One Penn State student has another thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season — senior Ryan Henrici has been selected for the Marshall Scholarship, which gives an American college student the chance to study in the United Kingdom.

Henrici, who we met last March after being named one of the most impressive students at Penn State by Business Insider, will take this opportunity to study malaria at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The senior from Wayne, Pa., decided to enter into the medical research field at an early age when his mother was diagnosed with a variant of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He attributes his mother’s correct diagnosis of her disease to the researchers at Mayo Clinic, and strives to make breakthroughs in medicinal research himself.

“Only through medical research would there have been this really miraculous change for our family, and that initial experience showed me that modern medicine is rooted in empirical data from research. We wouldn’t have an understanding of how the body works or how drugs combat disease without research,” he said in an interview with Penn State.

According to the Marshall Scholarship website, this unique opportunity aims to “strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions. Marshall Scholars are talented, independent and wide-ranging, and their time as Scholars enhances their intellectual and personal growth. Their direct engagement with Britain through its best academic programmes contributes to their ultimate personal success.”

It seems Henrici is getting closer to his dreams rapidly, for he has recently been published as the second author of a study regarding the function of a cancer-related enzyme to a nucleosome. With Henrici headed to London in October, the future seems bright for the medical field. Best wishes to Ryan and his endeavors in the UK!