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Christopher Sheridan ’12, a Presidential Scholar from Baltimore with both a scientific and artistic appreciation for the human brain, has won a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, considered the premier undergraduate fellowship in the sciences.
Sheridan, who majors in biochemistry and philosophy, is the 12th Boston College student in the last 14 years to receive a Goldwater, awarded to the nation's most promising undergraduates in math and science. The one- and two-year scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. Many Goldwater Scholars go on to receive Rhodes Scholarships, Marshall Awards and other prestigious fellowships.
“It’s very rewarding to see this kind of appreciation for the work you do,” said Sheridan. “It can be easy to lose sight of what you’re striving for, but to receive a unique and prestigious honor like this represents a great opportunity, and is truly humbling.”
Sheridan’s interest in the brain crosses disciplines, continually fostering conversations and experiences that have enriched his life. It’s led him to personal exchanges with leading scholars in both the natural and social sciences. Last summer, after having been selected as a Sophomore Scholar by the Chemistry Department, Sheridan completed a German language immersion program at Munich’s Goethe Institute — thereby strengthening his ability to do research in science and philosophy.
But Sheridan — equally at home writing poetry as he is contributing to BC’s undergraduate research journal Elements, for which he serves as a senior editor — doesn’t regard these and his other activities as purely academic. He sees this scientific-humanistic approach as integral to a future career in medicine and research, most likely focused on the emerging field of neuroimaging.
“It’s extraordinarily important that doctors never treat people like mere constellations of cells,” he explains. “Our scientific understanding of disease, and the human body, is advancing so rapidly. The danger is that this makes it easy to see patients in overly definitive terms, as a collection of symptoms or biological problems X, Y and Z, rather than appreciate them as people with distinct characteristics and needs.
“I want to stake out a position in-between. I felt I should ground myself thoroughly in the chemistry of the brain, but train to think like a philosopher as well — to keep the questions framed in human terms, rather than cells and molecules.
“With a focus on neuroimaging, asking these questions can help us to learn more about major psychiatric disorders, to more thoroughly translate detailed clinical descriptions of classically ‘mental’ diseases with biological and chemical targets in the live brain, giving molecular biologists and geneticists more tractable targets — and, ultimately, leading to more effective therapies.”
Sheridan’s faculty mentors are impressed with his devotion to a well-rounded academic and personal development.
“Chris uses his first-rate intellect to serve an exemplary thoughtfulness about the responsibilities that come with unusual talent,” says College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program Director Mark O’Connor. “This starts with his willingness to engage so well the 'two cultures' of science and the humanities: Whether it is doing research in a lab, analyzing an abstract piece of 20th century philosophy, a verb declension in German, or a 19th century painting, nothing human, nothing humane, is alien to Chris Sheridan.
“His commitment to all these areas of intellectual inquiry, above all his concern for what such inquiry can mean for improving the quality of life both materially and spiritually, inspires the research he does into complex brain functions — and makes him a worthy recipient of such a prestigious award as a Goldwater.”
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jianmin Gao, in whose lab Sheridan has served, notes that Sheridan has taken the initiative to learn more about neuroimaging by reaching out to Psychology faculty at BC, and experts at Harvard and MIT: “He is constantly thinking about innovative ideas on how to advance this field. It is quite admirable for a college student to have such ambition and determination.”
Sheridan displayed those qualities from the beginning at BC. When he took the class Philosophy of Biology as a freshman, he hit upon “a crazy idea” to interview leading neuroscientists and philosophers about their work. Although unable to land a grant to fund this project, Sheridan went ahead and did it anyway, and wound up corresponding with luminaries such as John R. Searle, a prominent UCal-Berkeley scholar on the philosophy of mind and language, and Johns Hopkins researcher Solomon Snyder, who studies the nature and role of neurotransmitters.
Sheridan is quick to credit the support and commitment his parents Talia and Michael have given him. Michael Sheridan ’71, in fact, stands as a role model in more than a few ways: as a doctor, and as a co-founder of BC’s acclaimed PULSE Program, which combines academics, service and faith-related reflection and discussion — all of which Christopher Sheridan values.
“I’ve never seen my education in purely career terms, as in ‘I’m going to be a lawyer’ or ‘I’m going to be a doctor,’” says Sheridan, who envisions earning a joint MD-PhD degree. “For me, it’s a matter of what set of credentials will enable me to ask and answer the questions that get me up in the morning, and to put as many of the skills and interests I have into meaningful service for my community."