Directory

My Ph.D. explores the problem of trust in testimony from a psychological perspective that foregrounds unconscious motivation. Broadly speaking, I am interested in the intersection of ethics and epistemology.

Born and raised on a farm in rural West Virginia, I developed an early interest in food security and accessibility. During my undergraduate studies at West Virginia University, I joined a research team that identified and mapped every food distribution site in West Virginia and became increasingly interested in “development” as a formal academic field. I studied abroad and conducted research on economic development projects in Nicaragua, Timor-Leste, and Rwanda. In addition, I worked for the Senate President of the West Virginia Legislature and the West Virginia Secretary of State. These experiences led to an appreciation of the impact politics exerts on the economic development process. I currently serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA and work on program development related to increasing accessibility to higher education among first-generation and low-income students. I plan to work in international development for several years before returning home to work on economic development in West Virginia and Appalachia. I am excited and honoured to join the global Gates Community.

Previous Education

West Virginia University

I am an international civil servant, a global nomad and a public international lawyer. I come from Sudan, I was born in the UAE, and grew up in Scotland. I have an LLM in Natural Resources Law and Policy and for the past 8 years have been working with the UN in Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia, and volunteering with the Darfur Development and Reconstruction Agency (DDRA). I did my PhD in International Law at the Lauterpacht Centre, and I am a member of Pembroke College. My career focus is on advising governments on the design and implementation of natural resources laws and policies that better serve the poor. Has my mission been successful? In part, yes, but I admit it is still a work in progress. I am grateful to the Gates Cambridge for recognising the importance of my commitment to action.

Previous Education

University of Dundee
Ahfad University for Women

Links

https://www.hmukhayer.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hmukhayer

I am extremely thankful to the Gates Cambridge Trust for awarding the scholarship to me, acknowledging my scientific and social work that I have done in the past. This scholarship has led me not only to a degree from a world class university such as Cambridge and MIT, but also has exposed me to a diverse academic and social culture of the highest order from all over the world. I take this scholarship as a responsibility to contribute to my best abilities to the development of the world.

Three years of post-graduate work involving designing and master-planning new neighborhoods in Nairobi and its surroundings, I developed a sensitive appreciation of the challenges of peripheral urbanism in sub Saharan cities. My interest is to explore the suitability of design proposals for emerging satellite cities hither; in view of already existing urban challenges ranging from economic(budgetary), infrastructural, environmental, and local urban-planning policy. I am a 29 year old Kenyan designer and architect, alumnus of the University of Nairobi (B.Arch -2013), passionate about great design, to serve precedence in for healthier, conscious developing cities that have greater mobility and productivity. Through the Gates – Cambridge scholarship and within the Department of Architecture, I hope to exemplify these emerging urban areas in perspective of other successful satellite cities globally, measured against appropriate planning policy and sustainable domestic economic models. That will be my MPhil Architecture and Urban Studies.

Previous Education

University of Nairobi

My physics education so far has taken place at the University of Adelaide, where I encountered particle physics research in theory and experiment which aims to discover how the constituents of matter piece together. Since childhood I have spent long hours in libraries, surrounded by books of many genres that would slowly reveal their meaning the longer I spent reading. Similar to my early experiences in those libraries, physics research brings me the challenges and slow joys of understanding, this time learning about what is to my mind the most rewarding area of knowledge: interactions on the smallest scales. I hope to learn more about the complexity in fundamental matter by creating new ways to probe its interactions more precisely. Continuing from my Masters research, I will study some of the remaining questions in particle physics, seeking signatures of new physics beyond the Standard Model. Improving our sensitivity to new physics is a key step towards detecting dark matter, which will be a fascinating discovery for physicists and non-physicists alike. I am passionate about connecting science research with the wider community, and wish to collaborate towards increasing enthusiasm for nature.

Previous Education

University of Adelaide Physics 2021
University of Adelaide Physics 2018

At IDEO, Dr. Mummah leads design thinking processes to guide innovation and behavior design for products, systems, and services. She has advised Fortune 500 companies and startups including Google and Facebook and works across a range of industries including technology and health. Previously at Stanford University, she developed a framework to guide behavior design, and she created a mobile app, Vegethon, to motivate healthier eating behaviors. Her work received international recognition and was proven effective in clinical trials. Outside of IDEO, she is the Founder and Board President of DreamCatchers, an award-winning nonprofit organization she launched in 2008 to help low-income students thrive in school. A Fulbright Scholar and two-time Gates Cambridge Scholar, Dr. Mummah holds three degrees from Stanford and Cambridge Universities, including a Ph.D. in Behavioral Science. www.sarahmummah.com

As an Indian émigré raised in the Silicon Valley, I found that the progressive views of the area juxtaposed the cultural and religious aspects of my heritage. Balancing the fundamental ideologies of science and religion became an inherent struggle in my desire to understand how the world worked. Through my academic endeavors in the biological sciences and the humanities, I felt empowered to challenge the dichotomous view I had of the world. While volunteering in my community, I discovered the downstream effects of poorly-written scientific literature and the resulting consequences in healthcare. Frustrated by this mistrust in and misrepresentation of science, I began to explore the shortcomings and limitations of science as a practice. At Cambridge, I hope to explore and understand if appealing to a group’s cultural and religious values will improve their understanding and acceptance of scientific theories. With a future in medicine and literature, I believe the merging of these two disparate fields will be a central mode for understanding how to improve healthcare in a diverse and modern society.

