Directory

Growing up during Sri Lanka’s civil war and contending with its ethnic conflict as the child of parents from different ethnic minorities, I quickly became familiar with history’s capacity to both exacerbate and/or transform conflict and violence. Working in English and Cultural Studies, my research since the end of the civil war in 2009 has explored how history can be used to challenge received frameworks of analysis and transform the worlds we inhabit into more just, equitable, democratic, and peaceful spaces for all communities in Sri Lanka.In 2016 I completed my MA as a Fulbright scholar at Kansas State University, USA. My dissertation focused on how shifts in definitions of ethnic categories shaped Sri Lanka’s first experience of national-level democracy at the turn of the 20th Century. As a graduate student in History at Cambridge, I build on this work to consider how conflicts over registers of time have shaped articulations of ethnic identifications after the British took control of the entire Island in 1815.

Previous Education

Kansas State University English-Cultural Studies 2016
University of Kelaniya English 2009

Originally from Germany, I look forward to experiencing Cambridge, both as an intellectual challenge as well as a cultural experience. The Scholarship gives me the exceptional opportunity to further my knowledge in Economics- a subject that attracts me since it helps to explain what forms world events. Afterwards, I hope to complete a PhD and work for an international organisation. In my free time, I hope to have a great time getting to know all my fellow scholars.

Communication is something all animals have in common; language, however, is a uniquely human capacity. Without language, scientific discoveries, inventions, and even mathematical advances would have been impossible. My fascination with language as a uniquely human trait and the basis for all sophisticated thought has continued throughout my education. After completing a B.A. in English Linguistics and Latin at the University of Regensburg, Germany, with a year abroad at the University of York, UK, I came to Cambridge for an MPhil in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, where I began research on language processing. As a consultant for R&D Funding and Innovation Advisory, I was given the opportunity to apply my linguistic knowledge to assist companies in successfully gaining funding for their innovative and sustainable ideas. In my PhD project I wish to further investigate complex word processing to build more reliable models of our understanding of language. By combining theoretical and experimental methods from Linguistics, Psychology, and Neuroscience, I aim to give some new insight into the psychological and biological reality of linguistic rules and symbols in the brain. In future, I hope that the findings of my research will help to unravel the influencing factors of human thought and understanding as well as lead to practical applications in a variety of contexts such as teaching and learning, text optimization, and language disorders.

Previous Education

Universitat Regensburg
University of Cambridge

I first got a glimpse of developmental research during an internship in Heidelberg in Year 11. I was immediately drawn to its medical potential, and since then joined several labs in the field throughout my undergraduate degree at Cambridge. I am especially fascinated by questions of cell fate, which have immense medical implications. I believe that by understanding how cells make decisions and manipulating them we will be able to address a myriad of medical challenges, ranging from developmental failure to ageing. I strive to be part of this medical revolution, which I hope will improve the lives of countless people. As a biochemist by training, I’m particularly interested in the molecular machines behind these cell fate decisions. During my PhD, I will investigate how an abnormal number of chromosomes (aneuploidy) affects different tissues in the early embryo, and why some tissues tolerate this while others do not. Most pregnancies fail within the first two weeks of development, and aneuploidy is a major contributor to developmental failure, so my research will address a fundamental question of human development, as well as inform improvements in fertility treatment to avoid unsuccessful pregnancies and embryo wastage.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Natural Sciences (Biological) 2022

I am an affective neuroscientist and psychologist at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (ICN). My research is aimed at identifying new targets for interventions that prevent and treat mental health problems.
During my PhD and postdoc at the University of Cambridge, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit I focused on how cognitive abilities interact with emotions to give rise to good or poor mental health, especially depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Since joining the ICN Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group as a Sir Henry Wellcome fellow I have extended my work to understand how these processes develop across the lifespan.

Amanda Scott is the Industrial and Environmental Product and Applications Manager at Sievers Instruments by SUEZ. She has a Masters in Chemical Engineering from University of Cambridge in England and a Bachelors of Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. For the past three years, her focus has been to develop and support organics monitoring solutions for industrial and environmental markets.

Amanda has been published in multiple trade journals and has presented at various national and international water conferences. Her research experiences include work developing biophotovoltaic devices and biomass gasification using concentrated solar power to generate renewable energy. When she is not working, Amanda enjoys running and is a two-time US Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier.

