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Blessing Abodunrin
- Scholar-elect
- Nigeria
- 2025 PhD Pathology
- Homerton College
Blessing Abodunrin
- Scholar-elect
- Nigeria
- 2025 PhD Pathology
- Homerton College
As a child who grew up in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, I suffered from multiple episodes of malaria infection. This first-hand experience sparked my interest to understand the mechanism of infectious disease development and progression, which led me to study Biochemistry as an undergraduate. Subsequently, during my master's program at Covenant University, my research explored the possibility of identifying new therapeutic approaches to tackle malaria by disrupting the gene regulatory mechanism of malaria parasites. The findings from this study and the alarming rate of malaria mortality further strengthened my resolve to address this challenge. At Cambridge, I will join the Merrick Group to explore the novel field of histone lactylation and its impact on the virulence of malaria parasites. I am excited about the potential this work holds for developing better antimalarial therapies with low propensity for resistance. I feel deeply honoured to have joined the Gates community, and I look forward to an enriching experience of growth and global impact.
Previous Education
EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY BIOCHEMISTRY
COVENANT UNIVERSITY BIOCHEMISTRY
Reham Aboud
- Scholar-elect
- Egypt
- 2025 PhD Digital Humanities
- King's College
Reham Aboud
- Scholar-elect
- Egypt
- 2025 PhD Digital Humanities
- King's College
Growing up in the vibrant and culturally rich region of the Middle East—Egypt in particular—instilled in me a deep sense of care and commitment to supporting others. After years of training in literary and cultural studies and their entanglements with digitality, my interdisciplinary research at Cambridge focuses on harnessing AI to support vulnerable and marginalised activist communities, especially literary authors, in expressing themselves under authoritarianism. By reframing AI not as a tool of oppression but as a medium for resistance, my work challenges dominant narratives and empowers silenced voices. I aim to develop conceptual and practical frameworks that decolonise AI studies, expand ethics-based approaches to digital humanities, and redefine the role of literary and cultural scholarship in the age of AI.
Previous Education
Minia University Literature
Naina Agrawal-Hardin
- Scholar-elect
- United States, Canada
- 2025 MPhil Anthropocene Studies
- King's College
Naina Agrawal-Hardin
- Scholar-elect
- United States, Canada
- 2025 MPhil Anthropocene Studies
- King's College
I grew up in Michigan, but my family’s roots are in East Tennessee and Northern Bihar. Although Appalachia and Mithila are a world apart, witnessing climate disasters in both regions has shown me that poor and rural communities across the globe are not only least responsible for climate change, but also most vulnerable to its impacts. My MPhil in Anthropocene Studies at Cambridge will trace the emergence of theories about spatially and socially differentiated climate risks. Drawing on my undergraduate training in History and Energy Studies at Yale University, I will contribute to a growing body of scholarship that documents the history of climate change projections. In particular, I will analyze how those projections were received by a wide range of actors, including governments, fossil fuel companies, and the global public. My research will inform the emerging field of transnational climate litigation and sharpen debates about the distribution of responsibility for today’s climate crisis. I am excited to learn alongside fellow Gates-Cambridge scholars who share my passion for tackling global problems and improving the lives of the people most affected.
Previous Education
Yale University History
Sarah Aguiar Monteiro Borges
- Scholar-elect
- Brazil
- 2025 PhD Psychiatry
- St John's College
Sarah Aguiar Monteiro Borges
- Scholar-elect
- Brazil
- 2025 PhD Psychiatry
- St John's College
Growing up in Goiânia, Brazil, I witnessed how structural and social determinants often triggered and perpetuated psychological distress. As an undergraduate at Harvard, I directed my passion for psychology toward understanding how mental illness stigma impacts help-seeking and service use among the largest cohort of Brazilian youth at high risk for mental illness. My honors thesis findings revealed that youth who endorsed more stigma were significantly less likely to seek and receive treatment. At Cambridge, I aim to build on this work with Dr. Sharon Neufeld to answer key questions: Do mental health services improve outcomes among youth? Which services are most effective, for whom, and under what conditions? In collaboration with people with lived experience, clinicians, and policymakers, I hope to inform service provision in low- and middle-income countries. As the first from my state to study at Harvard College, and now the first Gates Cambridge Scholar, I feel a strong responsibility to use my opportunities to improve the well-being of those often left out of research and policy. I’m deeply grateful to join a community of diverse changemakers who will keep inspiring me to pursue this mission.
