People

Sean Collins

Sean Collins

  • Alumni
  • United States
  • 2012 PhD Materials Science
  • Trinity College

In 2012, I completed a dual degree program at the University of Michigan in chemistry and piano performance. While at Michigan, I led research in the preparation of nanostructured semiconductor films for solar energy conversion applications. I have also worked on projects developing new processing methods for semiconductor purification. Since graduating, I have worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (USA), conducting research on the role of atmospheric aerosols in climate change. I am currently working on my PhD in Materials Science and Metallurgy at Cambridge with a focus on electron microscopy and spectroscopy. By visualizing materials and their properties at length scales approaching individual atoms my work serves to understand fundamental properties of light-matter interactions. These fundamental relationships underpin advances in a variety of technology areas from chemical and biological sensing to information technology applications. Throughout my career, I hope to lead research aimed at understanding the chemistry and physics of materials in climate science and renewable energy.

Patrons

In 2012, Bill and Melinda Gates generously agreed to become Patrons of the Gates Cambridge Trust. The Trust is delighted to reinforce a direct link between the Gates Cambridge Scholarships and the Gates family.

Melinda French Gates

  • Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Melinda French Gates

Melinda French Gates

  • Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

As co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda French Gates shapes and approves the foundation’s strategies, reviews results, and sets the organization’s overall direction. Photo credit: Jason Bell

Bill Gates

  • Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill Gates

Bill Gates

  • Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

As co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates shapes and approves foundation strategies, advocates for the foundation’s issues, and sets the organization’s overall direction. Photo credit: Gates Notes LLC

Trustees

The Gates Cambridge Board brings together ten distinguished Trustees from a range of backgrounds. Two Trustees are appointed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the others by the University of Cambridge. Trustees meet twice a year to provide strategic direction for the programme. A summary of the declarations of interests for Trustees and senior staff is available here.

Professor Deborah Prentice

  • Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (Chair)
Professor Deborah Prentice

Professor Deborah Prentice

  • Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (Chair)

Professor Deborah Prentice became the University of Cambridge’s 347th Vice-Chancellor on 1 July 2023. An eminent psychologist, Professor Prentice carried out her academic and administrative career at Princeton University, which she first joined in 1988. She rose through the academic ranks and took on administrative responsibilities of increasing scope, chairing the Department of Psychology for 12 years, serving as Dean of Faculty for three years, and then serving six years as Provost, with primary responsibility for all academic, budgetary, and long-term planning issues. Her academic expertise is in the study of social norms that govern human behaviour – particularly the impact and development of unwritten rules and conventions, and how people respond to breaches of those rules. She has edited three academic volumes and published more than 50 articles and chapters, and she has specialised in the study of domestic violence, alcohol abuse and gender stereotypes.

Timothy Harvey-Samuel

  • Bursar of Trinity Hall, Cambridge (Honorary Treasurer)
Timothy Harvey-Samuel

Timothy Harvey-Samuel

  • Bursar of Trinity Hall, Cambridge (Honorary Treasurer)

Tim Harvey-Samuel graduated in English from Queens' in 1987 and has been Bursar of Trinity Hall since March 2020, prior to which he was Bursar of Corpus Christi College for six years. He also lectures for the Master of Finance programme at the Judge Business School. He spent 26 years in investment banking, mainly at Schroders and Citigroup where he led the Equity Capital Markets business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Amy K Carter

  • Director, Community Engagement & Family Interest Grants Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Amy K Carter

Amy K Carter

  • Director, Community Engagement & Family Interest Grants Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Amy is the Director of Community Engagement & Family Interest Grants at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington. In this role Amy manages the personal giving of the Gates family. Amy has worked at the Foundation for nearly 20 years, holding various positions including: Program Officer, Global Health (Family Planning & Reproductive Health), Special Program Officer to CEO Patty Stonesifer, and Program Officer for Special Initiatives, US Program. Prior professional experience includes: the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (Population Program); Planned Parenthood Federation of America; and the Echoing Green Foundation. Amy received her BA from Mount Holyoke College (with Honors) and a MPH from Columbia University with a focus on Population and Family Health. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.

Dame Sally Davies GCB, DBE, FRS, FMedSci

  • Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance and former Chief Medical Officer for England
Dame Sally Davies  GCB, DBE, FRS, FMedSci

Dame Sally Davies GCB, DBE, FRS, FMedSci

  • Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance and former Chief Medical Officer for England

