Directory

“Why do people suffer?” asked a 13-year-old boy with many passports, when he travelled and saw his privilege reflected in the eyes of the world. Born to two statistics professors he was curious about anything besides academia, and so left his Australian physics degree for the adventure of technology startups in China. He wandered to monasteries in Tibet, sat for ten days of silent meditation at the edge of a South African desert, and tried to appreciate all he was born with by working as a data scientist at Airbnb, in a gleaming office just around the corner from the tents of the homeless.

Depression clouded that young man's mind. Emerging on the other side thanks to care that so few can access, he wondered, “If even I, with all my comforts, feel such pain, perhaps Buddha was right that suffering begins in the mind?”

And so I left Silicon Valley for Cambridge to contribute what I can to depression research. Neuroscience is in a golden age, powered by technologies that link brain scans, genetics, and socioeconomics to drugs, therapy, and public policy. Yet we are challenged by the brain’s complex biology, inconsistent psychiatric diagnoses, archaic and unjust healthcare systems, and the dramatic increase in mental illness especially among youth. I am grateful for this chance to offer what I can to help others also find their way from suffering to happiness.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Neuroscience 2021
National University of Singapore Physics 2013
Australian National University Physics 2013

My PhD research traces the history of prevention science an interdisciplinary field that emerged in the US during the 1990s in an effort to prevent young people from developing a range of problems later in life. I am interested in the paper practices, institutional infrastructures and trans-disciplinary networks of expertise that gave rise to the production of new kinds of knowledge about youth, risk and the future in the US from roughly the 1960s until the present.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge History and Philosophy of Sci 2015
Columbia University Neuroscience & Comparative Lit 2012

I am currently finishing my degree work in Health Economics and Public Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health before returning to my last two years of general surgery residency at Johns Hopkins.

At Cambridge University, where I am currently enrolled in an MPhil program and surrounded by hundreds of outstanding young academics, I find myself inspired by the youth voice. It is a great honor for me to be an awardee of the Gates Scholarship again for my PhD program in social anthropology at Cambridge. The experiences I have had both locally and internationally with youth culture have led me to recognize that youth politicisation and social movements are vital elements of our society. Socioeconomic hardships, unequal access to social and economic capital are the issues that underpin social movements in Mongolia. A study of Ulaanbaatar city focusing on its movements will assist us in understanding the complexities of social problems and political activism among citizens. In the broad scope, it covers many issues, including those related to social movements, the realisation of national identity, the impact of digital technologies, the relationship between citizens and the state, and the evolving political landscape.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Social Anthropology 2023
Free University of Berlin Socialogy and Anthropology 2022
National University of Mongolia Sociology and Anthropology 2014

As a Gates Cambridge Scholar at the University of Cambridge, I completed my doctoral studies at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology with Dr. David Barford. My work involved using cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM), X-ray crystallography, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to study cell cycle regulation. My most exciting discovery was solving the molecular mechanism by which phosphorylation of a cell cycle checkpoint protein, Bub1, triggers kinetochore recruitment of another cell cycle checkpoint, Mad1. For this research I was awarded the Inaugural Whelan Young Investigator Award from the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) and went on to co-found and lead an IUBMB initiative to support trainees.

After my PhD I returned to the USA, where I am now a protein designer at a Seattle-based start-up company called Monod Bio which uses de novo protein design and machine learning methods to create the next generation of therapeutic biosensors.

Previous Education

University of St Andrews

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elyse-fischer-152335151

I come from Cuiabá, a city right in the middle of South America. Unfortunately, my home state, Mato Grosso, is one of the most homophobic states in Brazil, which is why I always present myself as one of the few openly gay Federal Prosecutors in Brazil. Representation matters! Academically, in 2010, I was one of the first students from the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil, to attend the Hague Academy of International Law. I have a Master of International Law from the University of Cambridge and was awarded a Jennings Award from Wolfson College for my performance at the LLM. Also, I was awarded a Golden Award at Cambridge for my activities at the Cambridge Pro Bono Project. Professionally, in 2015, I was the youngest Judge at the Mato Grosso State Court. In 2016, I became a Federal Prosecutor and have been working with human rights and criminal law. During the LLM, I was deeply interested in international humanitarian law. Therefore, because I am part of the LGBTQIA+ community and wanted to investigate how armed conflicts affect vulnerable groups, for my PhD, I plan on researching how international humanitarian law can protect LGBTQIA+ persons (combatants and non-combatants) during and after wars.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Master of Laws 2022
Fundação Escola do Ministerio Law 2012

I grew up on a farm in Iowa with my parents, younger brother, and plenty of animals - pets and otherwise. In high school I became interested in medicine, and this interest has since expanded to include research. After finishing undergraduate work in 2004, I began studying neurodegeneration in Iowa City and St. Louis, and I am quite excited to have the opportunity to continue studying this topic at Cambridge. Next fall I plan to return to St. Louis to pursue an MD/PhD at Washington University.

