Another elite step in the journey of UAB graduate Bliss Chang

University of Alabama at Birmingham graduate Bliss Chang has won a 2016 Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship worth $5,000. This award is one more elite step in the journey of the Montgomery native through his undergraduate education at UAB, a fellowship in Germany, and now, the joint M.D./Ph.D. program at Harvard Medical School.

Among his achievements, Chang was:

• UAB’s only Beckman scholar in 2013.
• One of 15 Sparkman fellows at UAB in 2014, as chosen by the University of Alabama at Birmingham Sparkman Center for Global Health. “The 2014 Sparkman fellows represent the leaders of tomorrow,” Henna Budhwani, Ph.D., MPH, deputy director of the center, said at the time.
• One of two UAB students named as 2014 Goldwater scholars, by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship in Excellence in Education Foundation. UAB’s two scholars that year were among just 283 students who received the award nationwide. The scholars were selected based on their academic achievements outlined in the nominations submitted by faculty members.
• Winner of a prestigious 2015 Fulbright scholarship to conduct research in Germany for a year after graduating from the UAB College of Arts and Sciences with degrees in biochemistry and biology. The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. government, gives students the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research overseas as part of the organization’s goal to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. Participants are selected based on academic merit and leadership potential and help contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Before graduating in 2015, Chang was a member of the UAB Honors CollegeScience and Technology Honors Program.

“Chang exemplifies the caliber of students coming to UAB in increasing numbers to prepare for dynamic careers and leadership roles that impact our state, nation and world,” Shannon Blanton, Ph.D., dean of the UAB Honors College, said at the time of the Fulbright award. “His appointment reflects UAB’s continued tradition of academic excellence and commitment to serving our local and global community.”

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Chang is among 57 students nationwide to receive a Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship this year.

Since its creation in 1932, the Fellowship Program of Phi Kappa Phi has become one of the Society’s most visible and financially well-supported endeavors, allocating $345,000 annually to deserving students for first-year graduate or professional study. Currently, 51 Fellowships of $5,000 and six of $15,000 are awarded each year.