April 2005

TROY, N.Y. - Laila S. Tabatabai, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute junior and biology major from Niskayuna, N.Y., has been selected as a 2005 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar by the Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The award honors students pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.

Tabatabai is one of 320 scholarship recipients selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,091 mathematics, science, and engineering students nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide, according to the Goldwater Foundation.

Tabatabai is enrolled in the accelerated physician-scientist program at Rensselaer and Albany Medical College, which enables qualified students to earn a bachelor's degree in science and medical degree within seven years. She is involved in research at Albany Medical College that incorporates clinical and laboratory approaches to better understand cell behavior in arterial plaques. Tabatabai said she is pursuing a career as a clinical investigator, working closely with patients to develop treatments for disease.

Tabatabai said she acknowledges Michael Hanna, Ph.D., associate professor of biology at Rensselaer, and Michelle Lennartz, M.D., associate professor of cell biology and cancer research at Albany Medical College, for nurturing her interest in science and encouraging her academics and research.

In addition to her academic and research activities, Tabatabai is a creative essayist and poet, a student tour guide, an interfaith community educator, and a hospital volunteer. She has been recognized with several merit scholarships and research fellowships.

"Laila Tabatabai is an outstanding and dedicated student who is highly motivated," said G.P. "Bud" Peterson, Rensselaer provost. "As an undergraduate in Rensselaer's biology department, she has been able to pursue a number of research opportunities, and we are very happy to see her accomplishments recognized with this prestigious honor."

The Goldwater Scholarship provides $7,500 per year for undergraduate study. The Scholarship Program honoring Senator Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields. In its 17-year history, the Foundation has awarded 4,562 scholarships worth approximately $45 million.

Published April 11, 2005