Previous Education
University of Oxford Psychology
Harvard University Psychology
Canfer Akbulut
- Scholar-elect
- Turkey
- 2025 PhD Psychology
- Darwin College
Canfer Akbulut
- Scholar-elect
- Turkey
- 2025 PhD Psychology
- Darwin College
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
Aneisa Babkir
- Scholar, Scholar-elect
- United States
- 2024 MPhil Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies
2025 PhD Politics and International Studies - St John's College
Aneisa Babkir
- Scholar, Scholar-elect
- United States
- 2024 MPhil Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies
2025 PhD Politics and International Studies - St John's College
Growing up between my American and Sudanese communities ignited my passion for working in international development. I am particularly committed to socio-economic peacebuilding initiatives in Sudan and to shaping post-conflict reintegration pathways for displaced populations globally. Through my previous undergraduate and MPhil research at Cambridge, Oxford, and American University, I investigated women’s experiences of displacement and structural violence in situations of post-conflict rebuilding. With my PhD research I aim to explore the material, affective, and embodied dimensions of displacement as an enduring socio-political condition in order to reimagine our political and economic approaches to displacement. My hands-on experience in international development spans a variety of projects, including addressing housing insecurity and children’s rights in South America, implementing capacity-building programs for youth in Morocco and Palestine, and working with refugee and educational equity organizations in the US and UK.
I am honored to be awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship for a second time and look forward to continuing my work with this change-making community throughout my PhD journey.
Previous Education
University of Cambridge 2025
American University Washington 2023
University of Oxford, Visiting Scholar 2022
Leo Baek
- Scholar-elect
- United States
- 2025 MPhil Social Anthropology
- Hughes Hall
Leo Baek
- Scholar-elect
- United States
- 2025 MPhil Social Anthropology
- Hughes Hall
As a prospective curator, my work reflects a belief in the museum as a place of empowering representation in spite of its Western-centric foundation. At Stanford University, I helped develop four exhibitions which simultaneously spotlighted non-Western cultural objects and challenged viewers to consider the ethics of collecting practices. I also gained valuable insight as a collections intern for the Cantor Arts Center, educating young audiences through interactive workshops and helping keep the museum up-to-date with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Through Cambridge’s MPhil in Social Anthropology, I aim to develop a specific expertise in digital museum anthropology. My coursework and collaboration with Cambridge’s museums will culminate in my search for methodologies which better protect the visibility of sacred objects and human remains in digital archives. The revolutionary, inclusive museum is birthed upon the international collaboration of people and cultures. To that end, joining the Gates Cambridge community is not only symbolic but necessary to my growth as a museum worker.
Previous Education
Stanford University Art History and Archaeology
David Baron
- Scholar-elect
- United States, Colombia
- 2025 MPhil Mathematics
- St John's College
David Baron
- Scholar-elect
- United States, Colombia
- 2025 MPhil Mathematics
- St John's College
David Baron was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. At 16, he immigrated to the U.S. with his mother and brother, aspiring to be the first in his family to attend college. To support his family, he left high school to work full-time, yet continued studying mathematics in his free time, driven by a deep curiosity and love for the subject. After a year, he returned to school with renewed determination, excelling academically while giving back to his community as an ESL instructor and conducting materials engineering research at Penn State University. His dedication led him to become a Questbridge Match Scholar, earning a full-ride scholarship to Williams College. Before attending, he served three years as a combat medic in the U.S. Army National Guard, an experience that deepened his resilience and commitment to mentorship. At Williams, he pursued the mathematics major, mentored students from underrepresented backgrounds, and studied at Oxford University during his junior year. Set to graduate with honors in 2025, he will begin a PhD in applied mathematics at Harvard University after completing his MPhil in Mathematics at Cambridge.
