U student gets a royal Rhodes for learning

After winning one scholarship to Oxford University in England, a Bloomington student earns a second a week later.

By David Shaffer

Last update: November 19, 2006 - 11:20 PM

A week ago, University of Minnesota student Katie Lee got some exciting news. She would be going to Oxford University on a Marshall Scholarship.

Over the weekend, she got more exciting news. She will be going to Oxford -- on a Rhodes Scholarship.

Lee, a senior with interests in biochemistry, medicine and music, has won two of England's most prestigious scholarships, though she won't keep both.

They are the latest achievements for the 21-year-old honors student who began studying at the university at age 15. She has conducted research at Harvard University and plays violin and serves as concertmaster for the University of Minnesota Campus Orchestra.

Lee, of Bloomington, declined the Marshall Scholarship, allowing it to go to another student. She will head to Oxford next fall as one of 32 Rhodes Scholars from the United States.

She is the fourth winner from the university in five years.

Her family celebrated by driving to North Dakota for the weekend to see her brother play in a hockey game.

"I am very interested in cancer research," Lee said by cell phone from Fargo after the Rhodes Scholarships were announced. "My long-term goal is to become a physician-scientist."

But first she plans to graduate from the university in May, majoring in biochemistry and chemistry. Then it's on to Oxford for a doctorate in biochemistry. Medical school would come after that.

She already has done research on the human papilloma virus at a Harvard Medical School summer program. She currently is conducting research in Minnesota for an honors thesis on the metabolism of nicotine and other cancer-causing substances found in tobacco.

Lee went to grade school in Eden Prairie when her family lived there, then attended Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minn., as a day student. She was valedictorian in 2003, but began taking university classes before that.

The Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1903 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. At Oxford, the U.S. students join Rhodes Scholars from more than a dozen other countries. About 85 are picked each year. The scholarship is worth about $45,000 per year.

Earlier Rhodes Scholars from the University of Minnesota include Diana Fu in 2005, Chauncy Harris Jr. in 2004 and David Simon in 2002.

The Marshall Scholarships are similar to the Rhodes, except that they are not restricted to Oxford and were established by Parliament.

David Shaffer • 612-673-7090