Dr Lauren Zeitels

Co-Chair of Alumni Association has died in avalanche

It is with deepest regret that Gates Cambridge announces that Dr Lauren Zeitels, Co-Chair of the Gates Cambridge Alumni Association (GCAA), tragically died in an avalanche while snowshoeing near Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada on 12 March 2017.

Lauren was 32 years old and came to Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar in 2006 to read an M.Phil. in Medical Genetics. She then pursued an MD/PhD at Johns Hopkins Medical School.  She was a Resident Physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital at the time of her death.

Lauren was an exceptional person, an outstanding Gates Cambridge Scholar and someone who devoted enormous energy for the benefit of Gates Cambridge alumni through her membership, and then as Co-chair, of the GCAA Board.  She gave freely of her time for the benefit of those in her medical care and in her community. She was highly motivated to improve the lives of others through her actions and her leadership.  You can read about her life in her own words here.

The Gates Cambridge community extends its deepest sympathies to her family and to her many friends.

Thread, an education charity which Lauren was passionate about, has set up the The Lauren Zeitels New Experiences Together Fund for those who wish to contribute.