Previous Education
Williams College Mathematics
Robin Bauknecht
- Scholar-elect
- Germany
- 2025 PhD Zoology
- Gonville and Caius College
Robin Bauknecht
- Scholar-elect
- Germany
- 2025 PhD Zoology
- Gonville and Caius College
Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, and understanding how species survive in changing landscapes is essential for effective conservation. One major threat is habitat fragmentation, which disrupts the connectivity species need to survive. I am interested in how animals move and persist in fragmented landscapes and how we can use this understanding to support their conservation. During my studies at ETH Zurich, I conducted research across multiple systems—from fish biodiversity in tropical rivers to shifting mountain treelines across Europe. My Master’s thesis at Yale examined how movement constraints influence space use predictions in endangered whooping cranes. My PhD at Cambridge will combine translocation experiments in Africa with global trait-based modeling to explore how morphology predicts dispersal and connectivity. By linking fieldwork, data synthesis, and spatial modeling, I aim to strengthen conservation planning by scaling connectivity metrics across taxa and grounding them in biological realism. Working under the supervision of Professor Robert Fletcher, I look forward to advancing ecological science and contributing to practical strategies that sustain species persistence in fragmented ecosystems.
Previous Education
Royal Institute of Technology Ecology
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Interdisciplinary Sciences
Hanna Bechiche
- Scholar-elect
- France, Algeria
- 2025 PhD French
- Corpus Christi College
Hanna Bechiche
- Scholar-elect
- France, Algeria
- 2025 PhD French
- Corpus Christi College
As a second-generation Algerian raised in the Parisian banlieue (93), I grew up attuned to the silence surrounding Algeria’s colonial past. To break this silence and uncover the buried stories of French colonisation, I turned to postcolonial studies. In 2020, I began freelancing as a journalist, writing on Algerian history, decolonial theory, and migration in France.I attended a Classe Préparatoire littéraire for my undergraduate studies before reading English at Sorbonne University. During my MPhil at the University of Cambridge, my research focused on epistemic injustice in harki narratives, literary cannibalism, and the symbolism of desert and mountain landscapes in Algerian literature. For my PhD, I will investigate the poetics and politics of the "fugitive voice" in contemporary Algerian writing, examining Francophonie not as a colonial command but as a space of aural resistance.Situated at the intersection of literature, critical theory, and history, my research adopts a decolonial approach to cultural studies, one that aims to foster civic discourse and community engagement. I look forward to joining the 2025 Gates cohort.
Previous Education
Université de Paris Sorbonne - Paris IV History
Université de Paris Sorbonne - Paris IV English Studies
University of Cambridge Literature, Culture, Thought
Bianca Berman
- Scholar-elect
- United States
- 2025 MPhil Sociology
- Pembroke College
Bianca Berman
- Scholar-elect
- United States
- 2025 MPhil Sociology
- Pembroke College
I attended Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where I completed a Bachelor’s in Foreign Service with a focus in International Politics and an accelerated Master’s in Security Studies. Following graduation, I gained experience in both the non-profit and private sectors researching hate crimes, misinformation and disinformation, and emerging threats to international security. Throughout my academic and professional career, I developed a particular interest in the overlap between sociology, security studies, and media studies, examining the role film can play in shaping audiences’ perceptions of social issues. Through the MPhil in Sociology of Media and Culture at Cambridge University, I aim to investigate instances in which visual media are used to exacerbate social divisions and promote hate against targeted communities, with the long-term goal of identifying strategies to effectively challenge divisive and harmful narratives.
