Sydney Swedick was recently awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which includes a full scholarship to the famous University of Cambridge in England.
The 21-year-old Johnstown native, who is a senior studying biomedical engineering at the University of Buffalo, said receiving the scholarship came as a shock.
“I was definitely ecstatic when I found out,” Swedick added. “I didn’t really think I had won; I had to reread the email several times to confirm that I had received it. I called my parents, family, and friends to let them know.”
The Gates Cambridge Scholarship provides selected students from throughout the world with a full scholarship and expenditure stipend to attend the University of Cambridge, the world’s second-best university according to the QS World University Rankings, trailing only Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It has also produced some of history’s sharpest brains, such as scientists Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking.
Swedick will spend the next three years at the University of Cambridge obtaining a PhD in clinical neuroscience.
“What I will be doing there is developing this device in the bioelectronics lab,” Swedick was quoted as saying. “This device will include both flexible electronics and tissue with regenerative medicine, which is something I currently do in my lab at the University of Buffalo.” So we’re combining tissue and electronics to develop a device that can restore sensory awareness after peripheral nerve damage.”
A peripheral nerve injury causes a person to lose not only motor function, but also their ability to detect things, according to Swedick. The lab has used this technology to restore mobility, and Swedick believes her work will help restore sensation as well.
“It’s very exciting work,” Swedick added.
Swedick stated that she has always aspired to be an engineer. Her grandfather was an electrical engineer at General Electric, her older brother a computer engineer, and her father a construction worker. Swedick stated that she has always enjoyed helping her father construct things and playing with computers with her brother. She also stated that she has always enjoyed solving riddles and disassembling and reassembling items.
Swedick’s health also influenced her educational path. She underwent anterior-posterior spinal fusion surgery at the age of 12 due to severe scoliosis. She claimed her spine was significantly twisted, squeezing her lungs. She said that having surgery at the age of 12 impeded her growth.
“I had two titanium rods and 11 screws put into my spine,” Swedick stated in a statement. “The healing process took years, and I had to relearn how to walk. I did a lot of physical therapy. Later, I was diagnosed with severe Graves’ Disease and Thyroid Eye Disease, both autoimmune disorders, for which I underwent many surgeries.”
She expressed her admiration for the technology associated with spinal procedures and how it has evolved over time, which piqued her interest in neural space and rehabilitation.
Swedick attributes her hard work ethic to her parents and four siblings, she added.
“My parents always told us there’s nothing we can’t do as long as we work hard for it,” said Swedick. “The motto was something like ‘Work hard and you can achieve whatever you want to do.’ I sort just grabbed that and ran with it. I also enjoy what I do, and I believe I would be very bored without it. Even when I go home for breaks, my folks joke that I have to keep busy since I genuinely enjoy what I do. I’ve always had the need to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Swedick is the only University at Buffalo student to receive the prize since 2016, according to Megan Stewart, director of the UB Office of Fellowships and Scholarships.
“Sydney amazes me at everything she does, and winning the Gates Cambridge is a testament to her exceptional academic and leadership potential, and demonstrated commitment to improving the lives of others,” he said in a statement.
Swedick’s Gates Cambridge Scholarship is not her first big academic prize. She has previously received a Goldwater award, which is considered the most prestigious and competitive research scholarship available to undergraduate STEM students.
During her time at SUNY Schenectady, she was named to the Academic All-USA Team. Swedick was one of 20 community college students around the country to receive this award. She also got the 2022 New Century Transfer Scholar Award, for which she was the top candidate in New York state. That honor is offered to community college students who exhibit intelligence and leadership. She was also one of 15 students chosen for the Johns Hopkins University Amgen Scholar U.S. Program, as well as one of only six in the country to do research through Harvard Medical School’s HEART/SHURP MD/PhD summer internship program.
