Directory

Having grown up in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan – a region still impacted by Soviet nuclear testing – I developed a strong conviction that introducing emerging technologies requires careful consideration of their effects on people and society. My undergraduate and master's research at Columbia and Oxford, where I analysed social media data and observed how design could inadvertently foster polarised attitudes, further solidified this view. At Cambridge, and drawing on my experience with the development of increasingly social AI systems at Google DeepMind, I'm driven to address the current gap in understanding how AI's developing social capabilities contribute to undesirable behaviors, such as deception. This research aims to create methods for behaviourally measuring AI theory-of-mind and investigating its link to deception, ultimately contributing to a more profound understanding of AI capabilities and helping to guide the development of safer and more trustworthy AI systems.

Previous Education

Columbia University Psychology
University of Oxford Psychological Research

As a Christian who grew up in religious circles, questions about theology and religion have always been on my mind especially as it pertains to the Holy Spirit. This is because I observed how people are often manipulated and exploited by those who claim to be special possessors of the Spirit. I have also observed how churches refuse to engage in matters of social justice in the name of the Spirit. It seems to me that these negative practices thrive mostly on confusion about the identity and activity of the Spirit. This situation troubled me and so I sought to do something about it. My Ph.D. in Theology and Religion aims to change the status quo by explicating and presenting Friedrich Schleiermacher’s doctrine of the Spirit as a viable alternative. Schleiermacher’s doctrine of the Spirit is of particular interest to me precisely because of its simplicity, depth, openness to social engagement, and potential to combat harmful ideas about the Spirit in Christian communities. I also aim to show its relevance for Christian theology and the community of believers both in my country and beyond.

Previous Education

The University of Edinburgh Theology 2024
Theol Col of Northern Nigeria Theology 2023
Theol Col of Northern Nigeria Theology 2021

I was born in Aba, Nigeria, immigrated to the United States at the age of 2, and have been living in New York City ever since. I was the class of 2012 at Yale University, where I majored in evolutionary biology. I am interested in microbial evolution and medicine and at Yale conducted research examining how phage (viruses that infect bacteria) can be engineered to better kill their hosts. At Cambridge, I will pursue an MPhil in Biochemistry and study phage abortive infection, an altruistic mechanism bacteria employ that protects them from the ravages of phage attack. I plan to obtain more knowledge on the molecular dynamics of phage-host interactions. It is my hope that my work will be applied to the growing research on treating antibiotic resistant infections with phage. After my time at Cambridge, I plan to apply to MD-PhD programs. I hope to build a career as an infectious disease specialist and a scientist committed to developing new treatments for microbial diseases.

I credit a multicultural, diverse upbringing for culminating my interest in equal and equitable health for all, subsequently guiding my pursuit of a degree in Medicine, and a Master's in Public Health. My interest in adolescent health and well-being has enabled me to diverge into the wider sphere of public health, where I have collaborated with the European Public Health Association and the WHO to develop resources aimed towards the general public, with a focus on mental health and stigma. Together we curated seminars and educational content on pressing issues (such as adolescent sexual and reproductive health, Polio, and antimicrobial resistance), and I have been honoured to present my work exploring the links between social media and body dysmorphia at the 10th International Festival of Public Health. Pursuing this PhD at Cambridge represents a natural yet deliberate continuation of my commitment to a future where I improve the lives of others. I hope to conduct research, underpinned by the UN's SDGs, that creates a foundation which furthers work towards reduced health inequalities, promotes adolescent well-being and agency in their health, and strengthens collaborative networks between change-makers and the wider population.

Previous Education

The University of Manchester MBChB, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery 2024
The University of Manchester MPH (Distinction), Master of Public Health 2022

During my PhD studies, I plan to develop models for the analysis of monetary policy. I am particularly interested in how uncertainty about the economic outlook affects the performance of monetary policy. I am grateful to the Gates Cambridge Trust for funding my studies.

