Stephen Linderman '10 has received a prestigious Churchill Scholarship, which sends him to Cambridge University for a year of graduate study.

A biological and environmental engineering major with a minor in biomedical engineering, Linderman will pursue a master's degree in translational medicine and therapeutics at Cambridge. The degree will involve coursework in bench-to-bedside medicine and drug design, as well as a research project, which Linderman has not yet chosen. He hopes to conduct research in tissue engineering and to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. when he completes his master's degree.

Linderman was one of 14 Churchill awardees nationwide, and the 19th Cornell senior to receive the award since 1975.

"I'm excited to go to England and study abroad -- something I didn't do as an undergrad," Linderman said. "I'm sure it will not only be academically interesting, but also culturally broadening and a lot of fun."

Originally from Rome, N.Y., Linderman is a Rawlings Cornell Presidential Research Scholar and also was named a 2009 Goldwater Scholar. He has done research with Matthew DeLisa, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, developing a novel genetic assay, or analysis mechanism, that rapidly identifies and selects for in vivo protein interactions in the bacterium Escherichia coli. This research could help develop a platform for efficient engineering of novel antibodies in E. coli.

Linderman doesn't spend all his time in the lab. He sings bass in the popular Cornell a cappella group The Class Notes, is a member of the National Scholars Honor Society, the Golden Key International Honor Society and was a 2008 recipient of Cornell's Greek Scholars of the Year Award.

Nor does he plan to stay at the lab bench during his year abroad. He's heard tell of England's many famous choirs, such as the King's Choir, and hopes he can do more choral singing after leaving the Class Notes.

And he's even willing to try something entirely new. He's 6-foot-7, and hopes he can also find time to join a crew team.

Competition for the Churchill Scholarships, first awarded in 1963, is extremely rigorous. Selection criteria include an exceptional academic record, a research proposal to be carried out in one year, "capacity to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the sciences, engineering or mathematics by pursuing original, creative work at an advanced level"; as well as "outstanding personal characteristics."