A student from the Piikani Nation has been awarded for his hard work.
Thunder Crowshoe is a second-year biochemistry student at the University of Lethbridge. The 24-year-old has been named one of the 2026 recipients of the AbbVie IBD Scholarship from Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, getting $5,000 toward his studies.
The bursary program is for post-secondary students in Canada who have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
Crowshoe lives with Crohn’s, and said the scholarship is greatly appreciated.
“It’s very relieving, especially in this day and age with what’s going on with inflation, so having that extra money is a great relief, as well as the kind of recognition I’m getting from getting this scholarship, especially coming from the [Piikani Nation] and dealing with the conditions I deal with on the daily,” he said.
Crowshoe was diagnosed with Crohn’s after graduating from high school. He explained that his experience with the disease goes back even further, as he first experienced symptoms between the ages of 13 and 14. Crowshoe explained that doctors had trouble determining what he was dealing with, but his symptoms eventually went away.
The local student believed it might have just been a one-off health episode. However, symptoms returned in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms led to more tests and procedures and an eventual diagnosis of Crohn’s disease.
“[These were] probably the hardest years, from 2020 to 2023, and I went through about three surgeries,” Crowshoe said, adding that he now permanently lives with an ostomy.
Crohn’s disease causes chronic swelling and irritation along the gastrointestinal tract. Medications and surgeries can help manage symptoms, but there is currently no cure.
Crowshoe said following his surgeries, his immune system ‘re-routed’ and effects of the disease started to impact his skin.
“Crohn’s disease, I don’t think it should be treated as only a gut disease. It’s more of an immune disease,” the 24-year-old stated.
EDUCATION
Crowshoe said his experience living with Crohn’s and its various effects was a factor in pursuing the sciences at the U of L. Although growing up, his education did not focus much on the sciences. “I had a few gaps in my education in terms of math and science.”
He explained that he participated in the Indigenous Student Success Certificate program at the U of L, formerly called the First Nations’ Transition Program.
Crowshoe said the program helped him build his math skills from the “ground up” and fill out gaps in his sciences background.
“Throughout that year of taking that program, I took chemistry as well and I was very interested in chemistry. Working in the lab … I was able to find my passion,” he remarked, adding that also took park in an applied study program through the U of L’s Career Bridge.
He noted that his studies have helped him better understand his own condition.
“Especially [how] the immune system works, so I was able to answer questions I wasn’t able to answer myself, and the doctors weren’t able to answer, growing up living with that condition,” Crowshoe stated.
He noted that he has roughly three years left and is taking three courses a semester, to maintain a healthy balance between his schooling, living with Crohn’s, and a recent ADHD diagnosis. “That was a big learning curve there, with the way that I study my material and the way that I’m organizing my life,” Crowshoe added.
FUTURE PLANS
Crowshoe said when his bachelor’s degree is completed, he may pursue a master’s and PhD, but he said it takes time to figure out what exactly he wants to focus on.
“I’ve had an idea of what to study, I mean getting into immunology, especially with studying my own condition, I was able to come up with a small hypothesis,” Crowshoe said.
The 24-year-old is also hoping to take a deeper dive into the idea that Crohn’s is more than a gut-borne condition.
“After I experienced the inflammation, my immune system flipping direction toward attacking my skin, there is an idea that it’s not a gut-borne disease, it’s more of an immune system disfunction – like there’s that balance between recognition and regulation, so there’s imbalance there,” Crowshoe said.
“Where does that come from? Genetics, DNA, so that’s an area to really study. I think it’s a little bit under-studied. I’ve read a lot of papers and there’s a lot of connections and patterns, especially with ADHD. People with ADHD, you have that pattern recognition, so as I read all these scientific papers, I was able to see that there is a pattern that leads toward a cause that’s coming from the genes, because bacteria come from your genes; there’s the good bacteria in your gut and that comes from your genes.”
He added, “There’s a lot of working parts, there’s a lot of moving parts, and I think that’s a goods area to get into for a PhD or even choose something small for a master’s and so, that’s the future that I’m heading toward.”
Crowshoe said his lab work in biophysics has also sparked an interest in pharmaceuticals, in areas like vaccines. He noted that his older brother has also started an environmental Indigenous monitoring business, adding another option to his future.
For now, though, Crowshoe is set to focus on his current studies and has thanked all those who have helped him in the lead-up to being named an AbbVie IBD Scholarship recipient.
“A shoutout to my doctors and especially all my people who really mentored me and helped me along the way,” he said, adding a positive message for anyone living with a difficult condition.
“I hope that a lot of kids like me, that come from the Reservation, that they don’t find science and math to be intimidating. Just because you see other people doing it and it seems like you can’t do it, I just proved that despite having a really gut-wrenching disease, you can still do it and you can still get out there and try your best and you’ll have the recognition that you deserve as long as you work hard.”
The AbbVie IBD Scholarship comes from Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, a volunteer-led charity that works to raise awareness and find cures, while supporting those living with the conditions.
