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College and Wharton seniors Tej Patel (left) and Sridatta Teerdhala (right) are recipients of the 2025 Marshall Scholars (Photos from the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships).
Two Penn students received the Marshall Scholarship, which grants students the opportunity to earn a graduate degree at any university in the United Kingdom.
College and Wharton seniors Tej Patel and Sridatta Teerdhala are among the 36 Marshall Scholars selected this year from 983 initial candidates. Both Patel and Teerdhala are in the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management.
The first Marshall Scholars were awarded after the Parliament of the United Kingdom approved The Marshall Aid Commemoration Act in 1953 as a way to express gratitude for the foreign aid given by the United States. Today, the scholarship seeks “talented, independent and wide-ranging” students who “strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions.”
Including Patel and Teerdhala, 27 students from Penn have been recognized as Marshall Scholars. 
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Patel is the director of the Locust Bioventures group, director of the LSM Netter Center Pipeline Program, and policy committee leader for the Shelter Health Outreach Program. With support from the scholarship, Patel plans to attend the University of Oxford to study healthcare policy and shape his future practice of medicine. Patel was previously named a Truman Scholar in 2024.
Teerdhala is a researcher in the Mitchell Lab developing innovative lipid nanoparticle technologies for accessible cancer immunotherapies and has co-founded Penn Hoops4Hope. At the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics, Teerdhala will study medical science and health policy, respectively.
In 2023, less than five percent of applicants were awarded the Marshall Scholarship. Interested undergraduate students must receive a nomination from their school and complete personal essays as well as an interview. Teerdhala described his preparation and the assistance he received from Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.
“They did a mock interview to nominate me,” Teerdhala said. “It was a good way for me to learn about the interview process from an early point [and] allowed me to narrow down my story.” 
Teerdhala also noted the benefit to “finding that one niche thing that you’re passionate about” and recommended to “without any fear, go full force with it.” 
Patel also emphasized personal reflection as a part of his application.
“A process like this really requires a lot of introspection to figure out what you want from life,” Patel said. “I think you have to be really patient with the process, and just be true to yourself, because at the end of the day they really want to hear your story. Don’t let any specific decision deter from what you want to do, just be persistent towards a certain goal.” 
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