Directory

I have always been passionate about understanding how animals think, feel, and interact with the world around them. A native of Massachusetts, I graduated from Harvard University, where I explored these ideas in many contexts--studying parrot cognition in Dr. Irene Pepperberg’s lab at Harvard; primate-human interactions in Rwanda; dogs’ perceptions of morality at Yale University’s Canine Cognition Center; and gorilla behavior at Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo. Most recently, I conducted my undergraduate thesis research in Mexico, studying sex differences in the ranging behavior of Yucatan spider monkeys in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. These experiences have confirmed my belief that animals exhibit unique, individual behavioral tendencies, or “personalities,” bringing into question why different personality traits might be favored in the wild. At Cambridge, I will pursue a PhD in Zoology under Dr. Rose Thorogood. My research will examine how personality and social network position influence fitness and other outcomes in hihi (endangered New Zealand birds), and how this information can be used to develop better conservation strategies. Beyond my research, I hope to continue pursuing my other interests in conservation education, creative writing, world music, and percussion. I am so grateful to be joining the Gates Cambridge community and look forward to meeting my fellow scholars!

Previous Education

Harvard University

I graduated from the National University of Singapore, had the privilege to serve as president of the students’ union, and also co-founded a start-up. My subsequent role at the Ministry of Trade and Industry has given me exposure to strategic planning and execution efforts to translate research and technology into solutions that address economic, social and environmental needs, as well as to build up innovation capabilities to drive growth in various industries and corporate segments. I also adjunct lecture at the School of Science and Technology in a local university.I am humbled and excited to join the Gates Cambridge community. Through this MPhil program, I hope to leverage technology policies to enhance economic growth, raise social mobility and promote greater inclusiveness. In my free time, I enjoy computer games, street soccer and tinkering with gadgets.

Previous Education

National University of Singapore

Sabrina was the first Gates Cambridge Scholar from Indonesia. Her PhD at Cambridge was a clinical trial of the implementation of mental health services in primary care clinics. She completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at University College Dublin, studying how collective leadership in healthcare influences patient outcomes. She is now leading the Metaverse research theme in Accenture's Human Sciences Studio.

Sabrina holds a BA in Psychology and Asian Studies from the University of Melbourne, and an MSc in Organisational Psychiatry and Psychology from King’s College London. Before Cambridge, Sabrina researched medical education in the National University of Singapore and spent some years as a Psychologist at the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore. She’s a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.

I am a firm believer that a good quality education is the foundation for economic prosperity and poverty alleviation. Since 2010, I have been working in the development sector in Pakistan on the design and implementation of education reform programs. In my current role, I am co-leading the World Bank's engagement in the Third Punjab Education Sector Project, as well as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Human Development Project. As a PhD student with the Education faculty in Cambridge, my objective is to further develop my research skills to work towards bridging the gap between research, program design and implementation. In a country like Pakistan, where millions of children remain out of school, and the quality of education is poor, there is enormous amounts of untapped potential that is waiting to be harnessed. I hope to play my part in ensuring that people have the opportunity to access quality education to realize their full potential, and improve the quality of their lives. I look forward to being part of the Gates Cambridge community to work with other scholars who are equally committed to improving the lives of others.

Previous Education

Cornell University
Columbia University Teachers College

Prof Shaz Ansari is a Professor of Strategy at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge and Visiting Faculty at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. He holds a PhD from University of Cambridge. He serves on the Editorial Boards of Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Journal of Management Studies and Organization Studies, and is a member of Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM). His research interests include institutional processes and diffusion of practices; social movements, social and environmental issues in management, technological and management innovations; reputation management, and bottom-of-the-pyramid strategies. He has published in several leading academic journals including Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Management Studies, Research Policy, Industrial and Corporate Change, Strategic Organization, and Organization Studies. Dr Ansari's expertise in executive education includes strategic management, technological and business model innovation, social innovation, and corporate social responsibility. He has contributed to executive education programs in many organizations, including McKinsey, Airbus. Shell, British Telecom, China Development Bank, Nokia, Laing O'Rourke, UNICEF, Essex County Council, KLEC (Kuala Lumpur Education City).

