Med student earns Rhodes Scholarship

Travis Murdoch was clearly interested in science when, at 16, he spent a summer working in a world-renowned University of Alberta research lab. Now, his passion for medicine and research led to acceptance in the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship program at Oxford University.

"We are absolutely delighted that Travis has received this prestigious recognition," said U of A President Indira Samarasekera. "It is a tribute to his achievements and to those around him who have encouraged him throughout his academic journey. He is an exceptional student and brings great distinction to the University of Alberta."

Twenty-two-year-old Murdoch is the U of A's 24th Rhodes Scholar and its third in four years. The third-year medical student says his experience working with the research team that developed the Edmonton Protocol treatment for Type 1 diabetes was inspirational. As a teen participant in the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research's summer mentorship program in 2001, Murdoch joined the research group shortly after it announced its groundbreaking advance in islet cell transplantation.

"I have had a few people in my life who have been tremendously supportive and I am very appreciative of everything they have done for me - they really gave me an opportunity when I didn't have any experience," he said.

And as a university student, those opportunities kept coming. He works as a part-time researcher with the islet transplant team, under Dr. James Shapiro, and conducts research with Dr. Richard Fedorak, director of the U of A Centre of Excellence for Gastrointestinal Inflammation and Immunity Research.

"The fact that they continued to have me on - there is a lot of trust involved in letting someone into your lab with a lot of expensive gear and let them do experiments. It is phenomenal that we have these kinds of researchers at the U of A who are really world class and who give students like myself a chance to get involved."

Fedorak says he isn't surprised that Murdoch was successful in his Rhodes bid.

"Travis is probably one of the brightest and most enthusiastic students I have had the opportunity to work with in the last 20 years," Fedorak said. "He's bright, he's energetic, he's thoughtful, he's compassionate - he has all of those attributes that make for an outstanding clinician-scientist."

Murdoch will take a one-year leave of absence from his studies at the U of A to attend Oxford in October. There, he'll work towards a Masters of Science in Integrated Immunology.

"I am interested in translating basic science into clinical application, so this program is perfect for me. It really compliments my career and research goals," said Murdoch, who hopes to go on to conduct clinical research in an academic setting, as well as teach and practice medicine.

Murdoch has interests beyond medicine and academics. He has formed a literature club for medical students that focuses on fiction, as opposed to scientific literature.

"The idea is to have a book a month that is non-medical and short, because medical students--myself included--have surprisingly short attention spans. Then, we go for coffee at the end of the month (because medical students love coffee), and we talk about the book," he said. "It's nice to sit down with people and talk about something other than medicine for a change."

He remains active in the AHFMR Heritage Youth Research Summer program that originally brought him to campus, and is a volunteer judge and workshop instructor for junior high school debate tournaments.

He's also a musician, playing bass with the local indie rock group Snic, and collaborating with other local musicians in capacities ranging from session musician to recording engineer. He is press director with local record label Seraph-Saraph; all the label's recordings are in the public domain, posted online at www.seraph-saraph.com.

Fedorak says those external interests serve Murdoch well.

"Travis isn't all about academics and school Travis has a life outside of medicine which is important and he donates a lot of this time and energy to volunteer efforts. He is one of those people who is able to keep it all together and do it all, and that's what has made him a Rhodes Scholar."