Directory

Dr Sovan Sarkar is a Birmingham Fellow (equivalent to Assistant Professor) at the University of Birmingham, and holds the distinction of Former Fellow for life at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge. He studies the biological process of autophagy, which is an intracellular degradation pathway essential for cellular survival. Utilizing human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and disease-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to establish human cellular platforms, his lab works on the regulation and therapeutic application of autophagy in relation to human physiology and diseases. He aims to develop a pipeline originating from basic biology to drug discovery, and potentially translate the findings for biomedical applications. He has made several contributions in the field of autophagy including the identification of mTOR-independent signalling pathways and small molecules modulating autophagy. These findings not only provided mechanistic insights into the cell biology of this process, but also generated potential therapeutic candidates for diverse human diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases where upregulating autophagy acts as a protective pathway. His work also involves the fundamental regulation of autophagy in physiologically-relevant hESCs, and its deregulation in disease-relevant cell-types differentiated from hiPSC models. He has co-authored more than 65 scientific publications, which have collectively received over 20000 citations (Google Scholar), and have generated 4 patents and various research features such as in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Nature Chemical Biology, Molecular Cell and Times of India. He is also involved in scientific engagements with institutions in India as part of the University of Birmingham India Institute.

Previous Education

Madurai Kamaraj Univ, India MSc Biotechnology 2002
University of Calcutta BSc Physiology 2000

Links

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/cancer-genomic/sarkar-sovan.aspx
https://www.sovansarkarlab.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sovan-sarkar-b3218b25
http://www.mit.edu/~sarkar

I pursued an MPhil in Pathology at Cambridge in Dr. Jim Ajioka’s parasitology lab. I am currently an obstetrics and gynecology resident at NYU interested in gynecologic oncology and global health.

Growing up in Bogotá, Colombia, I grappled with the idea of conveying a more truthful and nuanced portrayal of our people’s history to the rest of the world. In 2019, I moved to the United States to pursue a degree in History and Creative Writing, with a minor in Data Science, at Northwestern University. During my studies, I became intrigued by the stigmatization of Colombian immigrants due to our association with drug trafficking history. This interest evolved into a senior thesis that analyzed hundreds of periodical sources and oral histories to uncover how this narrative evolved. Now pursuing an MPhil in digital humanities at Cambridge, I’m merging my interests in immigration narratives and digital methods to develop a GIS map that provides a fresh perspective on the complex relationship between Colombian identity and drug trafficking. My goal is to create a digital exhibition that challenges stereotypes about global Colombians and Latin Americans, showcasing it at museums and galleries worldwide with the help of the Gates Community. I’m excited to open up new avenues for understanding and appreciation of our historical memory.

Previous Education

Northwestern University History, English, Data Science 2023

Growing up in Asia and North America, I have always felt contradicting experiences of identity - one that oscillates between the desire to belong in a new country and the desire to remember my home roots, while ultimately finding myself not fully accepted in either. From a young age, I used my personal experiences as an opportunity to make sense of the world, and to unpack the societies I moved through. Between academic degrees, I worked on issues of reforestation, gender and social equity in forest landscapes, and land resettlement and reparations in Asia, North America, and Europe. My studies and work has allowed me to develop my current research interests, which focus on the intersection between environment and social justice. My research is centered on practices of environmental justice and resistance, which serve as broader social struggles for freedom and land recognition and reclamation. Through my research, I hope to share public-facing knowledge and flatten the power hierarchies between how "research" is credited and produced, and to translate scholarship in ways that are accessible and useful within and outside the academy.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Sociology 2020
McGill University Honours Geography 2017

Gates Cambridge Scholar 2012-2013 MPhil MedicineCochair Gates Cambridge Alumni Association 2016-currentDirector of Membership Gates Cambridge Alumni Association 2014-2016Consultant dermatologist: Prince of Wales Hospital & Royal North Shore Hospital Cofounder Consentic

I was born in Kiev, Ukraine, lived in Japan as a kid, and grew up in Gainesville, Florida, where I went to school at the University of Florida. Since childhood I have been fascinated by history. As an undergraduate student, I began studying Chinese, which quickly became a lifelong pursuit. During my college years, I studied abroad in China, Russia, and Taiwan. After college, I worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a Junior Fellow in the Russia-Eurasia and Energy and Climate Change Programs. I then went back to school to get an M.A. at the University of Chicago in International Relations. This past year I was in Taiwan again as a Boren Fellow studying Chinese and doing research. At Cambridge I will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Modern Chinese History, researching Manchuria in the early post-war period. At the time Manchuria was a fiercely contested space both geopolitically and in terms of its identity. The topic has been understudied by historians and will allow me to wrestle with bigger questions about the balance of power in East Asia, the determination of borders, and the impact of the early Cold War period on modern China. When not working I love running, being a foodie, and globetrotting.

