Hi, I am Natalie Magness, a first-year Human Sciences student at University College London interested in biological anthropology and social entrepreneurship. I am a strong believer that seeing humans through both a biological and social-cultural perspective will bring us closer to solving our biggest global issues.  I am a Malaysian of a Chinese and Eurasian ethnicity and was fortunate enough to have been raised in Qatar, an extremely diverse nation. This third-culture identity has moulded me into a global citizen passionate about connecting with others but also has exposed me to the different hardships and injustices others face, reinforcing me desire to use my privilege to help others. Thank you for your time!

I am a fourth-year English and Modern History student at the University of St Andrews. My research looked at the intersection of gender history and transnational history by examining women's involvement in the Esperanto movement in Scotland and the Midlands, and my leadership-in-action was the Think Pacific Health Promotion project. I'm interested in all things art, history, literature, and social change! 

Hi, I'm Polina and I'm a Biochemstry student at the University of St Andrews. I am interested in the properties of enzymes and mechanism of biocatalysis. It is really exciting to be part of the Laidlaw Network. I had the most amazing summer in my life last year, doing research in MacNeill Lab, St Andrews. Looking forward to my second summer as a Scholar, which I will spend volunteering in Ghana.

Hi all! I'm Zina! I am a 3rd Year undergraduate scholar from Durham University. My research interests centre on Decolonisation, the Anthropocene and Radical Decolonisation in the Caribbean region.  I have also been an active member of the 'Decolonising the Modern Languages and Cultures' Research group at Durham and have been appointed as the Decolonising intern for MLAC for the 'Decolonising the Curriculum and Pedagogy' initiative at university!

Hello! I research illiberal democracy: when democratic process no longer protects our rights and freedoms. I use the political threshold concept to qualitatively assess the points at which our social power is lost; I conducted unstructured interviews in Israel and Palestine in summer 2019 to investigate this.  I am driven to impact sustainability through political reform, strategy consulting, and creating new legal demands that will shift environmental demands across countries.  I am a social mobility advocate: always seeking to narrow the disparity between state and private school education.

I am a third year medical student, aiming to make a difference to people's lives and health, starting with my Laidlaw project. In this project, I will be looking at whether distractor-filtering training can improve working memory in healthy ageing individuals.

Anthropology and Sociology Undergraduate; from Bristol, UK. I am completing a research project on narrative transmission and reproduction, looking at how oral accounts of geological events are passed down accurately over generations. By understanding how narratives are constructed I am keen to explore interdisciplinary approaches, particularly between Anthropology, Linguistics, Computer-Human Interaction, and Cognition. Other interests include literature, art and photography, architecture, astronomy, and outdoor pursuits.

Research and Academic Administration

I am an undergraduate Laidlaw Scholar studying Philosophy and Politics at the University of York. I am very interested in climate education. My project investigates collective responsibility regarding climate change in the primary years of school.

I’m a proud care-experienced Neuroscientist. My research focuses on how serotonin and psychedelics shape neuroplasticity in brain regions greatly affected by early-life adversity. In my experiments, I measure how well brain cells can talk to each other during natural serotonin release and following the administration of classic psychedelics (e.g., magic mushrooms). Care-experienced young people represent one of the largest untapped STEM talent pools in the UK. They have all the potential required to succeed and yet, they are still eight times less likely to enrol in university and choose a STEM subject. Care-experienced young people don’t lack talent, they lack the opportunities to unlock it. In my early 20s, I migrated to the UK in search of a brighter future, when I still couldn't speak the language. During my time in care, I struggled at school and didn’t do well academically. But the Foundation Programme at Durham University gave me the chance to catch up and build the confidence I needed. Four years later, I graduated at Durham as the top student in my cohort - with an average mark of over 80%. Only when potential meets opportunity talent can thrive. Driven by this belief, I founded WISHFULICIOUS to give children in care and care-experienced young people the opportunity to see that STEM isn’t just for “someone else” - it’s for them too. To start-up this initiative, I’ve baked and sold cookies, run a small online fundraising campaign, and am now part of the The CareLeaders Fellowship where I’m working to lay the foundation for delivering our first STEM programme. If you share this mission or simply want to help open doors for care-experienced people, I’d love to connect and hear from you!

Hello! I am interested in Children's Literature and its effect on its readers. For my research project, I am looking at Ghanaian Children's Literature. In the future, I would love to broaden this to Children's Literature Around the World.