Pritzker News
Incoming First Year Student Wins Inaugural Scholarship
Nathan Tonlaar
Matriculating first year student Nathan Tonlaar is a recipient of the Dr. Jose Anotonio Mijangos, Jr. Scholarship. Only those students entering the top-25-ranked medical schools in the country as well as the University of Rochester, Dr. Mijangos’s alma mater, are eligible. Winners of the $21,000 scholarship are chosen for their academic strength, passion for medicine, and a demonstration of a strong ethical and moral character.
As a biology major at Calvin College in Michigan, Nathan participated in a research project with Pfizer of St. Louis. He identified compounds that have the potential to activate soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), which, coupled with an NO donor, can increase cyclic GMP (cGMP) levels in human and mouse aortic smooth muscle cells. An increased level of cGMP causes vasodilation and a subsequent decrease in blood pressure. Nathan was also the recipient of the West Michigan Medical Society Excellence Award for helping to facilitate discussions among various groups in the community about how best to reduce infant mortality disparities. The information gathered from these conversations is being used by the Infant Health Implementation team to develop a program that will help combat infant mortality disparities in Nathan’s home of Kent County, Michigan.
Nathan is part of the inaugural class of recipients of this distinguished award. In honor of their father and husband, the family of the talented cardio-thoracic surgeon Dr. Jose Antonio Mijangos, Jr. established the foundation in his name. The intention of the foundation is to support, through scholarships, the medical education of men and women who aspire to serve others with compassion and a commitment to excellence.