Previous Education

University of Cambridge MPhil Management Studies 2001

Born and raised in Conneaut, Ohio, I attended college nearby at Denison University. During my undergraduate studies, I performed research in cellular biology and quickly became intrigued by the ways in which genetic changes can cause (and even promote!) disease, specifically cancer. My passion for scientific research and medicine led me to pursue a combined MD/PhD degree. I am currently finishing my second year of medical school at the University of California, Irvine and will begin my PhD in the Department of Pharmacology at Cambridge and the National Institutes of Health in the National Cancer Institute. My PhD work will analyze the role of multi-drug transporters in the development of cancer cell resistance to chemotherapeutic treatments. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to study as a Gates Scholar and NIH Cambridge Scholar. I know my time as a Gates Scholar will greatly enhance my understanding of the mechanisms of drug resistance and my ability to harness this knowledge to advance treatment methods. The integrative nature of my PhD studies at Cambridge will provide the optimal foundation from which I can continue to evolve as a researcher, physician, teacher, and continual learner. Interests: Music (vocal, Broadway, opera), cycling, triathlons, hiking, traveling, and languages (in particular, Austrian dialects)

Previous Education

Denison University
University of California Irvine

Being born in a turbulent Venezuela to a family of Polish immigrants, the intricacies of identity were an important topic of my everyday life. With parents and a brother all archaeologists, I grew up excavating every summer on the sunny islands of the Venezuelan Caribbean. For my undergraduate thesis at Leiden University College, I merged both these experiences working with the Guaiquerí indigenous group on Margarita island, Venezuela. There I attempted to understand how the Guaiquerí have maintained their strong identity though five centuries of colonialism. For my MPhil at the University of Cambridge, I decided to continue working on the topic with the Caquetío on Bonaire, who maintain a strong indigenous identity despite most locals believing they no longer exist. This work has made me realize that heritage management is not appropriately equipped to understand the resilience of indigenous identities in the Caribbean. For my PhD, I will work with more case-studies of indigenous identity in the Caribbean to deliver data on how identity and heritage are managed and maintained in these (post)colonial contexts. Misunderstood identity processes are an important part of many problems facing the region, including the current situation in Venezuela. I envision that my research can help both the communities I work with as well as academia and heritage institutions, leading to positive changes regionally, nationally and internationally.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Heritage and Museum Studies 2018
Rijksuniversiteit Leiden (Leiden Univ) Human Interaction 2016

I have spent the last year doing fieldwork in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. My research examines ways in which frontier cities of western China are changing under post-Mao reforms. I am particularly interested in how the spatial organization of large-scale state and commercial ventures influence people’s behaviour at the micro-level.

During my undergraduate studies in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, I was exposed to a range of disciplines spanning biochemistry, genetics, and physiology through to higher cognitive brain functions. Whilst specialising in Neuroscience, I realised how fascinating the nervous system is, as well as the fact that such an elaborate neuronal connectivity does not come without a cost, since subtle perturbations can lead to devastating disease. Captivated by the elegance of the brain, I continued with a Masters in Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge. This fuelled my desire to pursue a future in research. During my PhD in Clinical Neurosciences, I seek to explore the mechanisms by which some viruses and inflammatory stimuli promote axon degeneration and neuronal death. The ultimate goal of my research is to contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for viral and inflammatory neuropathies. It is an absolute honour to be part of the Gates Cambridge community and I am looking forward to working and learning with inspiring individuals from all around the world.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Medical Science 2019
The University of Edinburgh Biomedical Sciences 2018

As an undergraduate at Rutgers I discovered my intellectual passions at the nexus of Classical languages and cultural history. Through my work on a newly-discovered papal archive in Rome (the Archivio Boncompagni Ludovisi at the Villa Aurora), I began to engage with the complex social, cultural and political histories of the Classical tradition and its legacies. At Cambridge, I will integrate these focuses by studying Roman historiography and Classical reception. My central concern involves historical consciousness and the sociology of memory. I am fascinated with how the category of the Classics is under negotiation and frames the way cultures interact with the past and their own histories. Ultimately, I intend to take a comparative approach to the Classical tradition and concentrate on its legacy in the nineteenth century United States. I am particularly interested in history education, especially in underserved communities, and in continuing my work at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City. I am inexpressibly honored to join the Gates Cambridge community. I recognize that this distinction challenges me to ensure that my studies and energies benefit others.

