Gates Cambridge: Class of 2024

How do we change the world for the better? Now more than ever we need people with vision and, importantly, the necessary skills to tackle the complex challenges we face.

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship brings together people from across the world and across disciplines with a focus on improving the lives of others. Every year around 75 new scholars are selected to enrich the community and this year is no different.

The new scholars come from every corner of the world, including - for the first time - Libya and Nicaragua, and cover a wide span of disciplines and subjects.

This year’s cohort comprises 75 new scholars, studying areas from the impact of climate change on tropical biodiversity to how the circulation of conflict photographs shapes perception. Two scholars are part of the inaugural cohort for the PhD in Digital Humanities.

The scholars, 69% of whom are doing PhDs and 31% MPhils, will begin their studies in October. They represent 29 different nationalities and include:

Ata Allah Elbizanti

Ata Allah Elbizanti, the first Gates Cambridge Scholar from Libya, who will do a PhD in Physiology, Development and Neuroscience. Growing up in wartime, she became fascinated by the resilience and vulnerability of the human mind. After working in Psychosocial Support with the United Nations, she did a master’s in Clinical Neuroscience and worked as a research assistant at the University of Cambridge. Her PhD aims to destigmatise mental health treatment and support tailored neuropsychiatric approaches.

She says: “I will be studying the brain at the circuit level, particularly looking at the neural networks which control attention and learning. Understanding these circuits will allow us to delve deeper into the intricate mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia. My goal is not just to drive discovery in the field, but to bridge the gap between experimental research and real-world applications, ultimately transforming lives affected by cognitive disorders worldwide."

Ata Allah Elibizanti

Emannuel Iduma

Emmanuel Iduma

Emmanuel Iduma, from Nigeria, who is pursuing a PhD in Digital Humanities. After qualifying as a lawyer in Nigeria, he studied art criticism and writing at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Over the past 15 years, he has developed a diverse body of work that spans criticism, memoir, photography and fiction, including three books and a digital platform for African photography, as well as varied editorial and curatorial projects.

He says: “In my writing, criticism, and curatorial work to date, I have been interested in the ways photographs explore human dignity in complex ways. I am grateful to come to Cambridge as a Gates Scholar, and as part of the inaugural cohort of a PhD in Digital Humanities. While here, I intend to use computer vision techniques to explore how the circulation of conflict photographs shapes perception, especially about the African continent. I hope, in addition, to develop a curatorial and ethical framework for engaging with photographs in an age of misinformation and AI-generated imagery.

Júlia Sánchez Viladevall

Júlia Sánchez Viladevall, from Spain, who will do a PhD in Haematology. As a former blood cancer patient, she aims to bridge the gap between haematology patients and researchers. To this end she collaborates with the biggest blood cancer foundation in Spain to teach blood cancer patients about their diseases in an understandable way.

She says: “My research at Cambridge will help understand how human blood stem cells behave during foetal life. I seek to explore how they differentiate both in the healthy context and in Trisomy 21 patients. This will provide a better understanding of how blood stem cells can become primed to certain diseases in very early stages of life. My mission - inside and outside the lab - is to improve the quality of life of blood cancer patients.”

Júlia Sánchez Viladevall

Uchechukwu Ogechukwu

Uchechukwu Ogechukwu, from Nigeria, who is doing an MPhil in Technology Policy. He is co-founder of Greenage Technologies, a project aimed at harnessing renewable energy to combat energy poverty and environmental degradation in Africa. He aims to leverage technology, education and policy to foster sustainable change in the African energy sector.

He says: "I am passionate about sustainable development in Africa's energy sector and co-founded Greenage Technologies to combat energy poverty. With a background in technology from the private sector, I'm eager to explore technology's policy aspects and collaborate with the Gates Cambridge community to drive positive change."

Madalyn Grant

Madalyn Grant, from Australia, who is doing a PhD in Archaeology. She has managed the establishment and delivery of restitution initiatives in the Australian university sector, something that made her reconsider the nature, role and impact of non-Indigenous actor emotions on processes of provenance and return.

She says: “As one of the most tangible acts of redress and reconciliation, cultural repatriations are uniquely emotional phenomena. Expressions of regret and relief, fear and forgiveness are frequent, and yet emotions have been largely sidelined in repatriation scholarship and practice. At Cambridge, I plan to investigate the role of practitioner emotions in processes of provenance research, handover negotiation, and return, ultimately shifting the spotlight in order to improve practice and minimise harm for recipient communities.”

Madalyn Grant

Vinícius Alexandre Fortes De Barros

Vinícius Alexandre Fortes De Barros, from Brazil, who is pursuing a PhD in Law. He is one of the few openly gay Federal Prosecutors in Brazil, having started his career as a judge at the Mato Grosso State Court where he became the youngest appointee in 2015. In 2016 he became a Federal Prosecutor and was focused on human rights and criminal law.

