Directory

Dr. Robinson is co-founder and CEO of Monopar Therapeutics. In 2010, Dr. Robinson co-founded and was CEO of Tactic Pharmaceuticals. He helped lead Tactic through a successful sale of its lead compound. His passion is leveraging his interests in medicine, science, and finance to help bring new therapeutics to patients. The compound Dr. Robinson researched at Northwestern University as an undergraduate, and published on in Science, is currently in a Phase II clinical trial for Wilson Disease. Among his previous experiences, Dr. Robinson in 2008 worked at Onyx Pharmaceuticals in their Nexavar marketing division, from 2008-2009 as a co-manager of a healthcare clinic in San Jose CA, from 2004 to present as Founder and President of an undergraduate research focused non-profit, and from 2006 to 2007 at Bear Stearns investment bank. He was previously on the board of Wilson Therapeutics, and is currently on the board of Northwestern University's Chemistry of Life Processes Institute. Dr. Robinson graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University, earned a master's degree in International Health Policy and Health Economics from the London School of Economics on a Fulbright Scholarship, an MBA from Cambridge University on a Gates Scholarship, and an MD from Stanford University.

My interest in mythology grew out of time I spent volunteering at a Shetland marine mammal sanctuary after graduating from Amherst College. Folklore I learned there showed me how mythological and folk traditions act as frameworks for understanding our relationship to nature and wildlife. This interest has fueled much of my research and writing, and I have become interested, too, in how poetry both represents and forges connections to the land around us. At Cambridge, my research will explore how Ted Hughes repurposed and retold early Celtic mythology in his poetry, and I will also chart connections between Ted Hughes’s mythic and personal poetry. Finding metaphors for personal experience within mythic narratives—rife, as they are, with shape shifting and magical apparitions— is, I believe, a way to examine literature’s transformative potential. Mythology brims, too, with quests to rid the land of curses—to make fields prosperous again–- and I am interested in how Ted Hughes used mythic traditions as templates for writing about our own need to preserve the natural world. I earned my MFA in poetry at Johns Hopkins University, and, while studying there, I began writing a book of poems inspired by my work with marine mammals and my studies of folklore. Since graduation, I have been teaching writing in Baltimore and working on a novel centered around the history of Shetland’s Antarctic whaling. I am overjoyed to be joining the Gates Cambridge community.

Previous Education

Amherst College
Johns Hopkins University

As a Gates Scholar, I studied for a PhD in the department of Chemistry in the laboratory of Professor Michele Vendruscolo, where I worked on developing computational methods to determine protein structures and conformational ensembles that describe the motions of dynamic proteins. These techniques were utilized investigate the processes of protein folding and misfolding.

After my studies at Cambridge I worked as an NSF postdoctoral in the laboratory of Professor Arthur G. Palmer III at Columbia University, where I studied the role of conformational dynamics in protein function with NMR spectroscopy and molecular simulations.

I then worked as a scientist at D.E. Shaw Research, where I developed new physical models that have enabled the accurate simulation of intrinsically disordered proteins.

As an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Computational Molecular Science at Dartmouth College, my group utilizes molecular simulations to obtain atomistic descriptions of the molecular recognition mechanisms of intrinsically disordered proteins. We aim to use insights form these simulations to understand, predict and ultimately design dynamic and heterogeneous binding interactions of disordered proteins, with a goal of developing new avenues to therapeutic interventions in diseases associated with disordered protein dysfunction through the rational design of biologic and small molecule inhibitors.

Previous Education

Pomona College BA Chemistry 2006

I grew up in North-West Tasmania and attended the University of Tasmania in Hobart for my BSc in Physics/Applied Mathematics and BSc (Hons) in Physics. During this time, I became interested in the supermassive black holes found in galaxy centres known as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), which play a large role in the formation and evolution of galaxies over cosmic time. For my PhD, I will be simulating the processes that govern accretion onto these objects, and how different instabilities generated during accretion may lead to a twinkling effect at X-ray wavelengths. The findings from this project will help inform our understanding of the behaviour of weakly-magnetised plasmas and turbulence in fluids, which may have far-reaching consequences beyond the field of AGN. I will also be continuing on with my second passion, which is to find new ways to share the wonders of science with as many people as possible, particularly students in our oft-forgotten rural communities. I believe that all students should have the necessary opportunities to forge their own future, regardless of wealth or circumstance, and that the provision of scholarships and additional academic and pastoral supports is key to closing this societal gap.

