Hi! I'm Lizzie, a second-year Biological Sciences student at Durham University. Deeply passionate about advocating for and taking action to maintain environmental health and sustainability, I aim to contribute meaningfully to these efforts by expanding my understanding of such challenges and collaborating with like-minded individuals who share a dedication to environmental conservation.
I have a particular interest in conservation strategies that focus on umbrella species, such as the macaw, where protecting one species can generate wider ecological benefits for entire ecosystems. This interest has been deepened through my current summer placement with the Macaw Recovery Network in Costa Rica, where I am contributing to species recovery and environmental education. My work includes practical conservation tasks at the breeding centre and reserve, supporting welfare and maintenance, developing resources for volunteers, and collaborating with staff and community members to strengthen outreach programs.
Alongside this, I am documenting activities and recommendations to create a volunteer guide, ensuring future interns and volunteers can contribute effectively. These experiences are helping me explore how conservation initiatives can balance ecological impact with community engagement, while also testing and developing my leadership capacities and character.
In my free time, I actively participate in environmental volunteer work and love to do anything creative, from painting to crocheting and reading. I also enjoy spending time outdoors, particularly dog walking, and practising karate with my university club.
Hello! I’m a Philosophy student at Durham University, with academic interests in applied ethics, decision-making and sustainability. My broader aim is to use interdisciplinary research to drive measurable, socially meaningful change.
My summer research explored barriers to public transport adoption, with a view toward long-term policy implementation. This project combined behavioural science, psychology, urban planning, and design to contribute to more sustainable and inclusive transport policies.
For my LiA, I will be travelling to Kerala for the central CraftHER project, where I will undertake four consulting projects with local female-led businesses and a research project.
Hey! I'm Nicole, an oncoming third-year law student at Durham. I have a wide legal and political interest, specifically land law and trusts! I was born in the States but spend most of my childhood in Schiedam, and I have a soft spot for languages and different cultures.
Hello! I'm Melissa (she/her), an incoming third-year undergraduate student at Durham University studying BSc Natural Sciences. I am passionate about multi-disciplinary learning, and my range of degree modules across the departments of Biology, Geography and Anthropology allow me to explore my interests across both the sciences and social sciences. I love all things human, and am especially interested in the fields of human biology, equitable healthcare, and public health.
In summer 2025, I thoroughly enjoyed commencing my journey as a Laidlaw Scholar with my research project focussing on the development of vision in human fetuses, including focussing on how maternal mental health impacts upon this. In summer 2026, I had the privilege of travelling to Melbourne, Australia to undertake my 6-week LiA project with the not-for-profit Big Group Hug.
In my free time, I love to spend time with friends and family, bake, go for walks, and play with my cocker spaniel! I am also passionate about volunteering, various sports, reading, and music!
Feel free to get in touch!
Hi there! I'm an incoming 3rd year BSc Psychology student at Durham University.
The question "why does sad music help us feel better sometimes?" sums up my first year research project. I investigated how international students interact with music to make themselves feel better in different contexts. It is important to investigate cross-culturally as our world becomes more globalised. Moreover, I believe music can transcend geographical and cultural boundaries, as it seems to have such a profound effect on everyone, regardless of where they’re from. Not only may music connect us all, but it can also connect us with ourselves.
For my Leadership-in Action I worked on Body & Soul Charity's You Are Not Alone (YANA) research project: Evaluating the longitudinal effectiveness of Group Dialectic Behavioural Therapy and ongoing trauma-informed community support for young people aged 16-35 at high risk of suicide. I formed a data management framework to automate data entry with R and made the corresponding tutorials for research volunteers.
Ultimately, my involvement in mental health research builds onto my future career aspirations; I aim to be a Clinical Psychologist while encouraging the integration of arts and culture into mental health interventions.
I'm deeply interested in the interdisciplinary nature of music and psychology; however, I’m also excited to hear how other academic disciplines may interact and merge. Likewise, I enjoy multiple hobbies like playing the piano and ukulele, singing, cooking, crocheting, and reading. I think being a nerd about your interests is really cool, so if you’re like-minded, I’d love to chat with you!
I became a Laidlaw Scholar in 2025 during the first year of my BSc in Physics & Chemistry at @Durham University, with interest in researching interdisciplinary solutions to anthropogenic climate change and pollution.
In my first summer, I developed biosourced polymers for use in laundry detergents, producing a compound with promising performance compared to industry standards. For my Leadership in Action project, I partnered with @Under the Wave Organisation to assist data monitoring at a sea cucumber farm and support sustainable livelihoods in Zanzibar.
Hello, my name is Erin and I am a third year Classics student at Durham University. I am thrilled to have been accepted onto the Laidlaw Leadership and Research Programme as part of the 2025 cohort.
I have always been what I consider to be academically curious but what is more colloquially termed as nerdy - especially in regards to Classics (I just love learning new things!). I also have aspirations to undertake a career in humanitarian work, driven by my desire to fight for social justice and empower others to do so.
In this way, the remit of the Leadership and Research programme, to cultivate leaders whose actions are both ethical and data-driven, appeared to me to be perfectly aligned with my own interests.
I have had previous experience in the various domains of the programme: in terms of leadership, I was Head Student at my Secondary School in my final year; in terms of research, I completed a 5000 word EPQ research paper in Year 12; and, in terms of social impact, I have had some volunteering experience at a local food-bank.
However, I am both aware of and looking forward to the fact that this programme is going to really challenge me mentally, emotionally and physically when it comes to the research project, the Oxford Character Project and the LiA, respectively. I am hopeful that the programme will lead to lots of personal growth and assist, alongside my degree and other uni experiences, in equipping me with the tools I need to be the driving force behind the change I want to see in the world after graduation!
Hi! I am an undergraduate Psychology student at Durham University and a 2025/26 Laidlaw scholar. So far in my Laidlaw journey, I have undertaken research into Formula 1 fan marketing and gendered motivation, which involved designing, carrying out, analysing, and presenting my research, including collecting data at the British Grand Prix and interviewing Ferrari personnel.
I recently completed the Oxford Character Project hosted by Oxford University to further my leadership skills and am currently in the final stages of the programme to implement what I have learned in Mexico City, designing educational tools to teach children about consent and leading a group of volunteers to make it happen. Follow along!