Hello! I am Major Richmond, and I enjoy spending time with friends, playing tennis, and visiting the best theme parks in the country. I am a PROUD Blue Devil and a member of Duke University's Class of 2028! I intend to pursue a degree in Public Policy Analysis and explore Environmental Science and Spanish💙😈 In general, The United States is in an unprecedented state of division, specifically in the political realm. The US democratic system has turned into a battle arena full of uncertainty, hatred, and various bad decisions. For my life goal, I have sworn to put a halt to this crippling division and start to put compromise over stubbornness. The best current policy solutions arise when democrats, republicans, conservatives, liberals, and independents unite to create change TOGETHER, rather than separate. As an aspiring politician, I plan to end division for the country's benefit.

Hello! I’m Jiyon, a rising third-year student at Georgetown University from New York City. I will be studying at the University of Oxford for the 2025-26 school year. I’m majoring in Economics and minoring in Mathematics, with my academic interests lying in public economics, governance, climate policy, and labor economics. In my first summer as a Laidlaw Scholar, I am assisting a research project in Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy on identifying causes of heterogeneity in U.S. state tax systems and associating variations in tax progressivity with different infant health outcomes. Separately, I am looking at how different types of public spending across U.S. states can improve social capital for the elderly. I am passionate about finding public policy solutions that improve quality of life, promote effective governance, and create durable socioeconomic institutions.

Hello! I am an incoming third year Mathematics student at the University of St Andrews, and my Laidlaw research project is geared at investigating the intersection between coloniality and mathematics and its impacts on students from the Global South. It is the product of my (rather polar) interests in English Literature and Mathematics!

Hey there! I'm Miki, a 2025 scholar pursuing a combined degree in Persian, Arabic and International Relations at the University of St Andrews. I care deeply about refugee issues - particularly in the Middle East, owing to my personal experiences with refugees in Jordan and Iran. My research project explores how the  Jordanian and Lebanese governments' differing policies toward Syrian refugees have influenced their integration into their host societies.

Hello! I’m Ayaan, a first-year MEng Biochemical Engineering student at University College London, driven by a curiosity for how science and engineering can be harnessed to solve some of the world’s most urgent challenges — from climate change to food insecurity to ethical innovation in healthcare. As a Laidlaw Scholar, my research dives into the world of cultivated meat — a frontier that aims to redefine how we produce and consume animal protein. I’m exploring how plant-based scaffolds made from alginate and pectin can be engineered to support muscle cell alignment and tissue development, helping bring structured, slaughter-free meat closer to scalable reality. Under the supervision of Dr. Petra Hanga, I’ll be working with hydrogel fabrication, cell culture, and image analysis to optimise scaffold design — all with the goal of building more ethical, sustainable food systems. Outside the lab, I’m President of UCL’s Biotechnology & Synthetic Biology Society, where I lead initiatives connecting students to cutting-edge research, industry experts, and the growing bioeconomy. From launching our upcoming podcast to organising our first Synthetic Biology Conference, I love building platforms that help others engage with the science shaping our future. Service is a key part of who I am. Each week, I volunteer at the Charing Cross Food Bank, helping support vulnerable communities through hands-on food distribution. It’s a constant reminder of why science should serve society — not just through innovation, but through direct impact. When I’m not in a lab or planning the next event, you’ll probably find me out for a run, playing a few intense sets of badminton, or exploring hidden corners of London in search of underrated cafés and green spaces. I’m a lifelong Arsenal fan, which has taught me some of life’s most valuable lessons: character building through near-misses, resilience in the face of last-minute heartbreak, and grit while surrounded by friends who support literally any other club and never let me hear the end of it. I’m especially interested in the intersection of biotech, sustainability, and policy, and hope to one day contribute to a world where scientific innovation is deeply rooted in equity and access. If you’re working on something exciting in food tech, biotech, or community-driven science — or just want to chat about CRISPR or the Champions League — feel free to reach out: ayaan.a.shah@gmail.com. Always up for a good conversation.

Hello hello! I am an incoming third-year student at the University of St Andrews pursuing a degree in biology. Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, I moved to Italy in 2013 and have been living there ever since. Growing up in the birthplace of the Renaissance, I wanted to pursue higher education in a place with historical significance and somewhere where I could take walks in nature between classes; hence my choice of the University of St Andrews that is situated on the beautiful Scottish coastline. Over the course of my academic journey I have had the chance to explore numerous areas in biology, ranging from evolution to bacteriophage discovery to cell systems, out of which epigenetics and gene regulation during development have piqued my interest.  My primary research interest is developmental biology, which arose from my fascination with how multicellular organisms originate from a single cell. Therefore, my research focus for the first summer of the Laidlaw Scholars programme was the investigation of abdominal metamorphosis in Dipteran insects. To do so, I used fixation and Hoechst staining in addition to microscopy to study cell movement during several developmental stages in 2 species of flies. As for my leadership in action (LiA) project, I would like to make a meaningful contribution to an ongoing project related to wildlife conservation.  If I am not in lectures or studying in the library, I can be found working on a short story, watching films (and logging them on Letterboxd), reading old science fiction, or on a hike capturing the nature around me through photography. Having grown up in a multicultural setting, I enjoy learning more about the different cultures that exist on our planet, whether it is through cuisine, music, travelling, or linguistics. The latter partially explains my grasp of nearly five languages, though I have to warn you that my fluency differs dramatically. Otherwise, I also love spending time with animals, playing board games, or just talking. More than anything, I am always happy to meet like-minded individuals who are curious about the world. Thus, please feel free to reach out or connect with me on LinkedIn! I would particularly appreciate the input of any scholar who is interested (or has experience) in similar potential LiA areas.

