Directory

For many years, I have been fascinated by the physiology of the heart and have strived, through research, to better understand how this amazing organ works. As a member of the Giussani lab at Cambridge, I am studying how adverse conditions in fetal life may alter the development of the fetal heart and predispose it to disease in adulthood. A better understanding of this process will provide insight into the prevention of heart disease. I am fascinated by both this research and its potential applications. Heart disease is rapidly becoming a threat to health worldwide and in the future, I hope to contribute to the development of better, more efficient therapeutics for this devastating disease. Outside the lab, I am looking forward to playing music in Clare College, learning to row and meeting new people.

Links

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20068362

Previous Education

Duke University Medical School Medicine 2022
University of Washington Education 2018
Bates College Biochemistry and Mathematics 2015

One of the most promising models of synaptic plasticity shows that it depends on the precise timing of neuronal activation. These learning - related events are embedded on structures generating sustained oscillatory activity. The temporal and spatial interplay of both processes generates a rich and complex dynamics with fascinating emergent properties. Beyond its aesthetic charms, these phenomena are fundamental and ubiquitous in the developing and functioning brain. I plan to devote my next three years to a combined approach to the topic, alternating theoretical and experimental techniques: mathematical models and computational simulations from my original background in theoretical physics, and electrophysiology and optogenetics from my newly acquired skills in physiology.

I was raised in Marion, Arkansas and attended the University of Georgia as a Foundation Fellow and Stamps Scholar to study genetics. I devoted much of my time on campus to researching protein kinases using bioinformatic and biochemical approaches and working as a campus tour guide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I began researching developmental lung biology at Vanderbilt. I quickly realized my interest at the intersection of developmental and cancer biology and the wide therapeutic potential the field offers. As an aspiring physician-scientist, I also took time to research public health in my home region as a Delta Scholar and wrote for the Boston Congress of Public Health. At Cambridge, I will pursue a PhD in the Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience to functionally assess the cell extrinsic and intrinsic mechanisms controlling human lung airway fate specification. Through this research, I hope to deepen our understanding of fundamental biological processes to guide personalized medical therapies that are accessible to all populations. I am grateful to be joining the Gates Cambridge community and am honored to have been selected for a cohort in which intellectual acumen and compassion are equally valued.

Previous Education

University of Georgia Genetics, Minor in Statistics 2022

Growing up amidst the turmoil of Libya during the war, I used to observe how people reacted differently to the same environment; their mental health journeys diverging along unpredictable paths. I became mystified by the resilience and vulnerability of the human mind, and later earned a Psychology BA from the American University of Beirut as a MEPI-TL scholar.After pursuing a career in Psychosocial Support with the United Nations, I realised the roots of these issues delved far deeper than surface-level support could reach. I then earned an MSc in clinical Neuroscience from UCL as a Chevening scholar and worked as a research assistant at the University of Cambridge. My PhD utilises advanced In Vivo imaging and Optogenetic techniques to study specific neuronal circuit components in genetic mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders and healthy mice during visually guided decision-making. My goal is to uncover what influences proficient and deficient sensory discrimination, fostering knowledge that destigmatises and guides tailored neuropsychiatric treatments, ultimately transforming patients' lives. Being a Gates scholar is both an honour and a responsibility, which I intend to uphold by bridging my research with activism.

Previous Education

University College London Clinical Neuroscience 2022
American University of Beirut Psychology 2020

Links

Https://Digitalisventures.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-friedlander-61098620

After 25 April Gorkha Earth Quake in Nepal, I have been appointed by emergency cabinet meeting of Government of Nepal, as the special advisor to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home affairs who is head of rescue and relief operation. I led the team to upgrade and update Geographical information System platform to gather and disseminate information regarding Earth Quake. I also worked closely with air operation team and established GIS team within Nepal Army Air Operation Control centre which increased number of flights by reducing delays and contributed in 2,700 successful flights rescuing 5,000 people from inaccessible mountain areas.

I am a junior group leader of the Molecular and Cellular basis of Behavior group at MDC in Berlin. We are interested in the biology underlying social and emotional behaviors. We study how the biological signature of neural networks regulating these behaviors differ based on genetic background or previous experiences, and how this influences the response to social situations.

As an undergraduate neuroscience major at Amherst College I developed a deep interest is the field of early neurological development and, in particular, how the plasticity inherent in this period may be harnessed to create therapies for neurological disorders. I am looking forward to continuing my study of developmental neurobiology as an MPhil student at Cambridge in the lab of Dr. Andrea Brand, where I will be exploring the genetics underlying neural stem cell differentiation and how an understanding of these mechanisms may be used to unlock cells’ regenerative potential. I hope that this experience will provide me with a solid grounding in the basic molecular biology that governs stem cell transitions, giving me a strong background on which I will be able to build in my future work. After Cambridge, I plan to pursue a career as a physician-scientist studying neurodevelopmental disorders and working to translate basic scientific discoveries from the bench to the bedside.

