptitude and innovation in biomedical science.

“It’s an incredible feeling to win this award and I’m very grateful to all my mentors at the Faculty of Medicine for helping me achieve this honour,” says Kubik.  His mentors, especially Dr. Christian Jacob and Sonja Georgijevic, certainly helped him become the student he is today, but Kubik also owes a few other people in the BHSc program a debt of gratitude for bringing the Fulbright Scholarship to his attention.

“I had never heard about this particular scholarship before and it was actually the BHSc program coordinator who spoke to some of the directors and they recommended that I apply,” recalls Kubik.

It’s a good thing they did.  Kubik was chosen as one of two Canadian nominees for the international award, usually given to about 45 people around the world.  After that he was named one of the international recipients and his award was approved by the Fulbright committee.

The process may have been long and in-depth, but the benefits are obvious.  Each winner chooses a list of schools in the US they would like to attend, and with the help of the Institute for International Education, they apply for admission.  Once they find out which schools they are accepted to, the grantee then chooses which one to attend, with the first three years of tuition fully paid for by the scholarship.  Not only that, the student is given funding for books and expenses, a monthly living stipend, a research allowance, and money to fly to conferences and even to travel home once a year.  

“I ended up choosing Rockefeller University because I absolutely love research and this passion is really nurtured by the community at Rockefeller,” says Kubik.  “I’m really interested in studying the physical principles that underlie biological systems, and Rockefeller is a great place to do this.”

Looks like Rockefeller is getting a very promising student.