Previous Education

Vanderbilt University Bachelors of Engineering in Chemical Engineering 2009

Morgan holds an MPhil and PhD in Geography / Polar Studies from the University of Cambridge and a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a science policy consultant, researcher, and communicator with expertise in institutional change, multilateral climate policy, and science diplomacy, with geographical expertise in the polar regions, West Africa, and mountainous areas.

Morgan currently serves as the International Science Council’s Liaison to the UN System, working with intergovernmental organizations and countries’ UN Missions to strengthen the multilateral science-policy interface and advance evidence-based decision-making on urgent global issues. She previously worked with a number of non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations at the science-society-policy nexus, including the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. Her earlier career was focused on science communication and support, including running informal science education programs in Colorado and California as well as working for the US Antarctic Program at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

As a PhD student and Gates Cambridge Scholar, Morgan examined the histories of science, policy, and social change in international spaces. In broad terms, she explored the "human" side of these shared spaces: how are they used? by whom? to what end? More specifically, her PhD thesis examined scientific institutions in Antarctica, asking how they evolved to become more gender inclusive over time. As part of this research, she was a visiting scholar at the University of Colorado Boulder and a SCAR Fellow hosted by the University of Tasmania.

Previous Education

University of Pennsylvania
University of Cambridge

Links

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

I grew up in Cambridge, MA, and studied molecular biology and computer science at Harvard University. During college, I developed an interest in approaching open questions in biology – from DNA assembly to ALS genomics – by creating new computational methods that leverage biological knowledge rather than relying on existing off-the-shelf techniques. I am also committed to addressing issues related to mental health, a focus developed through work as a peer counselor and first responder as well as by reading the literature of authors who struggle with mental health disorders. During my doctoral research, I will combine my interests in computational biology and psychiatry to better understand and alleviate mental illness. Specifically, I will leverage machine learning to integrate a wide range of biological data (including neuroimaging, genetic, and transcriptomic data) to deepen understanding of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia as well as subclinical phenomena such as psychotic experiences in the general population. Beyond science, I enjoy running, hiking, playing classical piano, and exploring contemporary music.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Advanced Computer Science 2021
Harvard University Molecular and Cellular Biology 2020

As an undergraduate at the University of Tennessee, I completed a self-designed course of study in Neuroplasticity and Neurodegenerative Disorders, drawing upon insights from numerous disciplines to better understand mechanisms of resilience in the nervous system during aging and disease. Through exposures in the laboratory, clinic, and community, I became increasingly interested in factors that influence vulnerability to age and disease- associated cognitive decline, particularly in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. Since graduating, I have continued to pursue this line of research at the NIH National Institute on Aging, where I am using data from large-scale, longitudinal studies of aging to identify novel risk factors and biomarkers of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. At the University of Cambridge, I will complete an MPhil in Epidemiology to gain a strong foundation in epidemiological concepts, data appraisal, and biostatistics and will apply this knowledge in the context of population-based studies to better characterize the preclinical phase of Alzheimer’s disease. I hope this research will ultimately lead to the development of more accurate diagnostic and prognostic tools, as well as novel targets for disease-modifying interventions to help alter the trajectory of this growing global health concern.

Previous Education

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

As a school student in my hometown, Beirut, I was fascinated by the power of physics in guiding me to understand the dynamics of heavenly bodies. This amazement and my childhood fascinations with space, led me to pursue a BSc in physics at the Lebanese University with the goal of being an astrophysicist.Being an Armenian descendant and appreciating the importance of transmitting a craft from a generation to another, it was natural for me to develop a strong will to become a mentor - a professor - for the coming generation; to serve my community academically. This, along with my goal of becoming a productive member of the research community, drove me to continue my studies at the American University of Beirut (AUB).During my MSc at AUB, I strengthened my knowledge in the field of planetary dynamics/ formation, and engaged in and conducted original research under the supervision of my mentor, Prof. Jihad Touma, who also taught me about the ethics of research and the responsibilities of a professor. I had the chance to develop these qualities by serving as a lab instructor at AUB and the Lebanese American University.At Cambridge, I will carry out further research to understand the conditions necessary for planetesimal growth within and around binary stars. This study will greatly advance our understanding of the origin of exoplanets in stars of higher multiplicity.I am honored to have this incredible opportunity to learn and grow as part of the Gates Cambridge community.

Previous Education

Lebanese University
American University of Beirut

Links

https://www.antraniksefilian.com