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science to clinical applications and public theory, Probasco interned for three summers doing clinical research at the National Institutes of Health in Washington DC. He focused on neurophysiology and explored behavioral disorders such as Tourette’s syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Outside the Lab Although he had his eye on medicine from the start, Probasco didn’t limit himself to scientific endeavors. “What strikes me most about John is that he is extremely balanced,” Bear notes. Aside from working several hours a week in Bear’s lab, Probasco was active on main campus in student senate and on the UNM Strategic Planning Task
Scholars Take Note In 2000, academicians nationwide began to take serious note of Probasco’s well roundedness, and he was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship, an award designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. The following year he was named a Truman Scholar, a handsome award that will help fund his education at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine following his two years at Oxford. In 2002, the oldest of the international study awards available to American students, the Rhodes scholarship, came calling. Probasco was one of only 32 recipients worldwide selected. Prior recipients include former
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Probasco received Regents’ and Clauve scholarships from UNM
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Goldwater, Truman, and Rhodes prizes. It is an extreme rarity that any one student would receive all three awards.
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Force and residence halls committees. In an effort to spend time with his younger brother, Mark, John helped coach a Rio Rancho boys’ soccer team alongside UNM communication and journalism department chair Brad Hall. For three years John was a homework club tutor at Jefferson Middle School in Albuquerque. “John is kind, considerate, and always willing to lend a hand. He could be called upon to talk to younger Regents’ Scholars. He was a great mentor,” Rawls says. “I like working with kids. A physician needs the ability to interact with people in all walks of life,” Probasco says of his shine for community service.
US President Bill Clinton with whom Probasco had the honor of playing pigskin this past Thanksgiving during a game on hallowed Oxford grounds that date back to the 13th century. “He wore a blue track suit with “Commander in Chief” embroidered across the back. The Secret Service was not thrilled,” Probasco quips. “I called home to say I can’t be home for turkey, but I just played two-hand touch football with Bill Clinton.” Oxford offers personal, seminar style coursework, a style Probasco is familiar with thanks to his experience with the UNM Honors Program, he says. As well, his upbringing suits him