Previous Education

University of Tasmania Physics 2018
University of Tasmania Physics, Applied Mathematics 2017

Links

https://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/people/Payton.Rodman
https://www.paytonelyce.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/payton-rodman

I grew up in the beautiful city of Pilar in Argentina but left to pursue a BSc Politics and Philosophy at LSE. As an undergraduate, I became particularly intrigued by questions regarding the nature of goodness and evil and dedicated my dissertation to the (apparent) incompatibility between the existence of God and the evil in our world. During my MSc Political Theory at LSE, I continued to inquire into the intricate nature of moral properties and their normativity through the close study of Kant, Hobbes, Marx and Aristotle. I ultimately came to think that the normativity of ethics might not spring from rationality but from requirements of interpersonal relations. With this in mind, I devoted my MPhil Philosophy research at Cambridge to uncovering what love and friendship are all about. I will continue this study in my PhD by asking whether acting ethically is a necessary presupposition of acting with someone. I hope my project will offer a framework to understand not only the source of the normativity of moral demands but also the moral dimension of our personal and political relations with each other. I am humbled to join the Gates Cambridge community and look forward to working with such a talented group of scholars.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Philosophy 2021
London School of Economics & Political Science (Un Political theory 2020
London School of Economics & Political Science (Un Politics and Philosophy 2019

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/frodriguezx2
https://facundorodriguez.site

In 2007, I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a double major in Philosophy and Bioethics. At Cambridge, I completed an MPhil and am currently pursuing a PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science. My research focuses on the use and regulation of human tissue in the United States and the United Kingdom. I am also pursuing a JD at Yale Law School where I serve as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law and Ethics.

As an undergraduate at Yale, I studied the history of relations between the United States and Mexico in the 20th century. I focused particularly on the movement of people and ideas during the early decades of the 20th century and the Cold War years. By highlighting the historical fluctuations in migration, my work hopes to frame current conversations about migrations across borderlands. At Cambridge, I will interrogate Mexico’s cultural response to decolonization movements around the world during the 1960s and 1970s. While scholars have written about the cultural exchange between countries like Cuba, South Africa, and Vietnam during decolonization, it is necessary to continue this dialogue to include more movements. Outside classes, I have developed an immense appreciation for museums and galleries. These public-facing institutions shape the way societies engage and discuss ideas. To connect my research with broader audiences, I have devoted time to working in a variety of museum spaces. In the summer of 2016, I developed a temporary exhibit about the segregation of Mexican children in 1920 Topeka, Kansas. The exhibit was researched and funded by the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. I hope to maintain this tradition of breaking past academic circles by seeking novel ways to discuss important moments of the past with increasingly larger audiences. It is an incredible honour to join the Gates Cambridge community.

Previous Education

Yale University BA & MA in Global History 2019

There is perhaps too little concern for the study of hope. Much of our efforts are devoted to the comprehension and contemplation of violence, to the analysis of war and its destructive force. But equally relevant is to recognise that even in scenarios where violence is present, there are stories of people who try to build something different. And that these are accounts worth paying attention to. Growing up amidst Mexico’s “War on Drugs” has deeply shaped my life and gaze as a researcher. It has led me to analyse the global dynamics that favour conflict and the legal frameworks of war, but also to the study of local peace processes linked to environmental protection. For my PhD in Development Studies, I seek to explore the emergence of collective action to address socio-environmental threats. In a global context of interrelated social and environmental crises, I want to understand how people come together, how transformative alternatives are forged, and how they may help repair the social fabric, promote healing, and enact justice. With this research, I wish to learn from local actors and everyday resistance and contribute to the efforts to outline a different future.

Previous Education

University of Amsterdam Conflict Resolution Governance 2020
Universidad Iberoamericana International Relations 2017

Experiences with the lived effects of psychiatric and neurodegenerative illnesses have largely shaped my curiosity to understand the intricacies of the human brain and aspiration to help those who suffer from insults to its fragility. As an undergraduate student at McGill University majoring in Neuroscience, I became involved in research ranging from brain plasticity, to Alzheimer’s disease, to computational genetics, to factors influencing the etiology of schizophrenia. Particularly, I developed an interest in using computational tools to characterize and quantify alterations in brain anatomy related to different disorders of the brain. At Cambridge, I will pursue a PhD in Psychiatry, with a focus on using a multimodal approach combining brain structural and functional data and cognitive measures to explore the neural mechanisms for the manifestation of hallucinations in schizophrenia. An understanding of the phenomenon of hallucinations has far-reaching implications for treatment strategies, commonalities between disorders, and insights into the nature of consciousness. Due to the inseparable integration of clinical observations and scientific questions, I ultimately hope to complete a medical degree after my PhD, with the overarching goal of translating neuroimaging findings into clinical practice. Academics aside, I practice acroyoga, rock climbing, and figure drawing. I’m humbled and excited to join this diverse community of scholars.

