Yilin Tang

Yilin Tang, from China, is doing a PhD in Computer Science. She has worked as a volunteer with vulnerable groups and focused her master’s in Mechanical Engineering at Zhejiang University on human-centered computing that could harness the power of AI to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

She collaborated with tech companies, disability organisations and others to build large language models that provide personalised emotional training for children with autism and large vision language models that offer contextual online social assistance for blind and low-vision people in China. 

She says: “Volunteering has transformed my perspective on the world and ignited my resolve to use technology to improve the lives of vulnerable groups.

“At Cambridge, my research will focus on constructing responsible AI systems to support disabled communities, aiming to mitigate potential safety, bias, and privacy concerns associated with AI.”

Panpailin Jantarasombat

Panpailin Jantarasombat, from Thailand, is doing a PhD in Law. Drawing on her experience of growing up between Thailand, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, she is interested in how international law and diplomacy can make and shape a resilient world order.

Panpailin has been Chief Legal Officer of Samaggi Samagom [the Thai Association in the UK] and has also worked as a diplomat in the Thai government, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly and other fora.

She says: "My PhD research will seek to explore how international legal principles can safeguard future generations for the common benefit of humankind.

“In doing so, I hope to promote sustainability in global decision-making processes and develop an international law that is effective, equitable, and engaged with humanity’s long-term needs.”

Annie Shelton

Annie Shelton [top photo], from the US, will do a PhD in Plant Sciences. Currently working at NASA, her research explores how to build resilient food systems in extreme environments that can enable people to thrive both on Earth and in space.

Her PhD will focus on optimising photosynthesis by aligning plants’ internal circadian clocks with controlled lighting in artificial environments. Her research aims to explore how lighting schedules influence plant growth and biological timing, with the goal of designing more efficient and resilient crop systems. 

The plant’s circadian rhythms control functions like photosynthesis, water use and stress responses, which are typically in sync with natural day-night cycles. In space habitats or indoor farms, lighting conditions often deviate from this rhythm, which can reduce plant performance and resource efficiency.

She says: “By working in the most extreme conditions, space challenges us to rethink everything we know about growing food. What we learn there can transform agriculture in ways we haven’t yet imagined.”

Sarah Borges

Sarah Borges, from Brazil, is doing a PhD in Psychiatry. Growing up in Goiânia, Brazil, she witnessed how structural and social determinants often triggered and perpetuated psychological distress.

Later, as an undergraduate at Harvard, she sought to understand how mental illness stigma impacts help-seeking and service use among the largest cohort of Brazilian youth at high risk of mental illness.

Through her PhD she feels a responsibility as the first Gates Cambridge Scholar from her state to improve the wellbeing of those who are often left out of research and policy.

She says: “Are youth mental health services effective? For whom, and in what contexts? My research at Cambridge aims to answer these key open questions, focusing on Brazil and the UK.

“Ultimately, my goal is to inform policy and improve care for youth in under-resourced settings. I’m deeply grateful to join a global community of changemakers who share a commitment to improving the lives of others.”