2011 Scholarship Entry #160: Kristyn Kurio

People in our generation are living longer, yet that does not mean that we are not subject to the threat of debilitating health challenges. For over five years, my friends, family and I have been raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society in the Relay for Life. This past June, my relay team raised over $25, 000 to go towards cancer research. I realize that this is only a small contribution towards fighting this horrible disease. I also realize that there are many other health challenges that our generation faces, and it is my goal to help overcome them.

As our generation ages, our quality of life greatly depends on our physical and mental health. Ensuring that we are healthy when we are 80 years old starts now. I strongly believe that education about health issues and how to prevent disease is one of the best ways to reduce the number of health problems our generation will face in the future. By encouraging our generation to maintain a healthy lifestyle today, we will have a better quality of life throughout the rest of our lives. It is my goal to become a medical doctor to help educate the public about healthy living and to help my peers face our upcoming health challenges.

Some of the most devastating health problems that our generation faces are neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease. There are no cures yet for these disorders that progressively diminish the quality of life for those living with them. As a neuroscience major at the University of Calgary, these types of disorders are of particular interest to me. Currently, I am working in a laboratory that is doing research on Parkinson's disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Another one of my goals is to further expand on my research interests by performing clinical studies with patients with these types of neurodegenerative disorders. I hope that my work in this field will help improve the quality of life for those living with neurodegenerative disorders and help shorten the road towards discovering a cure.