Directory

My research respondents in less-privileged areas and groups in China and Southeast Asia share a common desire: a longing for a life elsewhere. For many of them, education is regarded as a vital means of upward mobility, even if moving up usually means moving away and shifting one’s identity. How can we understand mobility and identity change, and what are their benefits and downsides? My previous research disentangled the intricate power dynamics in shaping different educational mobility in Asia. Building on this, my Ph.D. project investigates the emotional imprint of education-related mobility and elucidates the mechanisms of mobility in a transnational context composed of uneven modernities and entangled histories. My research training in politics, area studies, and sociology from Peking University and the University of Cambridge allows me to examine both structural forces and individual agencies in this era of social transformations. With support from the vibrant Gates community, I hope to use the insights of the social sciences to better understand identity-related struggles and foreground the diversity of the world.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Sociology 2021
Beijing University (Peking University) Politics and IR 2020

For my PhD study, I will conduct a case study of Chinese migrant workers in Kawakami village, Nagano prefecture. In specific, I will explore the framework of this form of migration, examine migrant workers’ conditions and expectations, and elucidate the effects of this migration. I will engage in participant observation in both the Japanese and Chinese communities of Kawakami village, conduct narrative interviews with the villagers and the migrant workers, and conduct expert interviews with employers, village heads, neighbourhood associations, recruitment agencies, NPOs, and other key persons involved. In doing so, I hope to acquire a comprehensive understanding on the working and living situations of migrant workers in Kawakami village, and gain an insight into the impacts which might be brought to both the Chinese workers and the local Japanese community.

Reid Lidow served as Executive Officer to the Mayor of Los Angeles. In this role, he provided strategic counsel to Mayor Garcetti and ensured the execution of his day-to-day goals. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Reid led the writing team behind the Mayor's nightly briefings. Before this, Reid worked for Gordon Brown on a range of initiatives – from encouraging countries to deliver an inclusive and quality education for all children to the campaign against Brexit. Reid completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California where he double majored in International Relations and Political Science. He was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship in 2014 and earned an MPhil in Development Studies from Queens' College, Cambridge. Reid continues to work with Gordon Brown on projects exploring global governance and nationalism. He is also a student at Yale Law School.

Previous Education

University of Southern California 2010

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/reid-lidow-ba8998291

Growing up in Israel, I have always been fascinated by prisons: what is their purpose, do they “work”, and what is life like for those who inhabit them. Throughout the past number of years, I have been fortunate to meet with prisoners in various contexts – whilst in prison, as a researcher, a teacher, and a fellow student (google ‘Learning Together’!), and upon their release as a counsellor in a hostel. These experiences proved deeply meaningful to me, and have reinforced my desire to contribute to knowledge creation which can inform policy, and ultimately aid those entangled in the criminal justice system and their families. Whilst undertaking the MPhil in Criminological Research at Cambridge, I focused on forms of care, support, and friendship among prisoners - a topic which I intend to explore further during my PhD. My research will include both female and male prisoners, and will examine the meaning and structure of friendship between prisoners and how does friendship impact on the flow of power on the wing. Since completing my MPhil, I have been working as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Criminology here in Cambridge. I am excited and honoured to be joining the Gates Cambridge community and working with others committed to social justice.

Previous Education

Bar-Ilan University
University of Cambridge

I am a first-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. I completed the MPhil program in the History and Philosophy of Science during my time at Cambridge. I previously worked in the human rights field in Eastern Europe, and conducted research at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University.

I am tremendously excited to study at Cambridge as a Gates Scholar. I'm grateful to be in a place with such rich academic tradition and with so many brilliant minds. I'll be working with Dr. Nigel Slater in the Cambridge Unit for Bioscience Engineering (CUBE) studying responsive biopolymers.

I believe that the University of Cambridge, given its prestigious history in the training of biomedical researchers, would be the perfect setting for me to gain more research skills and experience in the field of multidrug resistance in cancer. In the long term, I intend to be actively involved in biomedical research in the context and setting of the population of a developing country, like the Philippines, as well as collaborative studies with my contacts in Australia and in the UK.

