New College student wins Gates Cambridge Scholarship for graduate study
Thesis student Jonathan Breidbord is one of only 48 students in U.S. to win prestigious scholarship for study at University of Cambridge

(March 7, 2007) – Jonathan Breidbord, a thesis student at New College of Florida, is the state honors college's first recipient and one of only 48 college students in the nation to be selected for the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarships, awarded annually to highly talented men and women around the world.

The scholarships, established by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2001 with a $210 million endowment to the University of Cambridge, provide for graduate study at the distinguished English university, one of the world's oldest. The scholarships, which cover all expenses plus round-trip airfare, are valued at about $40,000 a year. Gates Scholars may pursue one- or two-year master's programs, a second bachelor's degree or a three- or four-year Ph.D.

The seventh contingent of Gates Scholars, including Breidbord, will begin study at Cambridge in October.

This spring, Breidbord, who is from Livingston, N.J., is completing his New College senior thesis before graduating in May. In his study of neurochemicals, Breidbord found evidence in the scientific literature of relatively high levels of copper in the blood of autistic children. Combining his interests in chemistry and childhood developmental disorders for his senior project, he designed and is synthesizing a compound that is expected to bind tightly to copper and thereby reduce its levels – a potential therapy for autism.

At Cambridge, Breidbord plans to begin master of philosophy studies in medical sciences, a yearlong program to be completed within Cambridge's Department of Psychiatry and at its Autism Research Centre.

"The ARC runs big, broad research activities that investigate autism on multiple levels, including the development of diagnostic screening tools, trials of psychosocial interventions and basic-science studies in genetics and neurosciences," Breidbord said. "My work will involve examination of candidate genes for autism susceptibility.

"Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with widely varying clinical features that likely reflect numerous genetic abnormalities. People do not know exactly which genes play the biggest role in the onset of autism. My project aims to increase such understanding."

After Cambridge, Breidbord's goal is to complete medical school before ultimately doing clinical and research activity as a developmental pediatrician in a university setting.

Cambridge will not be Breidbord's first opportunity to study at a large, prestigious school or outside the United States. As a New College student, he worked in a research program at Loyola University Chicago, and participated in a research abroad program in Australia, assisting researchers who were developing methods to detect chemicals associated with neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.

Beginning in his freshman year, Breidbord tutored in the New College Math Clinic, a free tutoring service for all ages in the local community, and as its director, also recruited student volunteers.

Breidbord joins two other Florida public university students, one from Florida State and one from Florida, in the 2007 U.S. contingent of Gates Scholars. Most of the 48 American students selected are from major universities such as Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Johns Hopkins and Brown.

"I am very excited about this opportunity to increase my understanding of autism and certainly realize who made it all possible," Breidbord said. "Indeed, New College chemistry faculty and members of Office of Research Programs and Services provide the encouragement and expertise to make good, creative use of one's time as a New College student."

Interviews of U.S. candidates for the scholarships were held in February in Annapolis, Md., at St. John's College and the U.S. Naval Academy, and were conducted by panels of distinguished academic, government and business leaders from the United States and England. Scholarships are awarded based on leadership, intellectual ability and a desire to use knowledge to contribute to society's well being.

In the program's first six years, 621 students from 78 countries have studied as Gates Scholars at Cambridge, and nearly 400 scholars have completed their studies at Cambridge and are contributing to solutions to the world's difficult issues, which was the intention of the Gates Foundation when the scholarships were established.

Microsoft chairman and founder Bill Gates has written that Gates Scholars at Cambridge "work with distinguished faculty and other equally bright students from many different countries and cultures. On graduation from Cambridge, Gates Scholars are in an ideal position to bring new vision and apply their learning to the benefit of society at large."

New College of Florida in Sarasota, with an enrollment of 750 students, is a national leader in the arts and sciences, specializing in student-centered learning through collaborative curriculum development and independent research.

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New College of Florida is a national leader in the arts and sciences and is the State of Florida’s designated honors college for the liberal arts. Rated as the #1 public liberal arts college in America by U.S. News & World Report ("America's Best Colleges, 2007 Edition"), New College attracts highly-motivated, academically-talented students from throughout the United States, as well as 27 foreign countries.