My research strives to unravel the complexities inherent in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. With a passion for medical science, I moved south from Ohio to study biomedical engineering at the University of South Carolina, where I became increasingly intrigued by the human body as I worked on projects to provide elegant solutions to complex health problems. With a particular interest in Alzheimer’s disease, I utilized an array of biophysical techniques to investigate compounds found in diets around the world and their potential to suppress protein aggregation in the brain. My fascination with the extent to which small molecules influence disease led me to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where I instigated the beginnings of a project aiming to detect chemical exposures in the workplace and improve safety therein. Returning to research in the molecular processes underlying protein misfolding disorders, I joined the Centre for Misfolding Diseases as a Whitaker International Program Fellow to work under the supervision of Professor Chris Dobson. I now continue to apply my chemical, biological, and computational background to further investigate the folding and misfolding of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Outside of the lab, I enjoy introducing young students to the world of science through varied teaching and community outreach programs, as well as pursuing my interest in studying financial structures and markets.

Previous Education

University of South Carolina
University of Cambridge

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryangeiser

During the past two years, I was a paralegal for the federal public defenders in Brooklyn, New York. Working with hundreds of indigent clients charged with a variety of federal crimes, I developed a strong interest in young adult offenders. I plan to focus my future research on juvenile offenders, targeting the underlying factors contributing to crime and ideally working to develop effective interventions to alter their trajectory. I am curious about the British approach to sentencing and rehabilitation, particularly for young offenders. After this year, I plan to attend law school in the United States and become a public defender or alternatively work on reducing recidivism at a nonprofit organization.

My name is Grecia Gonzalez. I grew up in La Puente, CA, USA, the youngest of five children to immigrant parents from Nicaragua. I have just earned my B.A. degree in Chemical and Physical Biology at Harvard University. I will pursue my PhD in Biochemistry at Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Ben Luisi. Beyond my coursework I am an avid researcher and educator. I have been very fortunate to work with amazing researchers in many top-ranked research institutions, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and the University of Cambridge. I am a published author and my thesis research at Harvard is on the cutting edge of RNA NMR spectroscopy and of great importance to current HIV research. In the future, I hope to one day work at the crossroads of science and education policy. Teaching and thinking of new ways to help others understand science are great passions of mine.

I am a young researcher in history of music trained in France (Paris Conservatoire, ENS de Paris, EHESS). My research interests are in contemporary history and include music festivals, cultural transfers between France and England and women musicians.My PhD at Cambridge is untitled « Music festivals in post-war France: International competition, decentralisation and cultural regionalism (1945-1975) ». I will investigate how classical music festivals acted as shelters for stage music in the context of a collapse of the traditional opera system and how a “local” focus was used to promote the idea that some towns had been protected from change in the aftermath of the Second World War, through several case studies (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Mai musical de Bordeaux, Festival de Royan, Théâtre des Nations).

Previous Education

Ecole Normale Supérieure Musique 2023
Conservatoire de Paris CNSMDP Histoire de la musique 2022
EHESS Musique 2020

I will be working towards a MSc in Pathology with Dr. Nick Coleman. My project involves modeling HPV(Human Papillomavirus)-mediated cervical neoplasia. Specifically, I am interested in those cases which are driven by non-integrated (episomal) HPV. This work will prepare me for a career as a professor and research scientist. In this field, I hope to increase our understanding of cancer and inspire young biologists to pursue this intriguing field.

