Texas A&M University biology graduate and first-year medical student Chloe Todd ’21 of Austin has been selected to receive the 2021 Marcus L. Urann Fellowship from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
Todd is among six recipients of the $20,000 Urann Fellowship, which is named for the society’s founder, as well as one of the top eight scorers nationwide in this year’s graduate fellowship competition. She received her bachelor of science in biology in May, graduating with a 4.0 GPA and a minor in Spanish after earning early acceptance into the Texas A&M College of Medicine as an undergraduate through the elite Science to Medicine Program.
Established in 1932, the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship Program annually provides funding to first-year graduate students who are pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees across all academic disciplines. Each active local chapter is allowed to select a single nominee, who then competes for a total of 62 fellowships: two $35,000 awards, six $20,000 Urann Fellowships, and 54 additional $8,500 fellowships.
Fellowship selection is contingent on application to or acceptance into an approved graduate or professional program and is based on a candidate’s promise of post-graduate success, as evidenced by academic achievement, service and leadership experience, and career goals. Todd is the eighth Texas A&M Phi Kappa Phi chapter applicant to earn fellowship selection during the past 11 years.
“I love that Phi Kappa Phi emphasizes learning for the love of learning itself,” Todd said. “Other organizations focus on results — titles, volunteer hours, degrees. Phi Kappa Phi fosters those with a passion for learning, knowing that the results will naturally follow. Each member is encouraged to explore their interests and use their talents so that they may change the world in ways both big and small, and they are given the network to help them through Phi Kappa Phi.”
As an undergraduate at Texas A&M, Todd was a member of the University Honors Program, the Biology Honors Program and the Biology Honors Advisory Council. She also served as a peer tutor in the Texas A&M Department of Biology Science Peer Learning Center and as a student advisor at New Student Conferences. Active in undergraduate research, Todd spent five semesters as a member of Texas A&M biologist Dr. Richard Gomer’s Laboratory, where she conducted extensive research and presented at multiple symposia.
“Chloe was a star in the lab, looking for possible new ways to treat a childhood neurodegenerative disease,” said Gomer, a University Distinguished Professor of Biology who also holds a Thomas Powell ’62 Chair in Science. “She mastered a remarkable number of techniques, got great data, and did a brilliant writeup! She was unflappably pleasant, remarkably brilliant and creative, and of course a very hard worker. Chloe very much deserves this prize.”
Todd previously earned selection as the 2020 Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Junior in the College of Science and 2020 University Outstanding Junior overall. In addition to holding various leadership positions in the Aggie Baptist Student Ministry, she participated in multiple mission trips throughout the world, primarily working with related medical teams. She also served two summers as a leader of an English Camp in Wölmersen, Germany, and worked as a caregiver for geriatric patients with Comfort Keepers of Bryan-College Station. After earning her medical degree, Todd hopes to pursue an eventual career as emergency medicine physician in a rural setting.
See the complete list of 2021 Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship recipients and learn more about the overall Fellowship Program or the Texas A&M Phi Kappa Phi chapter.
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Contact: Shana K. Hutchins, (979) 862-1237 or [email protected]