Dame Sally Davies was installed as the 40th Master of Trinity College on 8 October 2019. She joined the College after a distinguished career as a clinical academic and public servant. Dame Sally graduated from Manchester Medical School in 1972 and became a Consultant Haematologist specialising in sickle cell disease. In 1997 she was appointed as Honorary Professor of Haemoglobinopathies at Imperial College. Dame Sally was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health from 2004-2016. In 2006 she founded the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and was the Inaugural Director. In 2013 she established and became a Non-Executive Director of Genomics England Ltd (GEL) which sequenced 100,000 whole genomes of NHS patients. Dame Sally was the Chief Medical Officer for England and Senior Medical Advisor to the UK Government from 2011-2019. She authorised 11 independent annual reports and 3 special reports: Medical Cannabis, Screen Times for Children and Obesity in Childhood. She has become a leading figure in global health including serving as a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board 2014-2016 and as co-convener of the United Nations Inter-Agency Co-ordination Group (IACG) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) reporting in 2019. She has championed the need to address AMR across all sections: human and animal health, agriculture and environment within the UN family and globally. In 2019 Dame Sally was appointed as the UK Government’s Special Envoy for Global AMR. Dame Sally received her DBE in 2009. She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014 and a member of the National Academy of Medicine, USA in 2015. She has been awarded more than 30 honorary doctorate degrees.

Dr Mimi Gates

  • Trustee Emerita. Former Director of the Seattle Art Museum and Yale University Art Gallery
Dr Mimi Gates

Dr Mimi Gates

  • Trustee Emerita. Former Director of the Seattle Art Museum and Yale University Art Gallery

Mimi Gardner Gates was director of the Seattle Art Museum for fifteen years and is now director emerita, overseeing the Gardner Center for Asian Art and Ideas. Previously, she spent nineteen years at Yale University Art Gallery, the last seven-and-a-half of those years as director. She is a fellow of the Yale Corporation; Chairman of the Dunhuang Foundation; Chairman of the Blakemore Foundation; a trustee of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum; a trustee of the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, and serves on the boards of the Yale University Art Gallery, the Northwest African American Museum, the Terra Foundation and Copper Canyon Press. Dr. Gates formerly chaired the National Indemnity Program at the National Endowment for the Arts and served on the Getty Leadership Institute Advisory Committee.

Professor Usha Goswami CBE FRS FBA

  • Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. Founding Director of the Centre for Neuroscience in Education.
Professor Usha Goswami CBE FRS FBA

Professor Usha Goswami CBE FRS FBA

  • Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. Founding Director of the Centre for Neuroscience in Education.

Usha Goswami CBE FRS FBA is Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. She is also founding Director of the Centre for Neuroscience in Education. After training as a primary school teacher, Usha decided to pursue research in child psychology, focusing on reading development and dyslexia. Most recently, she has been studying the neural mechanisms underpinning language encoding. Her research goal is to understand the brain basis of dyslexia and speech and language difficulties, to improve children’s experience of both diagnosis and remediation. She has received a number of awards for her research, including the British Psychology Society’s Spearman Medal and President’s Award and the Norman Geschwind-Rodin Prize for Dyslexia research, Sweden. Her work in developing the new discipline of neuroscience in education was recognised in 2019 by the Yidan Prize for Education Research, the largest international education research prize globally.

Dr Jonathan Holloway

  • President of Rutgers University
Dr Jonathan Holloway

Dr Jonathan Holloway

  • President of Rutgers University

Jonathan Holloway, who was appointed the 21st president of Rutgers in 2020, is an eminent historian specializing in post-emancipation United States history with a focus on social and intellectual history. Dr. Holloway is the author of several books, most recently The Cause of Freedom: A Concise History of African Americans, published last year. Prior to accepting the presidency of Rutgers, Dr. Holloway was provost of Northwestern University from 2017 to 2020 and a member of the faculty of Yale University from 1999 to 2017. At Yale, he served as Dean of Yale College and the Edmund S. Morgan Professor of African American Studies, History, and American Studies. He earned his bachelor’s degree with honors in American studies from Stanford University and a PhD in history from Yale University. Dr. Holloway serves on several boards, including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Gates Cambridge Trust, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. He is a Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr Julia Li

  • Co-Founder & CEO, Micrographia Bio; Gates Cambridge Scholar (2008 - 2013)
Dr Julia Li

Dr Julia Li

  • Co-Founder & CEO, Micrographia Bio; Gates Cambridge Scholar (2008 - 2013)

Julia completed a PhD Engineering in 2012, which focused on innovative financing solutions for global health. Stemming from her PhD research at Gates Cambridge, she originated, raised and deployed the world's first $108mm Global Health Investment Fund with Lion's Head Global Partners and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The purpose of the fund was to provide financing to advance the development of drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other interventions against diseases that disproportionately burden low-income countries. Before coming to Cambridge, Julia qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG's Canadian biotechnology practice and undertook projects for a variety of organisations including GAVI and WHO. During her time in Cambridge, Julia co-founded the African Innovation Prize, served on the University Council, and initiated and convened the Cambridge Global Health Commercialization and Funding Roundtable. Julia is currently based in London's White City biomedical campus as Co-Founder & CEO of Micrographia Bio, a deeptech bio company focused on applying machine learning to bioimaging to accelerate drug discovery.

