Hi! I'm Amanda, a third year Neuroscience student and Laidlaw alum from UCL. I'm Swedish-Persian and grew up in Sweden before moving to London for uni. These days, alongside my studies, I work for the Foundation as a Marketing Assistant. For my first year research project, I worked on optimising alginate hydrogels for 3D astrocyte culture systems. In simpler terms, I was figuring out the best way to prepare a jelly-like scaffolds so that star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes could grow in three dimensions rather than flat on a dish. This matters because 3D environments mimic the brain more realistically, which could help researchers develop better treatments for neurological disorders!  For my Leadership-in-Action project, I co-created Beyond the Books, a resource designed to help students from underrepresented backgrounds navigate the unwritten rules of university life, from internships and networking to professional opportunities that aren't always obvious if you're the first in your family to go to uni. Always happy to connect, whether you want to chat about neuroscience, widening access, the Laidlaw experience, or just say hello! One of my favourite things about this community is getting to meet people from different universities and backgrounds, so please do reach out! 🌟

Hello LSN! 👋 I'm Annie from the University of Toronto, and I am thrilled to be among the 2025 Laidlaw Scholars cohort!  Program: Engineering Science (2T7) -- and in the upcoming fall I'm about to start my third year in aerospace engineering! Finally something interesting after two years of core courses 😵‍💫  Research Topic: gender bias in AI chatbots' responses & how to avoid such bias in AI development 🌟 Now the interests!  Hobbies: climbing beginner (but really enjoys it) 🧗 | video editing 🎬 | journaling 📝 | hiking🚶‍♀️ Enjoys: musicals 🎵 | doctor who 📺 | Comic Con 🎨 Also, for any whovians out there, I am planning to build my first Dalek this summer! Full size, motorized Dalek that will turn up at Fan Expo Toronto this summer 👀 So if you're going too - just send me a message and let's hang out! ✌️