Uday Kiran Chigurupati

Uday Kiran Chigurupati is a biological sciences major from India

Hometown: from India; now living in DeKalb, IL

High School: Sri Chaitanya Jr. Kalasala

Year: Expected graduation: Spring 2026

What scholarships did you receive and why did you receive them? How has the financial support impacted your experience at NIU?

• International Student Merit Scholarship for high school GPA of 3.9 and by maintaining cumulative GPA over 3.6
• Honors Excellence Award, University Honors Program, spring 2025, for staying on top of the Suitable honors leaderboard
• Best junior-year Honors Engaged student, University Honors Program, spring 2025
• Harvey A. Feyerherm Award, biological sciences department, spring 2025, for demonstrating high academic achievement and potential for success in one of the health care professions
• Honors Fellowship Award, University Honors Program, for academic year 2025-26, for volunteering my time to mentor honors students
• Jeanette M. Doweiko Endowed Memorial Scholarship, spring 2025
• International Student Ambassador Scholarship Award, spring 2025, for representing and helping the international student community at NIU

What did you want to be when you were growing up? Are you pursuing that as a major, or have you taken another path?
I wanted to be a physician. I am pursuing my intended career field.

What is your major (and/or minor) and why did you decide on this course of study?
My major is biological sciences. I am particularly interested in the human health sciences, and I want to put my efforts into finding ways to treat and help people.

Have you conducted your own research through Research Rookies, Honors capstones or theses or any other faculty-guided research opportunity?
Yes

Tell us about the research you are doing and why it interests you.
I spearheaded 240-plus hours of molecular biology research under the mentorship of Dr. Scott Grayburn, analyzing Pseudomonas 20ei1 bacterial gene expression under seven distinct growth conditions, uncovering insights that informed therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disorders. I believe all answers to many ailments plaguing humans lie inside the cells. And learning to communicate/manipulate cell machinery effectively can lead us to longer and healthier lives.

How has conducting research strengthened your education and experience at NIU?
Research has taught me hands-on lab skills that I otherwise couldn't learn in general labs. It helped me build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. I learned how to work and coordinate in a team environment. It gave me my brilliant mentor, Dr. Grayburn. The biggest takeaway for me is how I was able to stay calm in situations where I made a mistake, and my mentor helped me correct my mistake.

How will your research experience help you in the future?
The skills I learned and the lessons my mistakes taught me will help me to apply myself better in my medical career. The lesson, "Don't be afraid to make a mistake now," will stay with me and guide me through my training years.

Who at NIU has been important to your success doing research and why?
I would like to name two people, Haniel, who introduced me and helped me get the research opportunity in Dr. Grayburn's lab, and Dr. Grayburn, who has been very patient in answering all my questions and guiding me throughout the project, which ultimately won the Honors Capstone award in fall 2024.

What advice would you give to an incoming student as it relates to research at NIU?
Find your research interest, search for interesting projects that various professors are running at NIU, send emails and meet with them. Don't be afraid to get rejected. Regret is more painful than rejection.

What has been something you have found pleasantly surprising about your experience at NIU?
The Huskie Pride and welcoming community were pleasant surprises to me. The free Huskie Bus Line is a good one too.

How have you connected with other students to study for classes, meet new people or form new friendships?
My first year at NIU went like, “class, work, home; class, work, home.” And I was fed up with not having friends outside the classroom. And so, I started reaching out to clubs and organizations, and eventually I landed in a fraternity, Phi Sigma Kappa. I have been with my brothers ever since my sophomore year, and I feel like I have earned many lifelong friendships.

Are you involved in any student organizations, mentoring programs or extra-curricular activities? If so, which ones? How have they added to your experience as a Huskie?
I have been a Student Government Association senator for a year and worked on promoting healthy eating habits among students. I am mentoring honors students as an Honors Fellow. I am the mentorship coordinator for Huskie Health Professionals mentorship program, helping pre-med students connect to physicians and medical school students who could provide valuable advice. I have played in the intercollegiate chess league twice in the past year for NIU. I have been a part of Climbing Club since my freshman year. I played in the intramurals and placed third in badminton doubles. All these experiences pushed me out of my comfort zone, and in retrospect, I enjoyed many moments that these activities brought about.