Professor Bhaskar Vira

  • Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Environmental Sustainability at University of Cambridge; Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
Professor Bhaskar Vira

Professor Bhaskar Vira

  • Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Environmental Sustainability at University of Cambridge; Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

Professor Bhaskar Vira, FAcSS, is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, and Professor of Political Economy at the Department of Geography, a Fellow of Fitzwilliam Colleage, and an Honorary Fellow of St John's College. Trained as an economist, Bhaskar's research focuses on the political economy of land-use and landscape level strategies, water use and management, forest management, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and human well-being, with a specific focus on South Asia. He works with a number of PhD students and early career researchers on his broad interests in the political economy of environment and development, and has collaborations with colleagues in both academic and non-academic institutions in South Asia and around the world. He is currently leading a major initiative on Decent Work and Youth Livelihoods. He has led large scale applied research projects that involve interdisciplinary conversations across the natural and social services, and contributes regularly to policy advisory processes across the science-policy interface.

Lord Simon Woolley Kt

  • Principal, Homerton College, Cambridge and Crossbencher in the House of Lords
Lord Simon Woolley Kt

Lord Simon Woolley Kt

  • Principal, Homerton College, Cambridge and Crossbencher in the House of Lords

Lord Simon Woolley is the Founding Director of Operation Black Vote, the internationally renowned campaigning NGO which he launched in 1996. OBV works with ethnic minorities in the UK to increase understanding of civic society, participation in Parliament and public life, and to promote equality and human rights. Formerly an Equality and Human Rights Commissioner, in 2018 Lord Woolley was appointed by Prime Minister Theresa May to create and lead the UK Government’s pioneering Race Disparity Unit. The Unit collects, analyses and publishes data on how crime, education and health are affected by ethnicity. Fostered and then adopted as a small child, Lord Woolley grew up on a council estate in Leicester, and left school without A-levels. He later returned to formal study via an access course and gained a BA in Spanish and English Literature at Middlesex University and an MA in Hispanic Studies at Queen Mary University of London. He is passionate about educational access and the importance of recognising and supporting marginalised potential. Lord Woolley has a track record of addressing representational imbalances, transforming institutions, and nurturing individuals. His cross-party and cross-sector work with Operation Black Vote has seen the number of MPs from black and minority ethnic backgrounds rise from 4 to 65 over the past two decades. In collaboration with Magdalen College, Oxford, he has been instrumental in the development of Pathway to Success, a programme designed to equip future BME leaders with the tools and knowledge required for senior leadership. Repeatedly recognised in the Black Powerlist, Lord Woolley is dedicated to promoting opportunity for underrepresented communities and individuals, and to building consensus across political and community lines. Simon Woolley was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2019 and was created a life peer in December of the same year. He sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Westminster in 2012. He is a regular contributor to newspapers nationally and internationally on topics relating to equality, diversity and social justice.

Officers & Staff

A small team, headed by the Provost, is responsible for managing the Gates Cambridge Scholarships programme.

Professor Eilis Ferran FBA

  • Provost
  • Professor of Company and Securities Law at the University of Cambridge, and Emeritus Professorial Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge
Professor Eilis Ferran FBA

Professor Eilis Ferran FBA

  • Provost
  • Professor of Company and Securities Law at the University of Cambridge, and Emeritus Professorial Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge

Professor Eilís Ferran, FBA PhD is Professor of Company and Securities Law at the University of Cambridge, and the Tom Ivory Professorial Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. Eilís has written extensively on UK, EU and international financial regulation, company law and corporate finance law. Her publications include Brexit and Financial Services (Hart Publishing, 2018 (co-authored), The Oxford Handbook of Financial Regulation (OUP, 2015, co-edited) Principles of Corporate Finance Law (OUP, 2014, co-authored) and The Regulatory Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis (CUP 2012, co-authored). She has advised UK Parliamentary committees and served as an academic member of the Stakeholder Group of the European Banking Authority. She is a non-executive director of Euroclear SA/NV and is the Chair of its Nominations and Governance Committee. Eilís is a Fellow of the British Academy and an Honorary Bencher of Middle Temple. Between 2012 and 2015 she served as Chair of the Law Faculty. Between 2015 and 2021 she was the University's Pro Vice Chancellor for Institutional and International Relations. In that role, she was the academic strategic lead for staff and for significant international partnerships, led the modernisation of career paths, oversaw the University's response as an employer to COVID-19, and was instrumental in the establishment of the Strategic Partnerships Office.

Dr Jade Tran

  • Director of Finance
Dr Jade Tran

Dr Jade Tran

  • Director of Finance

Jade is the Director of Finance at Gates Cambridge. She is responsible for the Trust’s financial and investment functions and is part of the Trust’s senior management team. Prior to joining the Trust, she served as Finance Manager for Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, having previously been Finance Business Partner at the British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council. Jade is a chartered accountant and holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Cambridge.