Links

http://www.jimmunol.org/content/186/11/6091

Previous Education

University of British Columbia

Links

https://www.weareriver.earth
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodi-gustafson-bab11b77

As a young child in Los Angeles, I spent every moment I could in nature. I became a wildlife rehabilitator, tall ship sailor, and Forest Service biological technician. My lifelong religious devotion later led me to study and practice in Jerusalem and the Balkans, two places where faith has a powerful impact on daily life. After my Brigham Young University undergraduate in International Relations and Philosophy, I completed a Cambridge Masters in Muslim-Jewish relations. I then worked in Lebanon and Iraq where I saw the devastating consequences of environmental neglect first hand and realized I could channel my passion for religion and nature toward doing good. During my PhD, I will study the complex dynamic between religion and the environment, particularly how religious action or inaction can change environmental outcomes. Using my own faith background as a starting point, I will seek to understand how theological narratives around ecology are formed, and how they can transform behavior. I hope to advance the cause of unity and peace throughout my career, and am honored to join a community devoted to serving others and creating a healthier world for us all.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Muslim Jewish Relations 2017
Brigham Young University Utah International Relations 2014

During my first semester as a student at the University of Pennsylvania, I developed an insatiable curiosity for astrophysics in my introductory physics class. Soon after, I became involved in research on dark matter and the transient universe, including black holes, microlensing, and supernovae. My curiosity, combined with research experience, grew into a B.A. and M.Sc. in physics from the University of Pennsylvania and a desire to pursue a PhD in astronomy. Additionally, it spurred in me a passion for encouraging more young women to pursue a STEM education, which I have enjoyed doing as a mentor and tutor. At the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, I will study supernovae in the near infrared as a probe of the accelerated expansion of the universe. In addition, I will continue my efforts to increase the involvement of women and underrepresented groups in physics through mentorship and advocacy. I look forward to being part of the Gates-Cambridge community to learn from and engage with scholars who are actively working to improve the lives of others in every field.

Previous Education

University of Pennsylvania Physics 2022

Victoria is interested in exploring the nexus of climate change, human development, and public policy in the Arctic. Her PhD research focuses on how images and aesthetic codes construct values, identities, and ideas of power in the Arctic since the Second World War. From a young age Victoria's grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, has inspired her to pursue a career promoting social justice and empowerment. During her undergraduate degree, she followed that inspiration through two emerging personal interests - art and environmentalism. Through internships at The Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she helped to create programs to bring different, often contentious, communities together through museum educational events. At the Untied Nations and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, she later worked on research, writing, and advocacy for climate justice, urban resiliency in socioeconomically depressed neighbourhoods, and mitigation. Though passionate about art, climate change, and social justice individually, it was not until her Fulbright research that Victoria was able to bring her three disparate interests together. During her year in Canada, she studied how indigenous civil society groups used visual media to empower their voices at climate change negotiations. At Cambridge, she continues this multidisciplinary approach to scholarship by examining the changing visual narratives of geopolitics in the Arctic and its influence on perceptions of power, justice, and agency. As the Alumni Officer Victoria works closely with the Gates Cambridge Alumni Association to connect the scholar and alumni communities.

Growing up in a military family, I knew from a very young age that I wanted to serve in the military. I followed this dream and my passion for engineering to the United States Naval Academy where I studied nuclear engineering. Upon graduation, I was commissioned to serve in the submarine community. I am fortunate enough to continue my education at Cambridge University where I plan to study Nuclear Energy. My research interests include developing new technologies to improve the reliability, efficiency and safety of nuclear reactors, as well as promoting engineering education. In my career, I hope to combine technical and operational expertise learned from the operation of nuclear power plants in the submarine environment to promote the safe use of nuclear energy as a reliable green technology. As a woman in the nuclear engineering field, I hope to inspire girls to pursue science, technology and engineering careers. I am incredibly honored to be a part of the Gates Cambridge scholar program and work together with young leaders dedicated to serving others.

Previous Education

United States Naval Academy

I grew up surrounded by secondhand books in a variety of small Malaysian towns. During secondary school, I got a scholarship to study in Singapore; which led to a BA in political economy in the U.S. and an MPhil in comparative government in the U.K. After that, I taught English in a high-need secondary school through Teach For Malaysia, seeking classroom experience and a re-immersion in my home country. Besides student epiphanies and classroom silliness, one of the greatest gains from those two years was the realisation that teachers' relationships with their managers are pivotal to their classroom practice, and that such relationships are strained in most Malaysian schools. Hence my PhD project: a comparative study on how to keep teachers accountable without triggering the blame games that damage student outcomes. Through this research, I hope to acquire expertise in education policy. I want to help young Malaysians acquire greater mobility, alongside the wisdom to use that mobility well.

Previous Education

Williams College
University of Oxford

Links

https://riseprogramme.org/people/yue-yi-hwa