Sourab Kulkarni
Hometown: Hyderabad, India
University: University of Illinois
Major: Molecular and Cellular Biology
BIOGRAPHY
Hey! My name is Sourab Kulkarni, I am a first-year master's student studying Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois. I was born in a small town near Hyderabad in India but spent most of my life in Karnataka. I speak English, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada. I'm an adventure junkie and I love traveling, I'm a certified SCUBA and Nitrox diver. I moved to the US for grad school, and hopefully medical school. I'm super excited to join the Illini 4000 team this year to bike across America and raise funds for cancer research.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Everyone has at least one person in their family that has suffered through cancer. To me, it was my grandmother who suffered through Leukemia and gave up at the end. Her treatment was very limited since her diagnosis was in a later stage. My research experience has taught me that, the advantages of knowing how the disease progresses are immense. Cancer research can develop safe and effective methods to prevent, detect, diagnose, treat, and, ultimately, cure cancer. Lastly, it is important to note that cancer can happen to anyone, white or black, Asian or Latino, a blacksmith or even a doctor thus highlighting the global importance of cancer research.