Previous Education
Georgetown University International Politics
Georgetown University Security Studies
Ishaan Bhadoo
- Scholar-elect
- India
- 2025 PhD Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics
- Trinity College
Ishaan Bhadoo
- Scholar-elect
- India
- 2025 PhD Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics
- Trinity College
I was born in Meerut and completed my schooling in Delhi. I studied mathematics at the Indian Statistical Institute, where I developed a strong interest in probability theory, especially in how randomness interacts with geometry in models like percolation and random walks. I’m currently pursuing Part III of the Mathematical Tripos (MASt) at Cambridge and will soon begin a PhD in mathematics. I look forward to being part of the Gates Cambridge community.
Previous Education
Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore Mathematics
University of Cambridge Mathematics
Floris Bosscher
- Scholar-elect
- Netherlands
- 2025 PhD Divinity
- Wolfson College
Floris Bosscher
- Scholar-elect
- Netherlands
- 2025 PhD Divinity
- Wolfson College
During my bachelor’s in religion at Utrecht University, I have learned to appreciate the unwavering relevance of religion. This included an awareness of the manifold, evocative and sometimes surprising expressions of religious identity in a post-secular Europe. The role of religion in European, specifically Dutch, street culture and its expression in hip-hop is a prime example hereof. Helped by the democratization of digital culture, ethno-religious minorities use such music as a voice to reflect on their marginalised experiences on the ‘streets’, which includes but can by no means be reduced to petty crime. Yet, despite becoming a dominant force within European popular culture, this voice has often been distorted, misheard, or ignored, especially its religious dimensions. Instead, politicians and media outlets portray street culture as superficial and as a mere breeding ground for the growing European drug trade. Building on my MPhil research, I seek to challenge this one-dimensional view by focusing on the complex moral lives of street cultural agents as informed by their religious sensibilities. With my experience in journalism, policy, and political analysis, I am deeply committed to translating this to wider society.
Previous Education
London School of Economics & Political Science (Un Culture and Conflict
University of Cambridge Theology
Hana Butler
- Scholar-elect
- United States, Mexico
- 2025 MPhil Micro- and Nanotechnology Enterprise
- Churchill College
Hana Butler
- Scholar-elect
- United States, Mexico
- 2025 MPhil Micro- and Nanotechnology Enterprise
- Churchill College
I was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, and studied Mechanical Engineering at Brown University. As a senior, I joined the Applied Mechanics Lab and fell in love with experimental research on microstructures. I learned that designing lattice architectures can create materials that are stiffer, tougher, or more energy-absorptive. This world of engineering and design felt like a form of sculpture—one where nature’s principles and perfect designs guide material innovation. During my MPhil in Micro & Nanotechnology Enterprise at Cambridge, I hope to deepen my understanding of how micro- and nanostructures influence material performance, with a focus on scalable manufacturing techniques. I believe that microstructures have the potential to revolutionize industries by allowing the development of stronger, lighter, and more efficient components.As a woman in STEM, I want to help redefine who gets to shape the future of engineering. I am proud to represent my family, Mexico, and the US, and hope to pave the way for more women to push boundaries in science and technology. I’m honored to join the Gates Cambridge community and create tiny structures to drive massive advancements that can make the world a better place.
Previous Education
Brown University Mechanical Engineering
Yiyi Cai
- Scholar-elect
- United States
- 2025 MPhil Advanced Computer Science
- Churchill College
Yiyi Cai
- Scholar-elect
- United States
- 2025 MPhil Advanced Computer Science
- Churchill College
Growing up in Beijing, China, before moving to the U.S. for high school, I have been drawn to the fundamental questions of nature—both how we can use computation to understand it and how nature itself can be harnessed as a computational resource. This curiosity led me to quantum information theory, where I have been excited to explore the fundamental capabilities of quantum computers with theoretical guarantees. Throughout my undergraduate career at the California Institute of Technology, I worked on quantum simulations, quantum algorithms, and quantum error correction, where I have been fascinated by how techniques in theoretical computer science could be applied to help illuminate physical phenomena. At University of Cambridge, I will be pursuing a MPhil in Advanced Computer Science to further my understanding of interdisciplinary approaches that integrate physics, computer science, and mathematics to push the boundaries of quantum technology. I am excited to contribute to the future of quantum computing as both a researcher and, hopefully, one day as an educator, and I look forward to being part of the Gates Cambridge scholar community.