Dr Regina Sachers

  • Secretary to the Trustees
  • Director of Governance and Compliance at the University of Cambridge and Secretary to the Trustees in that capacity
Dr Regina Sachers

Dr Regina Sachers

  • Secretary to the Trustees
  • Director of Governance and Compliance at the University of Cambridge and Secretary to the Trustees in that capacity

Director of Governance and Compliance, University of Cambridge

Dr Holly Tilbrook

  • Interim Director
Dr Holly Tilbrook

Dr Holly Tilbrook

  • Interim Director

Luisa Clarke

  • Programme Manager
Luisa Clarke

Luisa Clarke

  • Programme Manager

Luisa joined Gates Cambridge in October 2015, having previously worked at Cambridge Judge Business School. She brings considerable student recruitment and admissions experience to the team. A graduate of Cardiff University, where she read European Studies, in her spare time Luisa enjoys reading, travel and is a regular Parkrunner on a Saturday. She looks forward to working with the diverse Gates Cambridge community.

Jack Earl

  • Global Engagement Officer
Jack Earl

Jack Earl

  • Global Engagement Officer

Jack joined Gates Cambridge in January 2024, and brings a wealth of experience in community building within a higher education setting. Jack was a member of Darwin College during his PGCE, and also holds a BSc (Biology) and MRes (Risk & Disaster Reduction). In his spare time, Jack enjoys spending time with his young family, traveling, and playing golf.

Dr Carlos Podadera

  • Programme Officer
Dr Carlos Podadera

Dr Carlos Podadera

  • Programme Officer

Carlos joined Gates Cambridge in February 2019 after a nine year stint at the International Programmes Department of Pembroke College, Cambridge University, where he was the Senior Coordinator of the Pembroke-King’s Programme and the Tutor of a group of Spring Semester Programme students. In parallel to that he obtained his PhD on Gothic narrative conventions and Spanish literature of the fin de siècle in Anglia Ruskin University in 2018. In his spare time he enjoys reading crime fiction and he is a big fan of Ian Rankin’s John Rebus novels.

Arianna Koffler-Sluijter

  • Programme Assistant
Arianna Koffler-Sluijter

Arianna Koffler-Sluijter

  • Programme Assistant

Arianna joined the Gates Cambridge Trust in March 2024, after working at Girton College Library as a Library Assistant since finishing her MPhil in Early Modern History in 2023. During her MPhil, she was a member of St Edmund’s College and an active member of the University’s Jiu-Jitsu club. Prior to moving to Cambridge, Arianna worked for English Heritage, and the St George’s, University of London, library. She graduated with a First Class Honours degree in History from Queen Mary, University of London, in 2021.

Mandy Garner

  • Communications Officer
Mandy Garner

Mandy Garner

  • Communications Officer

As well as working as Gates Cambridge's Communuciations Officer one and half days a week, Mandy works on the Festival of Ideas and the Cambridge Series at the Hay Festival, organising debates and publicising events. Mandy’s background is in education and health journalism. She was features editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement and also worked for the BBC as a senior broadcast journalist as well as for the writers' association International PEN as a researcher on freedom of expression issues.

Usha Virdee

  • Accounts Officer
Usha Virdee

Usha Virdee

  • Accounts Officer

Usha Virdee joined the Gates Cambridge Trust in March 2009 and holds the position of Accounts Officer. Previously she worked as an Accounts Administrator for Magdalene College. Usha studied Pharmacology at university. She enjoys travelling and visiting many different countries.

Mr Pak Fung

  • Management Accountant
Mr Pak Fung

Mr Pak Fung

  • Management Accountant

Scholars' Council

The Scholars’ Council is funded by the Trust and supports the aims of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship to create a network of responsible global leaders. Drawing on the experiences and aspirations of the entire Gates Cambridge Community, the Council strives to enrich the academic, social and professional lives of all Scholars.

Mr Zhaoting Justin Wei

  • President
  • The President/Chair of the Scholars' Council oversees its activities and liaises with the Trust on behalf of Scholars. Contact the President at president@gatescouncil.org
Mr Zhaoting Justin Wei

Mr Zhaoting Justin Wei

  • President
  • The President/Chair of the Scholars' Council oversees its activities and liaises with the Trust on behalf of Scholars. Contact the President at president@gatescouncil.org

