Baker Institute intern Jingyuan Luo named a Marshall Scholar

Rice senior and Baker Institute intern Jingyuan Luo is one of the 40 students across the nation to be awarded a Marshall Scholarship this year.

Luo, who is currently interning with the Baker Institute Science and Technology Program and studying stem cell policy, will use the Marshall Scholarship to complete a Master of Science degree in biomedicine, bioscience and society at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She also will pursue a Master of Research in stem cell biology at Imperial College London.

The Marshall Scholarship allows intellectually distinguished American students to pursue two years of graduate study at any institution in the United Kingdom.

“I’m very excited that Jing was chosen for the Marshall Scholarship,” said Kirstin Matthews, the Baker Institute Science and Technology Program fellow who supervises Luo. “She was incredibly qualified and I know she will get a lot out of the two years in London studying science policy and stem cell biology.”

Luo has also participated in two off-campus Baker Institute internship progams. She interned at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., as part of the Jesse Jones Leadership Center Summer in D.C. Policy Research Internship Program. Baker Institute support also allowed her to intern at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) in Paris. Luo blogged about her experiences in Paris in a July 13, 2010, post “On Bastille Day, memories of Paris.”

“My experiences as a D.C. intern, IFRI intern and now an intern in the science and technology policy program were great platforms to learn about science policy,” Luo said. “I’m extremely grateful for the Baker Institute in allowing me access to these opportunities.”