Local Student Receives Science Research Scholarship

Kofi Mensah, a microbiology major and double minor in Spanish and in health and society at the University of Rochester, was selected to receive a 2003 United Negro College Fund (UNCF)-Merck undergraduate research scholarships. The program is designed to support young African Americans in pursuing careers in biomedical science by providing scholarships and two paid summer internships. Mensah will work at a Merck research institute in Rahway, N.J. this summer. As a part of the program, the University's biology department is eligible to receive a grant.

Currently a junior, Mensah is a graduate of Townsend Harris High School in New York City. His extra-curricular activities in Rochester include volunteering at the Golisano Children's hospital at Strong Memorial Hospital. Mensah spent two summers doing research on Alzheimer's disease at the Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation in New Hyde Park, and presented his work at the eighth International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Stockholm in July 2002.

On campus, Mensah serves on both the microbiology and the health and society undergraduate councils, and is secretary of the Charles Drew Pre-Health Professions Society. As a Rochester Early Medical Scholar, he plans to attend University of Rochester School of Medicine after completing his undergraduate degree.

The University of Rochester (on the web at www.rochester.edu) is one of the smallest and most distinguished private universities in the country. Fewer than 3,700 undergraduates are enrolled at its College, the home of arts, sciences, and engineering programs. College learning centers on the individual with a core mission of research and discovery for each student.