From cholera transmission to Chavez’s Venezuela

  • October 28, 2016
From cholera transmission to Chavez’s Venezuela

Four Gates Cambridge Scholars will discuss their research at an internal symposium on Tuesday.

Four Gates Cambridge Scholars will give talks on research ranging from cholera transmission and the cell surface structure of bacteria to drug addition and racial politics in Venezuela at an internal symposium next week.

The Gates Cambridge internal symposium takes place on 1st November.

The speakers are:

Emma Glennon [2016], who is doing a PhD in Veterinary Medicine. She will give a presentation on cholera transmission in the modern world.

She says that while cholera can be transmitted via water and this type of transmission has the potential to spark explosive epidemics, it can also be transmitted from person to person through more direct types of contact. However, the balance of these two transmission pathways is not well understood. She has used a mathematical model of cholera transmission to try to understand how both direct and waterborne transmission of cholera work together to maintain cholera epidemics in Dhaka, Bangladesh, one of the most cholera-prone cities in the world. She says: “The interplay between these transmission types has direct implications for public health control measures to restrict – and climate change to drive – cholera.”

Paul Bergen [2013], President of the Gates Cambridge Scholars Council. He will talk about his research into a cell surface nanomachine of bacteria, called the flagellum, and how it enables their movement and ability to cause disease. He will detail his laboratory’s work on uncovering the combined role of two proteins, FliK and the FlhB export gate, in bacterial motility, a previously unknown mechanism.  Paul is completing his PhD in Pathology.

Parvathi Subbiah [2016], who is doing a PhD in Latin American Studies. She will speak about the role played by race in Venezuelan politics. Her research is looking at specific racial and cultural elements in the political identity of Chavismo that have helped the movement identify with the majority of Venezuelans and will analyse Chávez's discourse on race to determine the part it played ih his election as president. She says: “The study hopes to answer if, and if so how, Chávez's movement made skin colour an important element of political legitimacy and to give  a better understanding of how social and racial identities help shape and conform our political identities.”

Alanna Just [2016], who is doing an MPhil in Medical Science [Psychiatry]. She will give a talk entitled “Reward processing in addiction – disentangling the effects of drugs and familiarity”. Her research addresses the issue of whether the brain abnormalities found in drug users are caused by drug use or whether they are the cause of drug use. It draws on studies of drug users and their siblings. Alanna says the implications are significant. If, for instance, users and their siblings have similar abnormalities in reward processing that may indicate an underlying neural trait that increases vulnerability to drug dependence prior to drug exposure. If not, it may suggest that there is a different brain network implicated in addiction. Moreover, if research shows siblings and those who are only recreational users have some sort of neural resilience to addiction that could inform the development of future treatment and therapies.

*The symposium takes place in the Gates Cambridge Scholars Common Room from  from 7-9pm. Scholars and their guests are welcome. Picture credit of Hugo Chavez: Wikipedia.

 
Emma Glennon

Emma Glennon

  • Alumni
  • United States
  • 2016 PhD Veterinary Medicine
  • Churchill College

Previous Education

Princeton University

Links

http://www.linkedin.com/eglennon

Paul Bergen

Paul Bergen

  • Alumni
  • United States
  • 2013 PhD Pathology
  • Churchill College

I work as a management consultant with a focus on healthcare, mostly in life sciences. My work uses a variety of data sources to understand customer needs and improve my client's efforts toward patient centricity in the products and services they offer. I'm a passionate believer that analytics and human-centered design should inform strategy.

I also am a leader in my firm's internal think-tank, focused on tackling big topics that impact people's healthcare. We leverage a variety of data sources and market research from around to world to study topics in public health, healthcare disruption, digital transformation, and medical development.

Previous Education

Auburn University BS Microbiology/ BA German 2012

Parvathi Subbiah

Parvathi Subbiah

  • Alumni
  • United States
  • 2016 PhD Latin American Studies
  • Clare College

Previous Education

University of Southern California
University of Cambridge

Alanna Just

Alanna Just

  • Alumni
  • Canada
  • 2016 MPhil Medical Science (Psychiatry)
  • Newnham College

I received my Bachelor's Degree from Quest University Canada where I pursued majors in Neuroscience and Philosophy of Mind. I obtained my MPhil in Medical Science from the University of Cambridge, where I conducted research as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. When I returned to Canada, I obtained my Medical Degree at the University of British Columbia, where I conducted research on women's health, integrated medicine, and end-of-life care.

Between formal educational engagements, I traveled to remote communities in Siberia, guided expeditions in Mongolia for National Geographic, and pilgrimaged in Nepal.

I am currently completing my residency in the Yellowknife Rural Family Medicine program in the NWT on the traditional lands of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. My interests include medical ethics, wilderness medicine, integrative medicine, and moments of vulnerability.

Previous Education

Quest University Canada

Latest News

A changing man

The world has always been in flux, but the last decades, particularly the recent one, have been ones of rapid, often violent, transformation on many fronts. For Jaya Savige [2008] the last 11 years since leaving Cambridge have been characterised by profound change on both the personal and professional front. He has captured all of that […]

Second series of Gates Cambridge podcast coming

It’s a new academic year and Gates Cambridge is working on the second series of its So, now what? podcast taking into account feedback over the summer on our first one. The new series, which will launch in January for our 25th anniversary year, will once again be hosted by international journalist Catherine Galloway and […]

Upskilling the world in digital skills for the future

A computer science education company founded by a Gates Cambridge Scholar has gone from strength to strength, partnering with universities across the world and earning plaudits from a UK minister for its work in driving up digital skills. HyperionDev was founded by Riaz Moola as an online coding bootcamp based in South Africa. It has […]

Rob Henderson to speak at Gates Cambridge event

Gates Cambridge Scholar Rob Henderson will be speaking about his best-selling memoir Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class at an event at Bill Gates Sr. House next Friday [4th October]. The book, published by Simon & Schuster, tells of Rob’s journey from foster care to the military to academia and explores […]