https://healthcare.utah.edu/find-a-doctor/ming-y-lim

Previous Education

University of Cambridge BA Medical Science 2004

Having studied History as an undergraduate at the University of Oxford, I strongly believe that knowledge of the past is key to building a better tomorrow. History bridges the gaps of time, space and culture to expose the complexities and contradictions of human nature, teaching us valuable and relevant lessons about ourselves and our world. It is my belief that an MPhil in World History at Cambridge will not only deepen my exposure to global historical diversity, but will also allow me to become an agent in championing and spreading such diversity. A Singaporean by birth, I hope in my postgraduate dissertation to explore the myriad social, political and cultural representations of Peranakan women, a unique ethnic group at the crossroads of Chinese and Malay cultures that has often been ignored and downplayed in the existing historiography. It is my hope that my research will not only empower women as social and historical agents, but also preserve and shed new light on modern Singapore's rapidly vanishing heritage. Indeed it is because of my desire to make a difference that I am honoured to be joining the Gates Cambridge family, an international community that constantly strives to better the world we live in.

Previous Education

Oxford University

I feel privileged to be part of the Gates scholar community and will make the most of the opportunities here to learn as much as I can.

Ryan Limbocker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Life Science and teaches general chemistry. Dr. Limbocker received the Goldwater Scholarship in 2014 and graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Kansas with Highest Distinction, University Honors, and Departmental Honors. He attended graduate school at the University of Cambridge in the Centre for Misfolding Diseases funded by the St. John’s College Benefactors’ and Gates Cambridge Scholarships under the supervision of Professor Sir Christopher Dobson and Professor Michele Vendruscolo. Upon completion of his Ph.D. in Chemistry, he conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University.

In addition to teaching and researching countermeasures and protein misfolding diseases, Dr. Limbocker is a passionate academic mentor. In particular, he actively seeks to help cadets consider, plan, and execute applications for technical, national, and international scholarships and prepare for medical school.

Previous Education

University of Kansas

Links

https://www.westpoint.edu/chemistry-and-life-science/profile/ryan_limbocker
https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=N68SyvEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

My research is in developmental neuroscience, specifically on axon guidance. I am studying how extensions from neurons (called axons) find their way through the developing brain and end up on the correct targets. This research may have future implications for brain repair, as neurons introduced into damaged tissue must integrate correctly into the surrounding network.

I grew up in Toronto, Canada and obtained a Bachelor's in electrical engineering from McGill University. During my undergraduate studies, I pursued human-robot interaction and technology ethics research, with a focus on progressing the responsible development of intelligent systems. Through my studies at Cambridge, I intend on deepening my expertise and research experience in the field of artificial intelligence ethics, with an eye towards building practical tools and frameworks that aid engineers and policymakers in understanding the complex interactions between technology and society.

Previous Education

McGill University Electrical Engineering 2022

A lovely place to learn about mice and men and the dissection of both.

Growing up in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, I have spent my four-year University life in Hong Kong. What I benefit most from my undergraduate education is developing my passion towards neuroscience through relevant courses and a project studying how neurons sort out the proteins they produced. I am very excited about starting my PhD study at Cambridge and discovering a world new to me. The project I will engage in at Cambridge with Professor Christine Holt investigates how neurons navigate their way in our brain, focusing on the visual system, without making wrong turns or bumping into each other. This study is useful in curing newborn babies with neural developmental defect and to understand our brain organizations. I certainly hope one day my scientific discoveries can help people in bigger ways. I am looking forward to joining the Cambridge community and meet with all these outstanding Scholars.

Previous Education

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Bachelor of Science in Biology 2013

As an undergraduate at Princeton, I am majoring in the History of Science and completed the pre-med curriculum. My research interests at Princeton revolve around the medicalization of postpartum depression, the feminist self-help movements who pushed for increased medical recognition of their experiences, and the narratives of women, across time and geography, who suffer from postpartum depression. Through an MPhil in Health, Medicine, and Society at Cambridge, I intend to expand my senior thesis work on organized feminism’s advocacy for medical treatment of postpartum depression, with a focus on how social movements within England influenced the psychiatric treatment of postpartum depression.

Ultimately, I hope to attend medical school and then specialize in the treatment and care of women’s mental health, to honor each woman’s story, including, where relevant, experience with motherhood. I am excited to learn from and with the diverse scholars who comprise the Gates-Cambridge community.

I am one of seven children and attended schools in five different states growing up. I am always look for some competitive hoops; at Princeton, I serve as Captain of Women’s Club Basketball. But my favorite activity is simply to be with people, whether my teammates, the residents I guide as a Residential College Adviser, or the community at the Center for Jewish Life. I am excited to do likewise at Cambridge.

Previous Education

Princeton University Bachelor's Degree in History 2019