Born and raised in Hong Kong, I am very grateful to have had teachers who from early on nurtured my passion for historical inquiry. My research to date has centred around post-imperial projects of world-making and solidarity. As an undergraduate, I investigated postcolonial economic thought in the Caribbean, with a particular focus on Michael Manley, members of the New World Group, and advocacy for the New International Economic Order. During my MPhil, I returned to the topic of the New International Economic Order, examining how various British constituencies responded to this bold programme demanding global economic reform. At Cambridge, I intend to explore an adjacent instance of postcolonial ‘world-making’ by examining how networks and expressions of Afro-Asian solidarity in support of the Black Power movement emerged and evolved – both across the Caribbean and within the United Kingdom. I hope that this research will shed light not only on how intersectional solidarity manifests and operates, but also on the implications of such historical solidarity for contemporary anti-racism movements. I am honoured to be able to pursue this research as part of the Gates Cambridge community.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Economic and Social History 2022
Harvard University History 2021

Mr Joshua Weygant

  • Vice President
  • The Vice-President works with the President to coordinate Council activities and to liaise with the Trust. Contact vice-president@gatescouncil.org
Mr Joshua Weygant

Mr Joshua Weygant

  • Vice President
  • The Vice-President works with the President to coordinate Council activities and to liaise with the Trust. Contact vice-president@gatescouncil.org

"Can we print a functional intestine?" This was my first question when I saw how living cells were printed with a 3D printer. It's perhaps oddly specific, but due to Hirschsprung disease, a large part of my intestine was removed when I was a baby, and I spent countless days in the hospital. Therefore, I know how advances in science and technology can dramatically increase patients' quality of life, and these experiences formed my research interest. I first studied physics engineering at the RheinMain University, and then, during my Masters at the University of Freiburg, I fell in love with the field of biofabrication, which also led me to research at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. In Cambridge, I will investigate how we can utilize bioprinting to fabricate multi-organ-on-chip systems which potentially can be used for personalized medicine. Next to science, I am passionate about higher-education politics. I believe everybody, regardless of their social and economic background, should have the same opportunities for an education, which is simply not the case yet. I am incredibly honored to join the Gates Cambridge community and deeply grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their support.

Previous Education

Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg Microsystems Engineering 2022
Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM) Physics Engineering 2018

Ms Janani Mohan

  • Alumni Officer
  • The Alumni Officer works to connect the Scholar and Alumni communities. Contact the Alumni Officer at alumni@gatescouncil.org
Ms Janani Mohan

Ms Janani Mohan

  • Alumni Officer
  • The Alumni Officer works to connect the Scholar and Alumni communities. Contact the Alumni Officer at alumni@gatescouncil.org

I am pursuing a PhD in Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University, researching European nuclear & human rights frameworks. I am a policy analyst with a background in technology, development, and security policy for leading think tanks, government, and international organizations. I hold a Masters in International Policy from Stanford University and Bachelors in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. My experiences include collaborating with the United Nations Innovation Cell to monitor open-source information from the War in Ukraine, consulting with the United Nations Development Programme in South Africa to increase technology access for marginalized youth, supporting the U.S. Department of State on nuclear nonproliferation initiatives, and researching at Stanford University on human rights institutions in Southeast Asia. I am also an avid researcher and author, publishing with organizations like the Stimson Center, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and Smithsonian Institution. I have represented my research at international conferences including at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Austria, Nehru Memorial Museum in India, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the U.S. Beyond my diverse policy interests, I co-founded a nonprofit that provided free career development and mental health mentorship virtually in over 35 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am especially passionate about promoting youth literacy and education, and have tutored immigrant youth in core subjects, organized textbook donations for low-income schools, and became certified in TEFL to teach English as a foreign language. In my personal time, I enjoy exploring the world around me and can be found reflecting in nature or listening to music. I also enjoy learning new languages, creating art, and spending time with my dog, Rishi. To connect with me, visit www.linkedin.com/in/justjanani or www.justjanani.com

Previous Education

Stanford University International Policy/Security 2022
Diplomatic Academy of Vienna Exchange Program from Stanford 2021
University of California, Berkeley Political Science 2019

Mr Jannis Jakobs

  • Community Officer
  • The Gates Community Officers are responsible for fostering an inclusive Gates Community. Contact the Gates Community Officer at community@gatescouncil.org
Mr Jannis Jakobs

Mr Jannis Jakobs

  • Community Officer
  • The Gates Community Officers are responsible for fostering an inclusive Gates Community. Contact the Gates Community Officer at community@gatescouncil.org

Growing up in small-town Germany I developed an interest in foreign languages because I associated with them cultures and places that lay beyond my reach, and which therefore seemed exotic and fascinating. I went on to study general linguistics at the University of Düsseldorf, where I first came into contact with Old English, the language of medieval England before and for some time after the Norman Conquest of 1066. As a consequence of this military and political event, French became an important language in England, replacing Old English - itself the language of previous migrants from the Continent - in some contexts and interacting with it in a way that changed both the French (dialects) of the invaders and the English (dialects) of the conquered. My PhD research is concerned with these linguistic influences, in particular with regard to the orthography and pronunciation of English.Having been a tutor and student representative at my previous university, I am also passionate about widening access to education and fostering community among students.

