News Release

By MARY CATHERINE HENDRIX
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- Nicholas R. Love, a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has received a 2005 Churchill Scholarship to Cambridge University in England.

Love, the son of Robert and Christine Love of Brighton, Mich., was

one of the 11 Churchill Scholarships awarded nationwide. A biology major at UNC who graduates in May, Love will use the scholarship to earn a graduate degree in zoology at Cambridge.

"This is a great opportunity because Cambridge is on the cutting edge of developmental biology," Love said. "The scientist I’m going to work with is one of the best in the field."

At Cambridge, Love will work with Dr. Enrique Amaya (who received his bachelor’s degree in zoology from UNC) at the Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute of Cancer and Developmental Biology.

The Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States presents the awards annually for a year of graduate study. The scholarships, each valued at about $27,000, reward outstanding academic and extracurricular accomplishments. Recipients are American undergraduates planning to pursue graduate studies in science, mathematics and engineering.

"It is clear from Nick’s outstanding academic record that he contributed to the intellectual environment of the university," said Dr. Elaine Yeh, chairwoman of UNC’s Churchill Scholarship nominating committee and research associate professor in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ department of biology. "He is brimming with intellectual curiosity."

Love received the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship in 2004, one of the nation’s most distinguished student awards. It is awarded to sophomores and juniors who demonstrate commitment to careers in mathematics, the sciences or engineering.

Particularly interested in furthering cancer research, he found the inspiration to work in developmental biology by working in the laboratory of Dr. Victoria L. Bautch, a professor in UNC’s department of biology.

"Nick Love is a true scholar," Bautch said.  "His outstanding academic record is the tip of the iceberg – he is incredibly interested in ideas and in
putting together information from various sources to come up with novel
concepts and models."

Bautch’s work revolves around vascular research, crucial in understanding cancer because tumors must recruit blood vessels to stay alive and grow.

"The lab work I do now indirectly deals with the blood supply of malignant tumors," Love said. "I think that a vascular approach to cancer treatment is very promising and one that I could study more at Cambridge."

Love graduated from Pinckney Community High School in Pinckney, Mich. He has made the dean’s list every semester at UNC and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. An honors student, Love received the department of biology’s 2002-2003 I.R. Hagadorn Award for the outstanding junior in the discipline. He also works as a supplemental instructor in the department.

Although dedicated to science, Love has also worked hard to maintain a well-rounded set of interests. He was a member of the men’s junior varsity basketball team his first two years at Carolina, leading the team as a captain during his sophomore year.

Additionally, he took classical guitar lessons from the music department last year.

At the end of his junior year, Love studied abroad at the University of Wollongong in Australia.

Since 1993, 10 UNC students have received the Churchill. The last UNC recipient was Bennett Rogers in 2003.

Churchill Scholars are nominated by a foundation representative at participating universities. Candidates’ applications include four- to five- page autobiographies focusing on scientific interests and one- to two-page research proposals. A foundation committee evaluates the applications, and then the Board of Graduate Studies and department chairs at Cambridge consider nominees’ recommendations and credentials.

Candidates also are evaluated on academic work, Graduate Record Examination scores, capacity for original and creative work, character, adaptability, demonstrated concern for critical problems of society and good health.

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(Hendrix, of Durham, is a UNC senior double major in psychology and journalism and mass communication.)

Photo note: To download a photo, click on http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/love_nick_05.JPG

News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu