Tenzing Lama, Bowdoin ’10, was one of only two students in the U.S. selected to receive a Keasbey Scholarship to study at Oxford University. The biochemistry major will pursue a masters of science degree in pathology, researching the molecular biology and biochemistry of parasites.
Lama, who conducted an independent research project in 2009 under the direction of INBRE Investigator Bill Jackman, will be studying the parasite Trypanosoma brucei at a cellular and molecular level. This elemental characterization will be critical for the development of an effective drug to treat those affected by the parasite, which causes African sleeping sickness. The illness kills 500,000 people each year.
Lama’s long-term plan is to become a physician scientist. He intends to return to the U.S. after his Oxford studies to enroll in an M.D./Ph.D. program with a focus on infectious diseases.