Student remembered as brilliant, dedicated

Boston University graduate student Babur Khalique, an accomplished third-year medical student also pursuing a PhD in biomedical engineering, died early Saturday morning after falling from a third-floor fire escape in Allston. He was 23.’ ‘

Family, friends and colleagues remembered Khalique as incredibly intelligent and intellectual with a sharp wit to match.

‘He was very bright, inspired so much happiness, highly motivated,’ his father Omar Khalique said. ‘We will miss him dearly.’

‘ Born in Houston, Texas to Pakistani immigrants Omar and Fabat Khalique, Khalique moved with his family in 1992 to Pittstown, N.J., and graduated in 2004 from North Hunterdon High School. In 2007, he received his undergraduate degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Khalique was very gifted, earning a perfect score on his SATs and very high scores on his MCATs, his father said. But at the same time, Khalique was well-rounded, a very friendly and social young man, he said.’

‘ At Boston University, Khalique served as student representative on the Medical Education Committee, and on the MD/PhD program executive committee. Khalique was also a member of Social Entrepreneurship in Health, a student organization committed to business with positive social impact, and openDemocracy, a group offering news analysis from a pro-democracy, pro-human rights perspective.

As a medical student, Khalique hoped to help cure disease in the future, his father said.

‘We had hopes for him and he had high ambitions,’ his father said. ‘He was going to be a physician, most likely a radiologist-oncologist, treating cancer. And that was his plan at the time. He was on a seven-year scholarship.’

Those who knew Khalique said they were not surprised that he was ambitiously pursuing both a medical degree and a PhD.

‘I think he was really extraordinary,’ mathematics and neuroscience professor Nancy Kopell, who worked with Khalique in a laboratory over the summer, said. ‘People who are MD and PhD students tend to be very special, and those who do usually are extra committed and extraordinarily smart in my experience, so this was another confirmation of that.’

Science came very naturally to Khalique, who spent his time in the lab working with models of brain rhythms, Kopell said. Even though he was brilliant, Khalique never forgot his sense of humor, she said.

‘We could sit and make jokes while we were very seriously talking about science,’ she said. ‘It was such a delight to work with him.’

Aliaa Barakat, a BU research associate and postgraduate student who worked alongside Khalique during the summer, said he always approached his research with enthusiasm, and always went above and beyond what was expected of him.

‘ ‘He was a hard-working person who really enjoyed life,’ Barakat said. ‘He was impressive in every possible away. He’s one of those people you just talk a lot about.’

Khalique was well-known and well-liked by his peers, Ryan Heinrick, a friend of Khalique and fellow MED student, said.

‘ ‘Babur would grasp complex concepts quickly and he always did top-notch on the exams,’ Heinrick said in an email. ‘His interests extended well beyond just medicine. I often talked to him about music, literature, philosophy and a wide variety of other subjects.

Above all, Khalique was ‘a great friend,’ MED student Dan Kirshenbaum said.

‘ ‘He was there for me in all my hard times,’ Kirshenbaum said. ‘He was my study partner for every exam. Every experience with him was a good one.’

‘ Khalique is survived by parents, Omar and Fabat; brother Omar, a doctor; sister-in-law Saira; a pharmacist; and two grandparents currently residing in Pakistan.

A memorial service will be held Tuesday in his honor in New Jersey under Muslim law.

Daily Free Press staff writers L. Finch and Lilia Stantcheva contributed to the reporting of this story.