Previous Education
California Institute of Technology Electrical Engineering
Asja Campara
- Scholar-elect
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 2025 MPhil Stem Cell Medicine
- King's College
Asja Campara
- Scholar-elect
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 2025 MPhil Stem Cell Medicine
- King's College
Having lived my entire life in a developing country, I’ve seen firsthand how inaccessible life-saving therapies can be—especially for diseases like cancer, where high recurrence rates make treatment not only costly but continuous. This reality shaped my commitment to advancing cancer therapies aimed at curing, not just managing.My interest in cancer biology deepened when I joined the R&D team at BiOptimizers as a Research Scientist, focusing on colorectal cancer and the gut microenvironment. While earning my degree in Genetics and Bioengineering at International Burch University, I became particularly interested in the molecular characteristics of stem cells and their role in cancer recurrence.At Cambridge, I will pursue an MPhil in Stem Cell Medicine during which I aim to explore how cancer stem cells contribute to colorectal cancer progression, focusing on their role in micrometastases—undetected cells that often drive relapse. My goal is to help develop long-term, targeted treatment strategies that reduce recurrence and improve outcomes.I am honoured to join the Gates Cambridge community as the second scholar from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the pursuit of more equitable global healthcare.
Previous Education
International Burch University Genetics and Bioengineering
Mario Cépeda Cáceres
- Scholar-elect
- Peru
- 2025 PhD Latin American Studies
- Robinson College
Mario Cépeda Cáceres
- Scholar-elect
- Peru
- 2025 PhD Latin American Studies
- Robinson College
Growing up in Peru, I have long been intrigued by how rural communities cope with the lasting impacts of the internal armed conflict. My academic journey at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú—where I earned both a Bachelor's and a Master's in Anthropology, specialising in transitional justice, human rights, and memory—deepened my commitment to these issues. My work with communities affected by the war, alongside my involvement with victim organisations and my experience as a lecturer and researcher, has enriched my understanding of the complex social and political dynamics in my country. At the University of Cambridge’s Centre of Latin American Studies, my PhD project, titled Andean Spaces of Death: Living with the Traces of the Peruvian Internal Armed Conflict in Rural Communities, will involve ethnographic research. This study explores how rural Andean communities rebuild social ties and cultural identities amid landscapes marked by clandestine burial sites and mass graves. By engaging directly with affected communities, I aim to offer a nuanced analysis of transitional justice in Latin America and contribute insights that may help shape policies from an intercultural and decolonial perspective.
Previous Education
Pontificia Universidad Catolica Del Peru Anthropology
Isaac Chan
- Scholar-elect
- Singapore
- 2025 PhD Biological Science at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
- Trinity College
Isaac Chan
- Scholar-elect
- Singapore
- 2025 PhD Biological Science at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
- Trinity College
I grew up in Singapore and completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Oxford, earning a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. During my second year of undergraduate studies, I developed a fascination with the process of DNA replication. All living organisms are made up of smaller units of life called cells, and each cell contains a set of DNA molecules that carry the genetic information necessary for growth and division. For a cell to divide into two new cells, its DNA must be replicated and distributed. Remarkably, DNA replication is completed with exceptional precision and only occurs once per cell division. As a PhD student at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, I aim to explore key outstanding questions surrounding this fundamental process under the mentorship of Dr. Joseph Yeeles. Furthermore, I feel very privileged to be a part of the diverse and esteemed Gates Cambridge community. I want to continue striving to live by the values of my Christian faith, demonstrating that both my personal and scientific principles can be rooted in compassion and humility.
Previous Education
University of Oxford Biochemistry
