Directory

Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and metabolic disorders have reached epidemic proportions. The molecular mechanisms underlying the pathology of obesity and insulin resistance leading to atherosclerosis and heart failure are still not well understood. My research revolves around understanding the complex signals in the cells that lead to progress of obesity and atherosclerosis. I am thankful to Gates Cambridge Trust for providing me with an opportunity to work towards this goal.

As an undergraduate, I jointly studied Government and Neuroscience, where I got the chance to explore the effects of violence on human welfare from a political, biological, and social perspective. At Cambridge, I am excited to build on these experiences and pursue an MPhil in Development Studies. I am enthusiastic about the prospect of working at the Centre of Governance and Human Rights, and Centre for Gender Studies, cutting-edge research networks that bring together a diverse amalgamation of professors, students, and professionals for projects and enriching seminars on topics related to the politics of gender violence, peacebuilding, and health in conflict-affected societies. I am so incredibly honored to join the wider Gates Cambridge community, and am looking forward to growing alongside my peers during my time in the UK! **Nidhi will commence her MPhil study in 2023.

Previous Education

Harvard University Government and Neuroscience 2022

I graduated with an anthropology degree from the University of Chicago armed with a background in social justice and sensitivity to how policies often exclude the most vulnerable people. I’ve spent the last five years learning how this is particularly acute in climate and environmental monitoring programs. I’ve worked at the science-policy interface at both the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Center for Space Policy and Strategy. While earth observation satellites and vast data systems can enable better insights at the planetary level, they often miss realities on the ground. Wanting to critically examine how the science-policy interface and our digital data infrastructures impact local communities, I came to the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge to conduct ethnographic and science and technology studies (STS) research at the world’s “third pole” in the Himalayas. Like the polar regions, the Himalayas must also grapple with consequences of a melting cryosphere, while managing a microcosm of considerable ecological and cultural diversity. Through my research, I aim to shed light on culturally embedded notions of science and technology and how they can translate into better climate policies.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Polar Studies 2021
University of Chicago Anthropology 2012

I work as an English instructor in the Specialized English Language Program at the St. George’s University School of Medicine (SGU), Grenada. As the linguist attached to the Grenada Creole Society, I facilitate documentation and revitalization efforts for Grenadian French Creole, an endangered language on the island. In addition, because of my research on Grenadian English Creole, I provide language and culture training for non-native and native speakers. These include faculty and students at SGU and new Peace Corps volunteers who function as literacy teachers in Grenadian primary schools. I also comanage the Adult Literacy Initiative of Grenada, a non-profit organization that provides free literacy classes for adults, and I consult with the Ministry of Education to enhance English instruction in schools within the Grenadian creole context. My research areas include creole description and documentation, language revitalization, creole in the classroom, adult literacy, language training for native/non-native speakers, and non-academic factors affecting university students.

Links

http://gatescambridge.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/mind-your-language
http://www.gatescambridge.org/news/detail.asp?ItemID=13672

My goal is to teach Physical Sciences - preferably at High School level - and hopefully be able to convey to my students my own passion for the subject.

Previous Education

United States Naval Academy Mathematics 2012

In the spring of 2014, I finished my PhD in Materials Science and Metallurgy in Cambridge as a Gates scholar, and member of Pembroke College. My research in the field of biomaterials - materials which are in contact with living tissue - has continued though several postdoctoral appointments in Europe and the US. This has included pioneering the use of new materials for bone regeneration, and solving complex manufacturing challenges related to nerve repair implants that guide repairing nerve across a lesion site, all with the focus of improving patient recovery. With an interest in the translation of biotechnology, I have served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Spartan Innovations (an affiliate of Michigan State University Foundation), and the CEO of a pre-clinical therapeutics company. Currently, I am an assistant professor at Michigan State University and engage with the entrepreneurial community as a biomedical engineering consultant.

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

My research will focus on issues of gender, sexuality and the body in the context of sex workers trafficking from Nigeria to Italy. I aim at actively contributing not only to anthropological knowledge, but also to more political and social issues related to the lives of these women within a wider social context, in a time when migration and the rights of migrants are becoming a central issue for European and global politics.

My mother calls me painful and messy. I prefer to say that I am inquisitive and creative. I find the molecular pathways that govern life miraculous and so, surprise, I am doing my MPhil in biochemistry. My family hopes I’ll come out of Cambridge a well spoken posh lady, I am hoping for a lot more (I think I am already a well spoken posh lady... hehe). Jokes aside, I am extremely grateful to the Gates Trust for affording me this opportunity and all I can say is that I plan to achieve great things

In all but birthplace, I’m effectively a Salt Lake City, Utah native, but somehow managed to avoid becoming an avid skier. I started college a little early at Salt Lake Community College, then transferred to the University of Utah where I graduated with honors degrees in both Chemistry and English. I graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemistry also at the University of Utah. At Cambridge, I am working with Drs. K.G.C. Smith and Paul Lyons in the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research. After my time at Cambridge, I plan on completing postdoctorate research and then attending medical school. Ultimately, I wish to specialise in paediatric immunology and treat patients as well as conduct research.

I am a Guatemalan sustainability professional and Gates Cambridge Scholar, currently pursuing a PhD in Latin American Studies at the University of Cambridge. My research explores the dynamics of socioenvironmental conflict, resistance movements, and state–civil society relations in Latin America, with an interest in how these shape governance and development outcomes. Prior to academia, I spent nine years working in the private sector, leading sustainability planning, stakeholder engagement, and conflict resolution initiatives in the energy and real estate sectors. This experience sharpened my ability to navigate complex regulatory, political, and social environments while aligning corporate strategy with international standards on human rights, Indigenous rights, and environmental compliance. Having witnessed firsthand the tensions that arise at the intersection of development and local realities in Guatemala, I am motivated to connect critical research with practical frameworks that support more informed and effective decision-making. My work brings together academic analysis and strategic implementation to contribute to more responsive and context-aware approaches to sustainability.

Previous Education

University of Bradford Peacebuilding 2020
Universidad Francisco Marroquí Political Science 2013
Universidad Francisco Marroquí International Relations 2013

Links

http://www.analuciape.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/analuciapelaezecheverria

I am passionate about understanding how we can create happier societies, insofar as I seek to comprehend how our political, economic, and social institutions can be shaped to ensure individuals can pursue happiness. Ultimately, I aspire to advocate for happiness to be a central objective of government and to use happiness research to create public policies. As an undergraduate at Brown University, I developed an independent major in Happiness, which spanned eight fields of study and explored the individual and societal nature of happiness. Coupled with a second major in Political Science, I spent my undergraduate examining the politics of happiness, culminating in my honors senior thesis, which analyzed why the current policy-making process in the United States does not make people happier. By pursuing the MPhil in Political and Economic Sociology, I hope to deepen my understanding of how political and economic institutions impact societal wellbeing. Specifically, I will explore how political and economic institutions exacerbate or minimize status inequality, a key determinant of happiness inequality. By rooting happiness in a sociological context, and thus studying the structural nature of happiness, I hope to leave Cambridge with a more robust understanding of how we can make our environment conducive to the pursuit of happiness.

Previous Education

Brown University

My research is about how the crystallographic structure of iron-nickel alloy, its mechanical properties and phase transition vary with temperature, pressure, chemical composition and other conditions. I am trying to investigate those property variations by high temperature experiments, theoretical calculation and computational modeling. The motivation of this project is related to the fact that the Earth's inner core is believed to be formed mainly by the same alloy. It is therefore vital to understand the working of our planet, because all the globe-scale changes, such as earthquakes, are more or less related to the interior activities of our planet.