Previous Education

Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf Linguistics 2022
Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf Linguistics 2019

Ms Spatika Jayaram

  • Community Officer
  • The Gates Community Officers are responsible for fostering an inclusive Gates Community. Contact the Gates Community Officer at community@gatescouncil.org
Ms Spatika Jayaram

Ms Spatika Jayaram

  • Community Officer
  • The Gates Community Officers are responsible for fostering an inclusive Gates Community. Contact the Gates Community Officer at community@gatescouncil.org

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

Mr Anoop Tripathi

  • Technology Officer
  • The Technology Officers are responsible for maintaining the electronic hardware and software in the Scholars' Common Room. Email: tech@gatescouncil.org
Mr Anoop Tripathi

Mr Anoop Tripathi

  • Technology Officer
  • The Technology Officers are responsible for maintaining the electronic hardware and software in the Scholars' Common Room. Email: tech@gatescouncil.org

As a Biochemistry Master’s student, in India, I developed an interest in Plant Sciences. As a Research Fellow, in New Delhi, my research focused on understanding the evolution of photosynthesis, which is useful to plant breeders for varietal trait development and Food Security. Previously, in a collaborative research project at Cambridge, we identified that monocots graft at the root-shoot interface, this pivotal work overturned the long-standing consensus that monocots cannot graft. Further, I am working on translational impact of the grafting approach using perennial monocots, which will be useful in imparting disease resistance in economically relevant crops like banana and oil palms. During my Gates Cambridge PhD Scholarship, I will aim to integrate the most efficient version of photosynthesis, known as the C4 pathway in rice, using the newly developed technique of cereal grafting and hybridisation. Rice is a global food staple and converting rice to use C4 photosynthesis is expected to not only increase yields by 50% but will also enhance water and nitrogen use efficiency. My research vision is to carry out cutting-edge fundamental and translational research that will lead to real impact to farmers both in India and globally.

Previous Education

University of Lucknow Biochemistry 2010
University of Lucknow Botany/Chemistry/Zoology 2008

Ms Sonia Fereidooni

  • Technology Officer
  • The Technology Officers are responsible for maintaining the electronic hardware and software in the Scholars' Common Room. Email: tech@gatescouncil.org
Ms Sonia Fereidooni

Ms Sonia Fereidooni

  • Technology Officer
  • The Technology Officers are responsible for maintaining the electronic hardware and software in the Scholars' Common Room. Email: tech@gatescouncil.org

I was born in Eastern Canada and raised in rural Washington-State in the US. I completed my BS in Computer Science & Data Science, my BA in Sociology, and my MS in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. I had the honor of researching three different branches of Computer Science: (1) AI Bias, Ethics, Fairness, and Governance, (2) Commonsense Reasoning and development in AI, (3) Designing equitable pedagogies in Computer Science curricula, (and anything else that interests me in a manic spur of the moment). I have also had industry experience in AI development at Google Brain, DeepMind, and AI2. During my PhD in Digital Humanities at Cambridge, I hope to research how to effectively legislate AI governance in protection of intersectional identities from the Global South, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. I hope to pursue fieldwork in critical areas that are most adversely-affected by the recent accelerated developments of AI, and research how it is that AI can be universally-regulated to avoid such outcomes. In deep gratitude, I am honored to join the Gates Cambridge community and continue to learn about the humanities’ intersections with technology from scholars of other fields.

Previous Education

University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering 2024
University of Washington Computer Science 2022
University of Washington Sociology 2022

Miss Olabimpe Olayinka

  • Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Officer
  • The Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility Officer is responsible for fostering a diverse and inclusive community of scholars where everyone feels valued. Contact at edi@gatescouncil.org
Miss Olabimpe Olayinka

Miss Olabimpe Olayinka

  • Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Officer
  • The Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility Officer is responsible for fostering a diverse and inclusive community of scholars where everyone feels valued. Contact at edi@gatescouncil.org

I grew up in Ogun State, Nigeria. My community’s rich heritage in the use of herbal medicines for disease treatment inspired me to study Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where I learned about novel approaches to natural product-based drug discovery. Subsequently, I received a merit-based scholarship for my Master’s degree program in Pharmacognosy. My research focused on the in vitro cytotoxicity of Nigerian medicinal plants used for cancer treatment. Having lost loved ones to cancer, and being challenged by the high rate of cancer mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa, my passion to tackle the scourge of cancer was further consolidated. At Cambridge, my doctoral research will deploy computer-aided-drug-design tools to discover novel plant-derived anticancer molecules. My goal is to develop affordable and effective targeted therapies for treating BRCA-mutant cancers, which would improve the survival and quality of life of patients. I am honored to be a part of the Gates Cambridge community, and I intend to leverage my experience as a Gates Scholar to help expand global access to life-saving medicines.