Previous Education

University of California (Davis) Bachelors in Biochemistry and Molecular Bio 2019

My master's degree in natural sciences at AgroParisTech allowed to gain insights into different fields of biology and taught me an interdisciplinarity approach to science. Amazed by the zygote’s ability to form a complex organism from a single cell, I was particularly drawn to the field of developmental biology. Since the vast majority of developmental studies were performed in mice, during my PhD I wish to further elucidate embryonic development in our own species. Human peri-implantation development still remains a black box and I hope that by combining stem cell biology and microfluidic technologies, I will be able to shed light onto the underlaying mechanisms of how organisms form. Passionate about natural sciences, I wish for everyone to have access to such education. Therefore, I have been working for several years with the charity organization Agros Migrateurs, which aims to enable refugees arriving in France to resume their studies in the field of science. I am honoured to join the Gates Cambridge community, which shares a common desire to make a positive impact on the world.

Previous Education

AgroParisTech Biotechnology 2021
Lycée Jean Rostand Strasbourg BCPST 2017

I was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Science from the University of Calabar, Nigeria. As an undergraduate, I conducted research assessing lung function and biomarkers of oxidative DNA damage and inflammation among woodworkers exposed to wood dust. During this period, I developed a keen interest in understanding the dynamic relationship between the immune system and cancer, and how the former can be harnessed to treat the latter. This fascination spurred my decision to further my studies at Cambridge, where I eagerly anticipate joining the esteemed Dr. Maike de la Roche's group to explore a role for Hedgehog signaling in B-cell biology. The potential therapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases represented by this work particularly excite me. Ultimately, I aspire to contribute significantly to reducing the burden of cancer both within Africa and globally by actively conducting research that utilizes features of the immune system to develop more targeted and personalized therapies. I feel super elated to be joining the Gates Cambridge community and I look forward to leveraging this invaluable experience to advance my goals and improve lives.

Previous Education

University of Calabar Medical Laboratory Science 2022

During my year as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, I completed my MPhil in Biological Sciences studying the nuclear envelope proteins of Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite which causes "African Sleeping Sickness." After completing this research, I turned from the bench towards the clinic and completed my MD at UCSF School of Medicine with focuses on infectious disease, social justice, drug addiction, point-of-care ultrasound and medical education.

I was born and raised in Rwanda, and when I was 14 years old my family was killed during the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis of 1994. Although I was too young to understand its roots, this tragedy would forever shatter my life and shape the person I would become. I graduated from Rwanda’s first School of Journalism and I hold a Master’s in Journalism from Carleton University. I have worked as a journalist in Canada’s major news organizations. I am currently completing a Master’s in International Development Studies from Dalhousie University and have previously worked as an international development worker in Rwanda. At Cambridge, I will be researching further the dynamics of peacebuilding in the context of post-conflict countries in the Great Lakes of Africa, by investigating ways through which international organizations navigate the normative crosscurrents that come with peacebuilding. Centered around the issues of democratization and democratic recognition, this research seeks to explore how international actors respond to post-conflict countries when they express a strong wish to articulate the agenda, the levers they have as well as ways in which they use them. Ultimately, I seek to contribute my perspectives as an African scholar to a better understanding of peacebuilding on the continent and in the world.

Previous Education

Carleton University
Université Nationale du Rwanda
Dalhousie University

I grew up in North Queensland where I completed my schooling and subsequent undergraduate education at James Cook University. I was very fortunate to have wonderful role models of family and teachers who instilled in me a desire to learn more and understand the world better; as well as a passion to pass on my knowledge to others. Through their guidance and support I realised that I wanted to pursue physical sciences, which led to my undergraduate degree and my MASt in Physics at Cambridge. During my master’s year I decided I wanted to pursue a PhD in Earth Sciences because, remarkably, there is still much we don't understand about the Earth! My project will examine new techniques for the efficient computation of whole Earth oscillations generated by the largest Earthquakes. I hope that this will lead to new understanding of currently poorly characterised and potentially compositionally distinct parts of the Earth. This work will influence broader aspects of Earth Sciences, hopefully leading to better understanding of the processes of the deep interior. I am deeply honoured to have been chosen as a Gates Cambridge scholar and look forward to the opportunity to interact and collaborate with fellow scholars.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Physics 2022
James Cook University of North Queensland Physics 2020
James Cook University of North Queensland Chemistry 2019

My life has been characterized by travel and shifting residences, yet my home will always be East Africa where I was born. Its stunning vistas and resilient people have a 20 year hold on my wandering heart. Yet both are threatened by the deterioration of climate and the disregard we as humans have shown to the world. Graduating with a major in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Energy Engineering from Duke University, I hope to take this background and learn how to use my education to slow, stop, or replace engineering practices that are destroying the environment. During the past few years, I had the opportunity to complete several internships working in rural Burundi, where my work ranged from building design to solar installation. In addition, my studies of Energy Engineering in New Zealand sparked my interest in creating technical solutions that limit environmental impact while pushing global change. The Gates Cambridge Scholarship has given me the opportunity to continue this passion with Engineering for Sustainable Development. It is my hope that I can use the skills this program teaches me, to help the rapidly developing communities of East Africa grow in a sustainable way, with a particular focus on sources of renewable energy.

Previous Education

Duke University Minor in Energy Engineering 2019