Yusef Al-Jarani is a Gates Cambridge and Harry S. Truman Scholar. In 2013, he co-founded Phoenix Development Fund, a non-profit organization that provides pro bono business development services to community-minded small businesses in the South Side of Chicago. Yusef received his BA from the University of Chicago in Political Science with Honors, after which he spent a year in the UK studying for his MPhil in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge. He has been a practicing attorney since receiving his JD at Yale Law School.

Previous Education

University of Chicago

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yusef-al-jarani

I am a historian of poverty and social exclusion in colonial India, with a focus on South Indian social reform movements between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. The transnational circulation of Indian reform movements in Southeast Asia and the social history of the Tamil diaspora are related areas of interest. My current book project traces the history of prohibition's introduction in India, positioning the subject at the intersection of provincial and national politics, and global temperance reform. A second project examines the impact of temperance and prohibition movements, as a subset of dietary reform, in late colonial India and Malaya.My work has been published in Modern Asian Studies and the Indian Economic and Social History Review. I currently convene courses in alcohol and drug history and modern Indian history at Hong Kong University.

Previous Education

National University of Singapore B.A. (Hons) History 2003

Growing up a child of immigrants in the heart of Orange County, I was graced with the so-called hyphenated identity of a Muslim-Syrian-American. That hyphen, the moment of mediation between two seemingly disparate things, has served as the foundation for my academic interests and future aspirations. It fuels my passion for intersectional issues as an activist and advocate for educational and environmental justice in South Los Angeles. It has also fostered an intellectual curiosity that lead me to pursue a double major in Human Biology & Society and Comparative Literature at UCLA, where I was able to conduct research on health disparities while exploring the use of quantitative research methods in the Humanities. As a Gates Scholar, I hope to continue this narrative by pursuing an MPhil in the History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine. My proposed research centers on the theme of translation; I situate this not only as a practice but also as a mediative process that has shaped the development and reification of certain historical, linguistic, and cultural legacies in science and medicine. As an aspiring activist and physician-scholar, I ultimately hope to employ this critical framework and the global network of the Gates Cambridge community in the development and practice of a more socially attuned and interdisciplinary medicine.

Previous Education

University of California Los Angeles

I was born in the second largest city located in a desert after Cairo, towards the end of a never-ending dictatorship. Growing up in Lima, I soon learned that Peru was a country which amalgamated many conflicting realities that were not easily reconciled. My drive to address some of these issues and think laterally has been the stimulus for my work as a researcher, journalist, editor and academic consultant. From a young age, my reluctance to yield to well-demarcated routes has broadened my perspectives and motivated me to find my own path while collaborating with others to create change. Covering dictatorship novels, autobiographical writing and the role of emotions in fiction, my three theses have contributed to advance knowledge at the intersection of literature and sociology. At Cambridge, my PhD project will explore how a group of South American authors grappled with pain and dissatisfaction in their artistic and extraliterary experiences through the diary form. By so doing, I hope to shed light on the value of a sentimental approach to adversity in life-writing, as well as the configurations of masculinity that emanate from it. I am deeply indebted to the Gates Cambridge Trust for giving me this unparalleled opportunity.

Previous Education

Universitat de Barcelona Advanced Literary Studies 2022
McGill University Sociology and Hispanic Studies 2020

In the past year I have dedicated the vast majority of my time to my medical school training. I am in the middle of the year of core clinic clerkships and am definitely missing the more carefree days of formal halls and garden parties in Cam. In my, albeit limited, free time I enjoy spending time with my one year old dog, Rupert, and keeping as activities as I can with running, crossfit and hiking.

Since completing my PhD in Classics in 2011, I have moved between Dublin and London and worked on a number of different projects. I am currently training to be a Classics teacher at King's College, London.

I grew up in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. I have always been passionate for the wildlife and palaeontology. Despite living in one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, my contact with the nature was limited, and considering that Palaeontology was poorly developed in Colombia, I decided to study Civil Engineering. However, I never lost my passion for science, preferring to read about evolution and fossils than about engineering. After some elective courses, and encouraged by a professor of Biology, I followed my heart and started my Biology career at Universidad de los Andes. At the end of my undergrad, I got the chance to do an internship in Montana, with the University of Washington. Thanks to the scientists I met during my internship, I was able to contact Dr. Edwin Cadena, who helped me to realize that there are tons of fossils in Colombia to study. He also hired me as a research assistant and accepted me as his MSc. Student, at Universidad del Rosario. Now, as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, I´ll be able to pursue my PhD. in Zoology, where by using fossils and molecular data I want to study the tempo and mode of the diversification of colubroid snakes in the Neotropics.

