Jordan M. Newell, a third-year student at Penn State College of Medicine was chosen to receive this year’s $1,500 Scott A. Gunder, M.D., D.C.M.S. Presidential Scholarship from the Dauphin County Medical Society (DCMS). The award presentation will take place September 3 at the DCMS board meeting at Pennsylvania Medical Society headquarters in Harrisburg.
While an undergraduate biology major at Lebanon Valley College, Newell’s accolades included receiving a Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research Grant, being appointed to a post as Summer Undergraduate Fellow for the Council on Undergraduate Research, and winning an award in international competition for his poster presentations at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Following graduation, Newell earned a one-year fellowship to conduct research at the National Institutes of Health.
Newell credits his grandfather as his biggest supporter during his pursuit of a career in science. "He consistently encouraged me to challenge myself in school and to not sell myself short," Newell said. "He chose to lead by example, and in doing so, he instilled his hard work ethic in me. I lost Pop to cancer, but from this loss grew a desire from within me to be on the side of the doctors and researchers who medically supported and treated him. Now as a third-year medical student, I seek as best as I can to lead others into medicine by example, just as my Pop did for me growing up."