A CAMBRIDGE University medical student, who won a prestigious award to research cardiology, insists he'd rather own a takeaway!

Rameen Shakur, who comes from Hutton, near Preston, was awarded a grant from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust -- an organisation which gives 100 Fellowships a year to promote peace and understanding by sending people to acquire knowledge from other countries to bring back to Britain.

Rameen has spent months visiting cardiology facilities in Harvard and Rochester in the USA, and at the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, as part of a year off from his studies researching heart transplants.

And, as one of the country's top medical students, a successful career as a surgeon beckons when his studies are completed in three years -- but he shudders at the thought of the years of hard work ahead.

Rameen jokes that he'll earn enough money to buy a few takeaway businesses and then quit! "The transplant surgeons are on call 24 hours a day. That's not much of a social life," he said. "I think I will be a cardiologist for a few years and save some money. I am thinking of getting a takeaway. This is too much hard work!"

Jokes aside, Rameen is carving a serious reputation for himself in cardiology. He was a 'straight A' pupil at Hutton Grammar School and his grades are high at Cambridge University.

The grant from the Churchill Trust, which he beat 2,000 of his peers to win, underlines his potential.

"The trust gave me some money and the year has been so helpful," said Rameen.

"I have got to meet some of the top cardiologists in the world.

Rameen returns to Hutton Grammar on December 20 to give talk to students about doing a medical degree.