Previous Education

Universidad del Rosario Palaeontology 2022
Universidad de Los Andes Biology 2018
Universidad de Los Andes Engineering 2017

Links

https://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/andres-alfonso-rojas
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andres-paleosnakes3

I became passionate about cultural displacement among African immigrants while an undergraduate in Computer Science at the University of Missouri. I subsequently moved to New York where I created cultural programming for the African Diaspora while working as a technologist. I decided then to pursue full-time this passion to serve the culturally displaced, and I enrolled in a Master’s in African Studies at Yale. There, I researched Nigerian immigrant identity in New York, Tokyo and Mumbai under the tutelage of renowned Sociologist, Dr. Elijah Anderson. I seek to build upon this work through my PhD at Cambridge, where I will continue to investigate the assimilation trajectories of second-generation Nigerian immigrants, one of the most educated immigrant groups in the US and UK. My research will measure how their cultural identification patterns influence their assimilation into their host societies and/or Nigeria, particularly through the creation of Black cultural capital. With this research, I hope to ultimately leverage the the talents of the highly-educated, resource-rich Diaspora to help increase access to innovative technical and creative education in Nigeria, particularly for the girl child, who is much less likely to receive an education than her male counterpart.

Previous Education

Yale University African Studies (Sociology) 2019
University of Missouri System Computer Science 2004

I am undertaking an MMus in Choral Studies, having completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia. As a choral musician, I have been fortunate to have been heavily involved with Gondwana Choirs, Australia’s national choral organization for young people. I have also worked with the acclaimed Sydney Children’s Choir. At Cambridge, I hope to combine my academic interests in choral music with the practical conducting training. The opportunity to observe different choral musicians at work will provide essential experience to fulfill my aspiration to work as a professional conductor. I am passionate about increasing access to music education and performance opportunities for young people regardless of their physical location or socio-economic circumstance. I am keen to support musical outreach projects with an awareness of historical precedent and rigorous research processes.

I grew up on a farm in New Zealand, planting natives, tramping in the mountains, diving in the sea and kayaking on local rivers. These experiences instilled a sense of responsibility for the natural environment and a commitment to sustainability. I have a biology degree and music degree from the University of Auckland. I also studied civil engineering (First Class Honours) and conducted research on water infrastructure in New Zealand and the Pacific. I then worked in the construction industry as a project manager.As a postgraduate student at the University of Cambridge, I researched the complexities of developing resilient infrastructure in the context of environmental and socioeconomic constraints, specifically focusing on steel circularity in the construction sector.Infrastructure is the foundation on which society is built, and sustainable development will play a pivotal role in improving outcomes for humanity and the planet.

Previous Education

University of Auckland Civil and Environmental 2022
University of Auckland Musicology 2021

Originally from California, I have been lucky enough to spend the last three years in Barbados studying physical activity and health disparities. I originally came to the Caribbean as a Fulbright Fellow, and was later affiliated with the University of the West Indies, Cavehill. The government of Barbados has recently passed a sugar-sweetened beverage tax and I am excited to focus my PhD with the MRC Epidemiology Unit on a multi-faceted evaluation of this tax. As so many countries around the world face growing concerns around obesity, diabetes and other related conditions, it is important for us to understand which policy tools are effective at addressing these issues at a population level. Before coming to Barbados, I was a Post Bachelor Fellow at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation and focused on the Global Burden of Disease and social determinants of health. I received my MPH from the University of Washington, and have a BA in Economics and Development Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. It is an incredible honor to join the Gates Cambridge community, and I am looking forward to being part of and contributing to such a diverse and committed group of scholars.

Previous Education

University of Washington
University of California, Berkeley