What NIU offices, departments or resources have helped you feel safe, supported and successful? And how?
The Huskie Academic Success Center and Mathematic Assistance Center have been a great help in solving my doubts. The Huskie Food Pantry was of major help when I needed it. International Student and Scholar Services and the admissions department provided me help in securing housing prior to my travel from India.

What Honors Program opportunities or support have helped you get closer to your academic or career goals so far?
The Honors Capstone project success and award added tremendous value to my medical school application. The extracurricular activities I attended as a part of the honors program brought me closer to many new friends and expanded my perspectives.

What do you enjoy the most about the Honors Program?
Being able to meet and learn from a diverse group of like-minded students around me. And of course, being able to mentor new honors students is a chance I wouldn't miss for many things in life. I thank them for giving me this opportunity to give back.

Who has been one of your favorite instructors/professors and why? What course did they teach?
Dr. Clare Kron (honors seminar on evolutionary biology) is my favorite, followed by Mrs. Andy More (nonprofit and NGO studies). They showed me the world outside the classroom. The trips to the Chicago Science Museum and the Barb City Food Mart were very informational and memorable experiences.

How have you benefited by attending class regularly?
My learning ability is stronger when I have both audio and visual stimulation, and going to class regularly has set me up for success in exams. I had to revise once before the exams after attending classes, and that was enough for me to score an A in almost every class.

Where is your favorite spot on campus or in the community? Why are you drawn to it?
The East Lagoon. There is a serene feeling when hanging around this area. I love to do that in all seasons. The scenes are picturesque in fall and winter.

What advice would you give to a student who is researching colleges to apply to?
Forget numbers, look at the community as much as the programs and resources available to students.

Why is a college education important to you?
It allows me to look further and research the secrets of life and how to make this world a better place than yesterday.

What strategies do you use to manage your time between the responsibilities of school, work, friends and family?
I live in the present, one thing at a time. I have always been an overthinker, and I realized it did not help me one bit when I worried about things that are not in my control. I started setting up daily tasks to complete, both short- and long-term goals, which helped me a great deal. I try to talk with my family once or twice a day. This starts and resets my day.

How do you stay informed about events and services that are available on campus?
The NIU announcement emails are of major help in finding out what is happening on campus, so are updates from the Northern Star. I have the Huskie Hub app downloaded on my phone, which allows me to keep track of events. The Huskie Athletics app gets me info about the games I would like to go to. The MyNIU website is a great source of information if I want to find out about something.

What do you do to relax or recharge?
I love to take a long nap or visit my family to recharge. I love cooking and it relaxes me. Climbing/bouldering clears my mind and helps me rework a problem I might be having. Chess reduces my stress and distracts me from midday crisis.

Please tell us about your job and hobbies.
I work as a Northern Ambassador for the admissions department, giving tours to prospective students. The parents and students enjoy our personalized tours, speaking to them while walking backwards, an insane skill I perfected over the past year. I rarely look back now and yet avoid things in time. I also work as the Supplemental Instruction leader, giving lecture review sessions to chemistry students and tutoring chemistry, physics and biology at the Huskie Academic Success Center. The students have largely benefitted from the review sessions, which is reflected in the results: a marked increase in the exam scores of students attending the sessions from 67% to 90% in the previous semester. Playing chess, wall climbing/bouldering, cooking and very recently reading a book are my hobbies, besides occasional doom-scrolling on YouTube.

Is there anything else you'd like to share about your NIU Huskie story?
I am a non-traditional student, and NIU gave me a second chance to rebuild my career after a huge setback. That makes my success at NIU very special.