Previous Education

University of Ibadan Pharmacognosy 2021
University of Ibadan Pharmacy 2016

Mr Mathijs Clement

  • Social Officer
  • The Social Officer plans a variety of events in Cambridge and trips further afield throughout the year. Contact the Social Officer at social@gatescouncil.org
Mr Mathijs Clement

Mr Mathijs Clement

  • Social Officer
  • The Social Officer plans a variety of events in Cambridge and trips further afield throughout the year. Contact the Social Officer at social@gatescouncil.org

Out of a wide range of interests, I always return to Classical Studies as a unique mirror for better understanding today’s world. After obtaining a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Latin and Greek at Ghent University, Belgium, the Flemish Government granted me funding (a ‘Fayat’ scholarship) to pursue an MPhil in Classics at Cambridge. I am intrigued by late antiquity – a period of lasting religious, political and sociocultural change. In my PhD, I aim to study two late antique authors, a church leader (Gregory of Nazianzus) and a professor of rhetoric (Ausonius of Bordeaux). With the generous help of Gates Cambridge, I hope to understand how these authors presented themselves in relation to the different places where they lived. Studying place, self-presentation, and migration in late antiquity will hopefully help to nuance our understanding of identity, not only in the past but also today.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Classics 2023
Universiteit Gent (University of Ghent) Linguistics and Literature 2022
Universiteit Gent (University of Ghent) Latin - Greek 2021

Mr Angello Alcazar

  • Editor-in-Chief of The Scholar magazine
  • The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the production of the annual The Scholar magazine. Email: eic@gatescouncil.org
Mr Angello Alcazar

Mr Angello Alcazar

  • Editor-in-Chief of The Scholar magazine
  • The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the production of the annual The Scholar magazine. Email: eic@gatescouncil.org

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

Jigisha Bhattacharya

  • Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Scholar magazine
  • The DEIC supports the EIC in the production of The Scholar magazine. Email: deic@gatescouncil.org
Jigisha Bhattacharya

Jigisha Bhattacharya

  • Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Scholar magazine
  • The DEIC supports the EIC in the production of The Scholar magazine. Email: deic@gatescouncil.org

Growing up in a small town in Bengal, I turned sensitive to conflicts between communities and identities from an early age. While pursuing my BA in English (Hons.) at Presidency University, Kolkata, my MA in English at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and my MPhil. in Social Sciences at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, I became interested in how literary and cultural forms share a reciprocal relationship with political ideations and events. As a firm believer in public-facing academic work, I have also curated and written extensively on gender, culture, and literature. Further, teaching undergraduate students at the Jindal Global Law School in India has taught me the transformative potential of pedagogic spaces and the need for an egalitarian academic atmosphere. The steep rise of political incarceration in contemporary India has motivated my doctoral project which traces prison experiences of Indian women activists in literary and archival expressions. Through my scholarship and community engagement, I hope to explore how conditions of marginalisation enable responsibility, solidarity, and hope.

Previous Education

Jadavpur University Social Sciences 2019
Jawaharlal Nehru University English 2017

Scholars’ Alumni Advisory Committee

Following the Gates Cambridge Alumni Association’s strategic review of its mission and purpose, in December 2023 the Gates Cambridge Trust Board of Trustees agreed that the Trust should assume more of the operational responsibility for alumni activity under the guidance of an alumni advisory committee.  To implement this decision, we are now in the process of establishing the Gates Cambridge Scholars’ Alumni Advisory Committee (SAAC), which will serve as a voice for the Gates Cambridge Scholars global alumni community to the Gates Cambridge Trust and its officers. The SAAC will provide strategic advice to the Trust to help maximise the impact of alumni engagement programming.

Libby Blanchard

Libby Blanchard

  • Co-Chair

I arrived at Cambridge in 2012 to pursue an MPhil in Environment, Society and Development to learn how best to negotiate environmental pressures when alleviating poverty through economic growth. I am particularly interested in developing policies that address both extreme poverty and biodiversity loss--two of the most critical challenges of our era. In 2013, I received a second Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a PhD that addresses climate change policy and environmental justice, and received my PhD in 2017. Before Cambridge, I worked for six years directing international development and conservation initiatives for a coffee importing company. In this role, I raised over $4 million for livelihood improvement programs, some of which were featured at the Clinton Global Initiative and in National Geographic's Wild Chronicles series.

Darja Irdam

  • Co-Chair
Darja Irdam

Darja Irdam

  • Co-Chair

At the University of Cambridge, I studied the political economy of health. During my PhD, I studied the link between privatisation policies and increased alcohol-related mortality rates. I have worked in health and healthcare research since I completed my studies because I am passionate about health and healthcare and I believe that we can use our achievements in science and technology to improve people's health all over the world. As a Gates Cambridge alumna, I strive to make people believe they can create change and improve not only their own lives but also the lives of others.

