Biomedical Engineering undergraduate Haaris Jilani was selected for the ThinkSwiss award, which funds research in Switzerland for the summer. The award is given to outstanding undergraduate and graduate students from the United States who plan to conduct research at a Swiss university or research institution.
The goal of the program is to promote research opportunities in Switzerland for American and Canadian students and to foster exchange between Swiss, U.S., and Canadian universities and research institutions.
“Receiving this award is a significant achievement for Mr. Jilani,” said Dr. Karen Mura, Prestigious Fellowships Advisor. “The opportunity for him to work in a laboratory that is uniquely suited to his specific research interests will help him to advance his knowledge of the field and to connect with the international scientific community.”
Haaris Jilani, a Biomedical Engineering (2024) major and Stamps President’s Scholar, will spend the summer at the University of Zurich, working in the lab of Dr. Christian Stockmann. Jilani will be culturing immune cells under hypoxic conditions to study changes in morphology and behavior.
“Working in Zurich will improve my international research network and let me leverage the independent research skills that I have honed at Georgia Tech,” Jilani explains. “Moreover, the University of Zurich is a highly interdisciplinary setting mixing innovative engineering with medical studies.”
Jilani received support from Pre-Graduate and Pre-Professional Advising's Prestigious Fellowships Advising, a part of the Office of Undergraduate Education at Georgia Tech, which assists students in applying for national and international fellowship opportunities.
"The Prestigious Fellowships Advising Office, specifically Dr. Karen Mura, helped me improve my personal statement and build a stronger narrative for this award,” Jilani said.
ThinkSwiss is a scholarship program managed by the Science Office at the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C. The program is funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Ottawa, Canada. Charles Hong, another Georgia Tech undergraduate student, has also received the scholarship this year.
Students interested in ThinkSwiss, or any nationally or internationally competitive award, should follow up by scheduling an appointment with Prestigious Fellowships Advisor, Karen Mura on AdvisorLink.