Previous Education

McGill University

I will complete an MPhil in International Relations at Cambridge, writing a thesis on terrorism in North Africa, specifically al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Afterwards, I will serve as an Infantry Officer in the US Army, eventually hoping to work in Africa in Special Forces or as a Defense Attaché. One day, I hope to help craft US policy towards that troubled continent.

As an undergraduate researcher in the Butler Polymer Research Laboratory at the University of Florida, I developed an interest in bridging the gap between polymer chemistry innovations and biomedical applications. During my PhD in Chemistry, I intend to tackle biomedical problems from a molecular-level approach and to design stimuli-responsive materials with potential for the controlled and long-term encapsulation and release of insulin to treat type 1 diabetes. As a type 1 diabetic myself, I feel incredibly fortunate to have grown up in a country where live-saving technologies allow me to thrive. I am heartbroken by the reality that many people in under-resourced regions lack access to affordable and accessible medical care to treat chronic conditions like type 1 diabetes. I am dedicated to both the pursuit of innovations in therapeutics through polymer chemistry and the expansion of access to these innovations for those in need. I am incredibly honored to join the Gates community and to work to make a lasting impact on the medical field for individuals from all backgrounds.

Previous Education

University of Florida Chemistry 2024

I grew up in the south of France before moving to Toronto, Canada with my family. When, following a landmark report by the IPCC, I understood how profoundly the climate crisis threatens our lives, it became a driving force behind my actions and career choices. It was while I was completing my Bachelors in Economics at the University of Toronto that I took on a leadership role in the youth climate movement, empowering thousands of young people to demand climate action. I then led advocacy campaigns to accelerate Canada's energy transition and make it more fair for impacted communities and workers. Avoiding a climate disaster requires action at a scale only governments can deliver—but current policies fall dangerously short. I am pursuing a MPhil in Public Policy to learn how to design and advocate for durable, transformative climate policies. I hope to gain perspective and identify my blindspots by connecting with brilliant peers across fields who not only engage with bold ideas, but are equally committed to translating them into real-world impact. After my time at Cambridge, I am determined to deliver policy solutions that reduce emissions while closing equity gaps in time to protect our collective future.

Previous Education

University of Toronto Economics, Public Policy

I came to Cambridge following on from working for two of Australia’s highest institutions of government: the High Court of Australia and the Upper House of Australia’s Federal Parliament (the Senate). The experience I gained in both positions fed into my longstanding interest in how governments, the legal system, and advocates in general could better serve those who fall between society’s gaps in opportunities and representation. That is an interest I am now pursuing in an academic context at Cambridge through my studies in jurisprudence, civil liberties and human rights as part of the Master of Law (LLM) program. At the end of the academic year I plan to return to Australia and pursue a career as a barrister and in law reform.

During my Nanotechnology Engineering degree at the University of Waterloo, I have come to understand the importance of interdisciplinarity. Being taught everything from biochemistry to controls systems, my research background has been broad from photonic metasurfaces and plasmonic biosensors at Harvard to Bose-Einstein condensates at Cambridge, to muon physics at the Paul Scherrer Institute, and program management at Microsoft Japan doing coding work in machine learning. I will be pursuing a PhD in High Energy Physics at the ATLAS collaboration at Cambridge in the hopes of advancing our understanding of the universe beyond the standard model. My hope is that with a new breakthrough we will be able to stem a new blossoming of world-changing technology just like when Planck made his breakthrough 100 years ago. I am incredibly honoured to join the Gates Cambridge community, and as an interdisciplinary at heart, I am excited for the opportunities this community will give to stem new collaborations. Interdisciplinary collaborations with particle physics have yielded incredibly impactful results, from proton therapy for cancer treatment, to cosmic muon tomography for understanding how the Pyramids were built and the effects of global warming with respect to glacier melting. I also seek to address current issues in STEM outreach, such that we may ensure that every child can pursue their passion in spite of their cultural pressures.

Previous Education

University of Waterloo Nanotechnology Engineering 2019
Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Exchange 2017