Hi, my name is Christopher Franco. I am a young scientist, deeply passionate and committed to science and education, especially in the fields of immunology and virology. I have completed my master in Immunology from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC) and have been working as a research assistant since 2019 in the Laboratory for Cellular Virology. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1851-1226.

In my early academic journey, I have developed a profound interest in contributing to scientific research that uncovers fundamental aspects of biology and advances vaccine development. I am currently raising funds to cover the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and flight tickets from Caracas, Venezuela to Cambridge, United Kingdom (UK).

The Zuloaga Foundation created 50 years ago, through a trust fund, a scholarship for Venezuelan students pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge. The Academy of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (ACFIMAN) is the entity responsible for nominating candidates for this scholarship. Until now, no one had ever been awarded it. This scholarship covers tuition and maintenance fees, but it does not include flight tickets, visa costs, or the IHS.

This year, I was selected by ACFIMAN and awarded the Zuloaga Scholarship through Corpus Christi College. I also received confirmation of admission to begin a PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge, Babraham Institute, under the supervision of Prof. Kai Michael Toellner.

The final requirement for my arrival in the UK is obtaining a student visa. This process includes the visa fee (£524 or $708.79) and the IHS for the entire PhD program (£3,492 or $4,638.76). ACFIMAN has approved partial financial aid to cover the visa fee and one year of the IHS, totaling $1,758.44. However, I still need to cover the remaining IHS cost and airfare, which amount to approximately $5,000.

Receiving this support would give me the opportunity to make transformative contributions to immunology and potentially help design new therapies.