Grant GianGrasso graduated from the University in Virginia, for the second time, in 2024. And, although he’s moved on to pursuing other degrees across the pond, he still stays connected to the University.
Originally from Buffalo, New York, GianGrasso earned both an undergraduate degree in human biology and French in 2023 and a master’s degree in public health in 2024 at UVA. Now, he’s finishing the first of two master’s degrees he is pursuing at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
GianGrasso and friends matriculate into Oxford University. (Contributed photo)
“So far, the best part of Oxford has been meeting people who like to share big ideas enthusiastically,” he said. “Oxford and UVA seem alike in that way, and I feel grateful that my UVA experience taught me how to work alongside experts in high-powered academic environments.”
The 56th Rhodes Scholar from UVA – the top public university for producing Rhodes Scholars – is currently finishing a master’s in genomic medicine at Oxford’s Green Templeton College, before moving on to a master’s in neuroscience next year. Following his tenure at Oxford, GianGrasso will begin medical school at New York University, where he deferred enrollment for two years.
The first Rhodes Scholar to pursue a master’s in genetics, he said he’s interested in the field because he sees it as the most promising frontier of medicine.
“At UVA, I studied how particular gene variants influence human susceptibility to infectious diseases,” he said. “That got me fascinated with genetics, so I jumped at the opportunity to take a deep dive into the field at Oxford.”
For his dissertation research, GianGrasso is testing new genome engineering methods on stem cells. His lab at Oxford grows genetically modified cells into microglia, the brain’s immune cells, to study how different mutations impact their ability to clear away the plaques that cause neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
This research draws partial inspiration from an episode of the “Hoos in Stem” podcast featuring UVA neuroscience professor Dr. John Lukens, who researches microglia at the University’s Center for Brain Immunology and Glia. He mentioned how many genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases are uniquely expressed in microglia. “If an immunologist can do neuroscience, there’s no stopping anybody,” Lukens said on the podcast, and GianGrasso heard him.
“Hearing how genetics, immunology and neuroscience came together in his research got me excited about looking into this type of project at Oxford,” said GianGrasso, who himself appeared on the podcast last year, on his birthday, to discuss research.
GianGrasso works in an infectious disease lab run by UVA School of Medicine associate professor Chelsea Marie Braun while an undergraduate. (Contributed photo)
As an undergraduate at UVA, GianGrasso conducted research in the lab of Chelsea Marie Braun, an associate professor of medicine, who focuses on infectious diseases. There he studied cryptosporidium, a diarrheal parasite affecting children, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
He stays connected to the team, traveling last year with fellow researchers to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he met the scientists and study participants he worked with during his time at UVA. The visit gave him a chance to practice his Bengali, the world’s sixth-most-spoken language, which he studied through a Critical Language Scholarship.
“It felt really special to finally meet our international partners there and chat casually with new, friendly faces whom I’d only previously known through de-identified spreadsheets,” he said.
GianGrasso is a double graduate of UVA, having earned a master’s degree in public health in 2024 and an undergraduate degree in biology and French in 2023. (Contributed photo)
In addition to French and Bengali, he studied Spanish as a minor at UVA and continues to practice it to better serve New York City’s large Spanish-speaking population when he moves there.
GianGrasso is also a music lover and was a member of UVA’s Jazz Ensemble, under the leadership of UVA’s former Director of Jazz Performance John D’earth, who recently retired. He continues to play the jazz trumpet at Oxford with the Green Templeton College Big Band.
GianGrasso’s legacy at UVA lives on through the Virginia Medical Review, an idea that arose on a run with his dad during quarantine, to fill a niche he identified. “Several student science publications only included academic papers, so we created one that’s an easy read for non-technical audiences, but was still informative about key medical developments,” he said.
Last year, one of three teams fielded by the Virginia Medical Review won UVA’s Global Health Case Competition and represented the University at nationals in Atlanta.
While in England, GianGrasso has also found opportunities to travel and learn globally.
In March, he hiked through Patagonia with other Rhodes Scholars as part of an environmental stewardship trip, then immediately afterward visited Bolivia with the Oxford Diplomatic Society. Before that, last December, he was selected for a U.S. State Department seminar on STEM entrepreneurship and global health in Brazil.