2025 scholar with a primary interest in microfinance within informal economies. My research aims to understand whether the inclusion of a "peer-support" element in a microfinance programme (where those funded by the programme regularly meet up to form a community) can notably boost the success of microenterprises and improve payback rates on loans. My research has a primary focus on informal economies in Nairobi, Kenya, but I aim to broaden this out to other parts of the world in the future. I'm interested in connecting with anyone, especially those with a focus on development economics, microfinance, informal economies and institutional knowledge building/sharing practices. 

Hello! I am a second year at the University of St Andrews, studying Mathematics and Computer Science. My research focus is on applying Bayesian networks to electroencephalography (EEG) data.

Hello! I’m Henry, a second-year student at the University of St Andrews. Originally from Lancashire, I moved to Scotland in 2023 to pursue an undergraduate degree in modern history. Now entering my third year, my interests primarily revolve around late modernity, covering themes of empire, oppression, and propaganda.                   For my Laidlaw research, I am focusing on youth targeted propaganda in Nazi Germany. Specifically, I am analysing the techniques used in the children’s literature of the Third Reich to skew the youth’s morality, comparing this to themes found in the contemporary U.S.. With the recent resurgence of far-right politics, I feel it is crucial to analyse the means and manner of indoctrination, particularly those centred on the youth.                    I look forward to connecting with you all and reading about your projects!

Hey hey! :) I'm Tamar, a Financial Economics student at the University of St Andrews, based in historic and picturesque Scotland. I am originally from Georgia (the country!), heading into my 3rd year of undergraduate study. This summer marks my first as a Laidlaw Scholar, and I am incredibly excited to be undertaking my research project: “Beyond Words: Women, Equality and the Early Esperanto Language Community.” Through historical artefacts, I will be exploring how the early Esperanto movement (1900s–1920s) created inclusive spaces for women, challenging the gender norms of its era. Given that gender inequality remains a pressing issue today, it is fascinating to explore how earlier generations managed to confront these challenges, despite arguably more rigid societal constraints. You might be surprised by my choice of a socio-historic topic — after all, I study finance and economics. But I have always been fascinated by interdisciplinary thinking. My curiosity often leads me to explore humanities subjects at length, and I take every chance I get to expand my horizons beyond my degree. What's more, this project gives me the perfect excuse to pick up another language! Language learning is one of my greatest passions (although I must confess I dabble more than I master), and I am always on the lookout for compelling study materials. Outside of academics, I adore capturing the beauty of my surroundings, travelling and planning future trips, reading, watching great cinema, and unwinding with music — I even brought my national instrument, the Panduri, to St Andrews all the way from Georgia and strum it as much as I can to keep a little piece of home with me.  If any of this sparks your interest —  whether you got curious about my research, want to exchange language-learning tips, or just chat about shared interests, I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to reach out here or connect with me on LinkedIn. Look forward to connecting with you! :)

Hello! I’m Trisha, a fourth-year student at Cornell University from Texas, USA. I’m majoring in Environment and Sustainability with a dual focus on food systems and wildlife conservation, and minoring in International Relations. My interests in combining my enduring passions for writing and wildlife conservation have driven me to explore multiple perspectives on highly-controversial issues such as trophy hunting, retaliatory animal killings, and illegal wildlife crime. Thus, during my first summer as a Laidlaw Scholar and as a member of the Morally Contested Conservation team, I wrote a literature review on the interconnectedness of climate change and human-wildlife conflicts in East and southern Africa. In June and July 2024, I furthered this research by traveling to the University of Oxford and to the Burunge Wildlife Management Area in Tanzania. I will be returning to Oxford and Burunge in June and July 2025 to report my results.  As an aspiring environmental policymaker and journalist, I am passionate about making technical scientific information more accessible to the general public. At Cornell, I am an Institute of Politics and Global Affairs Scholar, through which I interact with policymakers monthly to discuss pervasive issues in international politics. I also speak Marathi, Spanish, and Swahili at varying levels of fluency and plan to continue to grow my language skills to communicate environmental issues across continents and cultures.  For fun, I love to turn even the most mundane materials into recycled art, spend hours on end working through jigsaw puzzles, and go for runs while listening to podcasts. And as a diehard foodie who loves to travel, I’m always looking for recommendations of places to visit or new recipes to try!  The Laidlaw Scholars Program has been an invaluable component of my undergraduate experience. The friendships I’ve made, as well as the research and language skills I’ve begun to develop, have encouraged me to continue to ask and seek answers to complicated questions about global affairs and environmental science. If anyone has questions or feedback about the Laidlaw Program, is interested in collaborating, or just wants to say hello, please feel free to email me at trb238@cornell.edu. I hope we can meet in person someday!

Hello! I recently graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology Research from the University of Toronto. I’m passionate about youth mental health and how humour can be used to support resilience after adversity. My Summer 1 research project explored the relationship between childhood adversity, aggression, and self-regulation — deepening my understanding of the psychological impacts of early trauma. In Summer 2, I led a Leadership-in-Action project at SOS Children’s Villages in Cape Town, where I designed and facilitated a comedy-based mental health program for teens. That experience led me to found HaHaHelps — an organization that uses improv comedy to support youth mental health through accessible, community-led workshops. I'm currently piloting the full program in South Africa, with plans to expand to more communities globally. Please feel free to connect :) Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/younessrobert-tahiri Email: youness@hahahelps.org