Previous Education

Rutgers University

Yanna attended the University of Cambridge 2000-2007 (Newnham & Queens'), where she earned a B.A., M.Sci., MA, and PhD. Her research (October 2004-2007), undertaken in the High Resolution Electron Microscopy Group (Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy), focused on the development of novel theoretical approaches for magnetic induction mapping in the transmission electron microscope - work relevant to the nano-scale reconstruction of both internal and external magnetic fields in technologically important materials. From Cambridge, Yanna transitioned into a Washington, DC career in climate/energy policy, serving in various analytic offices and functions of the U.S. Department of Energy and the Energy Information Administration, 2008 - 6/2015. Currently, she manages a small solar photovoltaic plant in Northern Greece, while also pursuing independent research into climate change mitigation pathways.

I began to develop an interest in visual studies as a teenager, when I had my first encounters with films that sought to be something more than mere tools of entertainment. In my mind, I began to formulate questions regarding the relationship between this kind of cinema and the context wherein I grew up: Latin America. What are the implications of the film industry for a developing country? What does cinema can do for cultural policies? And conversely? Studying Hispanic Literature in Peru enriched my knowledge on Latin American literature, but, above all, it offered me the theoretical tools to start thinking about cultural representations from a critical viewpoint. After college, I worked as a teaching assistant at my university, and became actively engaged in several film projects, trying to build a bridge between my knowledge of film theory and the film industry. My time at KCL, in London, where I pursued the Contemporary Literature, Culture and Theory MA strengthened my desire to take the academic path, so I can intervene in society and contribute towards genuine change. At Cambridge, my PhD in Latin American Studies will undertake the study of the complex interactions between disruptive kinships, affect and aesthetics in the films of Argentinian filmmakers Lucrecia Martel and Milagros Mumenthaler. I am specially interested in asking how these films open up a broader critique concerning our ways of being in common.

Previous Education

Pontificia Universidad Catolica Del Peru
King's College London (University of London)

Up through my senior year in high school, I intended to study politics and then to pursue a career in public policy, but as a freshman in college I was--very fortunately, as it turns out--forced to take a year of Latin in order to fulfill my language requirement. Much to my surprise, I immediately fell in love with both the language itself and the world of ancient history to which it gave me access. As an undergraduate, I devoted much of my attention to the study of Athenian democratic reform, and I hope to continue my research on that topic as an MPhil candidate at Cambridge. My ultimate goal is to obtain a PhD and eventual employment as a university professor, for I can think of nothing more rewarding than the opportunity to share my love for the ancient world with those who, like me, were not fortunate enough to encounter Classics prior to college.

I am a Research Fellow at Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Asia, based in Bangkok. I work on urban development issues ranging from urban climate resilience to urban health and wellbeing in South and South East Asian cities.

My current research focuses on the interaction between alphabetic writing and other systems of inscription -the Inca quipu, in particular- in colonial texts from the Andes region. I am also interested in the representation of narratives of origin in contemporary Latin American cinema and visual arts.

I am currently completing my PhD studies at the Department of Geography. My research is focused on evolution of ideas about conservation, climate change and natural resource development, how they are translated into specific interventions in different geographical contexts and the politics of what happens when they are implemented in specific project sites. Specifically, I am examining the evolution, translation and politics of the idea of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), which is a prominent climate change policy in the context of Ghana. West Africa. I am alumni of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana and also studied at the University of Leeds, UK as a Commonwealth Scholar. Previously, I worked as the Research and Policy Manager and also as a Health Policy Manager for Oxfam in Ghana.