He says: “My personal and professional background has led to the question: Is there a possible way to adequately protect LGBTQIA+ persons during and after wars? This question is the basis of my PhD research. With the Gates scholarship, I plan on receiving different multicultural visions about armed conflicts and vulnerable groups. Gates Cambridge will allow me to connect with visions of the World I have not yet experienced, strengthening my research."

Damni Kain

Damni Kain, from India, who is doing a PhD in Sociology. Her master’s explored the spatial and temporal structures of platform work by placing the gig economy in the caste society of India. Her PhD will explore how caste and the structures of the gig economy co-produce each other while reordering social, bodily and sensorial relations of work.

She says: “The ‘future of work’ has been at the centre of debate in recent years. But how is this future shaped by the ‘past’ and also the ‘present’ of work in the caste society of South Asia where people are ranked at birth and ascribed hierarchical social identities? My research aims to address this question while also using ethnographic evidence to create a better future of work - informing state policies, digital labour platforms, and consumers of the gig economy."

Damni Kain

Don Laing

Don Laing, from New Zealand, who is doing a PhD in Paediatrics. He has previously co-designed and executed a trial exploring a novel therapy for transitional neonatal hypoglycaemia in a neonatal intensive care unit and his PhD will focus on ventilator-associated pneumonia, a condition associated with significant mortality and morbidity.

He states: “I am deeply committed to ensuring that children receive quality healthcare, enabling them to realise their full potential and contribute meaningfully to society. This is why while at Cambridge, I am dedicated to focusing on pioneering novel diagnostic tools in paediatric intensive care that enhance the care we give to some of our most critically unwell and vulnerable children. This research will address critical healthcare challenges such as ventilator-associated pneumonia and the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, aligning closely with the Gates Cambridge Scholarship's mission to drive positive societal change.”

Elizabeth Appel

Elizabeth Appel, from the US, who will do an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development. Elizabeth has been President of the American Society of Civil Engineers (student chapter) and Vice President of the Society of Women Engineers (student chapter).

She says: “The Gates Cambridge Scholarship will propel me into a career of changemaking to address not only the infrastructure problems of the present but of the future as well. More deeply, the Gates Cambridge Scholarship will connect me with scholars from across the globe and allow me to learn from their diverse, interdisciplinary experiences.”

Elizabeth Appel

“I’m delighted to announce the Gates Cambridge class of 2024. These scholars, who have been selected by our expert Selection Panels, are a reflection of the mission of the Gates Cambridge Trust established through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s generous and historic gift to the University of Cambridge – to change the world for the better.

"We know that they will flourish in the rich, international community at Cambridge and we trust that they will go on to have a significant impact in their various fields and more broadly, tackling the complex global challenges we face today.”

Professor Eilis Ferran, Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust

Professor Manali Desai, Professor Eilis Ferran and Dr Kamiar Mohaddes at the interview for new scholars

Professor Manali Desai, Professor Eilis Ferran and Dr Kamiar Mohaddes at the interview for new scholars

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship programme was established through a US$210 million donation to the University of Cambridge from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. It funds international postgraduate students from across the globe, with the emphasis on diversity of thinking.

Gates Cambridge Scholars are selected not just for their academic excellence, but for their ability to do just that in order to achieve wider social impact.

The Scholarship’s mission is based on social leadership combined with academic excellence. Since the first class in 2001, Gates Cambridge has awarded 2,183 scholarships to scholars from 114 countries who represent nearly 800 universities globally, and more than 80 academic departments and all 31 Colleges at Cambridge.

Gates Cambridge Scholars 2023

Gates Cambridge collaboration and community

Collaboration is something that Gates Cambridge Scholars do extremely well. A growing number have gone on to work together following their master’s and PhDs. This year that includes:

Carol Ibe [2015], Chioma Ngonadi [2015] and Albert Arhin [2012 - pictured above with Carol] who are collaborating on an innovative project to map the disappearance of traditional crops in Africa and to find solutions to potential food security problems.
Kamiar Mohaddes [2005] and Ramit Debnath [2018], both Associate Professors at the University of Cambridge, are setting up the
climaTRACES lab which is focused on data-driven research and policy engagement on climate change. The goal is to improve the transparency, accountability and evidence base of the evolving climate information ecosystem for wider societal benefit.

Gates Cambridge puts a big emphasis on community and the Gates Cambridge community has been forged by the scholars themselves from the very inception of the programme. This includes not just the Gates Cambridge Scholars Council, but also the Gates Cambridge Alumni Scholars’ network. As well as a host of events and opportunities to share ideas across disciplines and geographies, the community has led not just to impactful collaborations but lasting friendships.

Gates Cambridge has also launched its own podcast this year, So, now what? which has tackled some of the biggest issues of our time from climate change to global health, bringing together scholars from around the world who are making an impact in academia, policymaking, the arts and industry.

More information on Gates Cambridge can be found on www.gatescambridge.org and a list of the class of 2024 can be found on the Gates Cambridge Directory page.