Previous Education

University of Chicago
University of Florida

Paulo holds a joint appointment between the Department of Engineering Science and Saïd Business School. His primary fields of expertise are entrepreneurship, sustainable development, systems change, and innovation management.

The emphasis of his work is on transforming unjust systems through entrepreneurship. He formerly served as Postdoctoral Researcher at the Skoll Centre and as an Assistant Professor at Durham University. Outside academia, he worked as an entrepreneur and as a consultant to large companies, governments, and intergovernmental organisations. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge, as a Gates Scholar.

He has been granted the IBM Business of Government Award, the Green Talents Award from the German Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Oldham Award from the University of Sussex, and has received multiple scholarships for his studies, such as from the Gates Trust, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Brazilian Council for Science and Technology.

Previous Education

University of Sussex
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Born in Sydney, Jaya Savige is an award-winning poet and critic and is currently the Poetry Editor for The Australian newspaper. From 2013-2021 he was Assistant Professor in English and Creative Writing at the New College of the Humanities in London, where he founded the Creative Writing degree. He read for his PhD on James Joyce at Christ’s College, Cambridge, on a scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Cambridge Trust (2009-13). Savige's first collection of poetry, Latecomers (UQP 2005), won the NSW Premier’s Kenneth Slessor Prize and the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, was highly commended for the Dame Mary Gilmore Prize and was shortlisted for several other awards. His second volume, Surface to Air (UQP 2011), was shortlisted for The Age Poetry Book of the Year and the West Australian Premier’s Prize. His most recent collection, Change Machine (UQP 2020), was shortlisted for the Australian Prime Minister's Literary Award for Poetry and several other awards. His work appears in The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry, Thirty Australian Poets, Contemporary Australian Poetry and elsewhere. He has given readings by invitation in London, New York, Berlin, Prague, Verona, Bali and throughout Australia, and he has held Australia Council writing residencies in Rome (B.R. Whiting Studio) and Paris (Cité Internationale des Arts).

Links

http://www.jayasavige.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaya-savige-62aa9915
http://www.jayasavige.blogspot.com

In my Economics PhD endeavor, I am interested in understanding the social and economic causes and consequences of the so-called medical brain drain phenomenon, with which a lot of countries, especially developing ones, are confronted. Doing so will hopefully allow us to better understand to what extent local policies targeted at limiting brain drain can prove either beneficial or detrimental and, thus, act accordingly in the future. This has always been a topic of great interest for me. In my home country of Romania, medical brain drain has long been a key issue of political and intellectual debate, particularly since the country's ascension to the European Union in 2007. In the future, using the knowledge and expertise that I will develop in my doctoral studies, I wish to take initiative in this domain and hopefully make a difference for the better!It is a great honor to join the prestigious Gates Cambridge community of scholars. Having already pursued a Master's Degree in Cambridge, I have become accustomed with the great energy and passion with which academics here conduct their research. I am extremely grateful to be able to continue this journey!

Previous Education

University of Amsterdam
University of Cambridge

I conducted the field-work for my PhD thesis in Tropical Ecology in Panama, Central America, and was awarded two postdoctoral fellowships to continue my work on carbon cycling in tropical forest for another 4 years. I then moved to CEH Wallingford, to train in molecular methods in microbial soil ecology to further investigate soil processes. In 2012, I started my current post as Lecturer in Environmental Sciences at the Open University and I was awarded an ERC Starting Grant for a 5-year research project on forest carbon dynamics under climate change.

Currently completing my MBA at the Wharton School at the University of Pennyslvania

After having studied 2 1/2 years in Germany and 2 1/2 years in France, I am excited about the upcoming time in England. The Gates Cambridge Scholarship will allow me to study in one of the world's most famous physics departments. Being part of the Gates Scholars community will give me the possibility to meet interesting and diverse people from all around the world.

I'm at Cambridge to do an Mphil in Culture and Criticism in the English Department having spent the past two years working for a magazine in Washington, DC.

Managing Director at Honeypot.io