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/darja-irdam-b76365158

Paul Bergen

  • SAAC Member
Paul Bergen

Paul Bergen

  • SAAC Member

I work as a management consultant with a focus on healthcare, mostly in life sciences. My work uses a variety of data sources to understand customer needs and improve my client's efforts toward patient centricity in the products and services they offer. I'm a passionate believer that analytics and human-centered design should inform strategy.

I also am a leader in my firm's internal think-tank, focused on tackling big topics that impact people's healthcare. We leverage a variety of data sources and market research from around to world to study topics in public health, healthcare disruption, digital transformation, and medical development.

Previous Education

Auburn University BS Microbiology/ BA German 2012

Elizabeth Dzeng

  • SAAC Member
Elizabeth Dzeng

Elizabeth Dzeng

  • SAAC Member

Dr. Dzeng is a sociologist and hospitalist physician conducting research at the nexus of sociology, medical ethics, palliative and end-of-life care, and human-centered design. She is an Assistant Professor at UCSF in the Division of Palliative Medicine and Social and Behavioral Sciences, Sociology program. She is an affiliated faculty member of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health based at the Global Brain Health Institute at UCSF's Memory and Aging Center. She completed her PhD in Medical Sociology and an MPhil in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge at King’s College as a Gates Cambridge Scholar and was a General Internal Medicine post-doctoral clinical research fellow and palliative care research fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. As an undergraduate and engineering graduate student at Stanford, she participated in the first class of Stanford's Biodesign Innovation program where she co-invented and patented a device to non-invasively cool the heart through the esophagus to prevent myocardial damage during a myocardial infarction (US Patent 7,758,623; 2010). In August, 2019 this patent was licensed to Attune Medical.Her current research examines the influence of neoliberalism and specifically the culture and ethical implications of neoliberalism on an institution's ethical priorities in the United States and United Kingdom and its effects on the provision of non-beneficial high-intensity life-sustaining treatments near the end of life in older adults with dementia and serious illness. This research builds on her doctoral research which explored the influence of institutional cultures and policies on physicians’ ethical beliefs and how that impacts the way they communicate in end of life decision-making conversations. Through a comparative ethnography employing semi-structured in-depth interviews and participant observation, Dr. Dzeng seeks to understanding the macro-, meso-, and micro-sociological factors (and in particular ethical decision-making climate) that contribute to potentially non-beneficial high-intensity care near the end of life. Using this ethnographic data, she will subsequently co-design a systems-level intervention using human-centered design to mitigate the culture of burdensome end-of-life care.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge MPhil in Development Studies 2008
Johns' Hopkins University MPH, Public Health, MD, Medicine 2007
Stanford University BS, Biology, MS, Chemical Engineering 2003

Hamish Forsyth

  • SAAC Member
Hamish Forsyth

Hamish Forsyth

  • SAAC Member

The focus of my MBA is international entrepreneurship, as well as its socially transformative role. Previously, I studied philosophy and law, and worked as a clerk to an appellate Justice, then as a diplomat and trade negotiator. I have very broad interests, so I'm looking forward to learning from the diverse range of talented, excited, people I will meet at Cambridge. I hope to collaborate with others to identify new opportunities at a university famed for its innovation in a wide variety of fields, including in applied sciences.

Ryan Geiser

  • SAAC Member
Ryan Geiser

Ryan Geiser

  • SAAC Member

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

Maria Pawlowska

  • SAAC Member
Maria Pawlowska

Maria Pawlowska

  • SAAC Member

Science policy and administration expert with a focus on research and development management, quantum technologies. data management and international relations.

Links

https://www.visnea.org/team
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-pawlowska-a77ab334

Luis Welbanks

  • SAAC member
Luis Welbanks

Luis Welbanks

  • SAAC member

My experience in life taught me not to conform with the stereotypes imposed by those in power. I believe that every person can achieve greatness and should be allowed to fulfill their dreams. Being a Mexican, I see science as the means to take down the walls built by those trying to divide us, empower people to make informed decisions and appreciate that all lives have equal value. My passion for science transformed into a deep curiosity to understand our universe and the conditions that allowed for our existence. My desire to understand the world took me from Mexico to Canada where I became the first person at the University of Calgary to finish two majors in physics and astrophysics in four years. Later, I joined Dr. Rachid Ouyed and his group to study the Quark Nova, its astronomical signatures and implications. Now in Cambridge, I am honoured to join Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan and his group in studying and characterizing the atmospheres of exoplanets. We are as close as we have ever been to understanding our place in the universe and the uniqueness of our existence. The quest for habitable planets thrills me and I believe that this excitement is shared with the rest of humanity. My path to becoming a Gates-Cambridge scholar has not been linear and I owe a large amount of gratitude to every person who believed in me and helped me become who I am. I hope this opportunity will allow me to inspire others to pursue their goals and create scientific opportunities in Latin America.

Previous Education

University of Calgary

Links

https://luiswelbanks.com