Reflection on 2009: The Amgen Scholars Annual Report

The Amgen Scholars Program made many exciting strides forward in 2009. The Program welcomed its first group of Amgen Scholars in Europe: 59 students from 15 countries, studying at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat in Munich, Germany, and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. In addition, the Amgen Scholars Program website launched, offering a portal for news and networking for alumni, current and future Scholars. In all, 329 Scholars joined the growing ranks of bright, enthusiastic alumni. Full details, and photos, are available in the 2009 annual report.

Importantly, for the report, we heard about specific projects and career plans from alumni Scholars. Many are either in or are bound for graduate school. These students include:

• Taylor Lenton, a 2007 Amgen Scholar who worked with Dr. John Roberts at the California Institute of Technology and who is now in her first year of graduate studies at Caltech
• Jose Rios, alumnus who worked with Dr. Robert Langer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009
• Sophie Thomain, a 2009 alumna who studied with Dr. Torsten Krude’s lab at the University of Cambridge
• Taiyabah Naeem, who worked in Dr. Anthony Ricci’s otolaryngology lab at Stanford University in 2009

What’s more, both the U.S. and Europe annual symposia again proved to be a valuable experience for all of the participants. At both gatherings, Scholars heard from industry and academic leaders on everything from the challenges of drug discovery to the day in a scientist’s life. The European Symposium concluded with a visit to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the largest genome sequencing center in Europe.

Stories. Data. Photos. They’re all in the report!