Previous Education

Amherst College BA in Neuroscience 2010

PhD Student in Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Harvard University. Working on developing new genome editing technologies in Professor David Liu's and Professor George Church's lab.

There is as much poetry in understanding the brain, as there is science. I had the opportunity to pursue both these during my undergraduate degree at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali. After working on Schizophrenia at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, I completed my final year thesis on memory formation at the Indian Institute of Science. My graduate research at Oxford interested me in examining how brain circuits contribute to mood disorders. The ways in which early-life experiences predispose individuals towards mental illnesses require examining changes in a developing brain. In my Ph.D., I hope to explore how such changes in the prefrontal cortex can lead to the early onset of neuropsychiatric disorders, by examining their impacts on behaviours that are commonly dysregulated across these conditions. Through my research, I hope to identify critical periods of development and arrive at a better understanding of specific prefrontal circuits that can be targets of early intervention.

Previous Education

University of Oxford Neuroscience 2023
Indian Institute of Science Ed & Research Mohali Biology 2022

My research is in developmental neuroscience, specifically on axon guidance. I am studying how extensions from neurons (called axons) find their way through the developing brain and end up on the correct targets. This research may have future implications for brain repair, as neurons introduced into damaged tissue must integrate correctly into the surrounding network.

Growing up in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, I have spent my four-year University life in Hong Kong. What I benefit most from my undergraduate education is developing my passion towards neuroscience through relevant courses and a project studying how neurons sort out the proteins they produced. I am very excited about starting my PhD study at Cambridge and discovering a world new to me. The project I will engage in at Cambridge with Professor Christine Holt investigates how neurons navigate their way in our brain, focusing on the visual system, without making wrong turns or bumping into each other. This study is useful in curing newborn babies with neural developmental defect and to understand our brain organizations. I certainly hope one day my scientific discoveries can help people in bigger ways. I am looking forward to joining the Cambridge community and meet with all these outstanding Scholars.

Previous Education

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Bachelor of Science in Biology 2013

My master's degree in natural sciences at AgroParisTech allowed to gain insights into different fields of biology and taught me an interdisciplinarity approach to science. Amazed by the zygote’s ability to form a complex organism from a single cell, I was particularly drawn to the field of developmental biology. Since the vast majority of developmental studies were performed in mice, during my PhD I wish to further elucidate embryonic development in our own species. Human peri-implantation development still remains a black box and I hope that by combining stem cell biology and microfluidic technologies, I will be able to shed light onto the underlaying mechanisms of how organisms form. Passionate about natural sciences, I wish for everyone to have access to such education. Therefore, I have been working for several years with the charity organization Agros Migrateurs, which aims to enable refugees arriving in France to resume their studies in the field of science. I am honoured to join the Gates Cambridge community, which shares a common desire to make a positive impact on the world.

Previous Education

AgroParisTech Biotechnology 2021
Lycée Jean Rostand Strasbourg BCPST 2017

Previous Education

University of Cambridge B.A. Hons 2002

I am excited to do research in the fascinating field of Epigenetics in Maternal health and developmental biology. There can be a million reasons not to try something new....You just need one great reason to begin!

Since childhood, I was always fascinated by developmental biology. I wanted to understand how a single cell could become a complex organism. After matriculating as an Honors Biology student at the University of Delaware, I joined Dr. Salil A. Lachke’s developmental genetics laboratory where I studied the role of RNA-binding protein-mediated post-transcriptional regulation in mammalian ocular lens development. Simultaneously, I explored my passions for education access and science advocacy. Since 2014, I’ve worked with Leading Youth Through Empowerment – a non-profit that offers accelerated coursework to high-achieving at-risk youth. I also participated in the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s Advocacy Training Program through which I met with the offices of my senators and representative to advocate for science funding and education.At Cambridge, I will carry out my Ph.D. project in the laboratory of Dr. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz studying the post-implantation development of human and mouse embryos. Post-implantation stages are referred to as the “black box” of development, and very little is known about these early stages when many pregnancies fail. Recently, Dr. Zernicka-Goetz’s group developed a culture system that opened this “black box” and I look forward to finding what lies within it. I am honored to join the motivated and interdisciplinary Gates Cambridge community.

Previous Education

University of Delaware Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences 2019