Hello! I'm Milla, a rising third-year student at Trinity College Dublin! I am originally from Sweden, but grew up in Seattle! As an Economics major and Political Science minor, my passions are rooted in macroeconomic policy in relation to immigration and environmental justice.
As such, my research seeks to contextualise the shortcomings in the economic integration of immigrants in Stockholm through an analysis of respective wealth profiles between first-generation immigrants and native Swedes. It additionally cross-references the economic evaluation to their relative access to quality green spaces, assessing the sophistication level of integration as it pertains to public goods.
I am excited to connect and learn about all the fascinating research conducted by my fellow Laidlaw scholars! Feel free to reach out-- I'd love to connect!
Law student at Trinity College Dublin
I'm an incoming 3rd year Law and German student in Trinity College Dublin.
My research centres on how the criminal justice systems responds to abused women who kill their abusive partners. The defences to a charge of killing are usually provocation, self-defence, and diminished responsibility/insanity. However, feminist legal theorists argue that these defences arise out of a typical male rather than female experience. Victims of domestic abuse who kill typically lack an obvious imminent threat of violence, which is required to use the legal defences, and instead are responding to a cycle of violent behaviour.
I want to understand how these women are treated in criminal justice systems, and how we can improve the law in this area.
I am passionate about improving equality and fair treatment in the legal system, as well as gender studies and criminology. I would love to get in touch if you are interested in any of these areas!
Hello! I'm Crystal, a current third year medical student from Trinity College Dublin, and originally from Yangon, Myanmar. I think physicians are in a unique position where they are entrusted by patients, understand firsthand the shortcomings in patient care, and possess the biomedical knowledge and skills needed to drive meaningful change, placing them at the forefront of cutting-edge research that can directly benefit patient care. I would love to be a physician-scientist one day who can bridge scientific discovery with clinical practice.
My research explores the effects of smoking on innate immunity and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). I am fortunate to be part of a great research lab that allows me to explore my own ideas, design my own experiments, and, most importantly, keep moving forward when things do not go as planned!
I also love cooking and baking -- I am always thinking of what I should have for my next meal!
Hello, My name is Anabel O’Hora, I am a Junior Sophister in European Studies at Trinity College Dublin, currently studying at SciencesPo, The Institut d’études politiques de Strasbourg.
My Summer One research was concerned with examining the level of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the native language learning environments of Ireland and India. It was discovered that learning through native languages greatly enhances educational outcomes. Following further research the necessity of creating an ESD toolkit and making it accessible to all those making up our youngest generation was clear. It is hoped that this project may, in a small way, identify a void in the efforts being made to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and attempt to fill this space, with education, optimism and a more sustainable future.
The toolkit shall continue to be developed in the coming year. The toolkit shall first be put in practice in an Irish language learning environment. Following this and potential modifications. It will hopefully be put into practice in the Benegal region of India. Neither Gaeilge (Irish) nor Bengali are official UN languages, and do not receive formal dissemination of educational material. Putting the toolkit into practice in both of these differing learning environments, will pave the way for final examination of the toolkit and its efficacy in native speaking regions. The culmination of this research, toolkit development and in-field application is to create a tested adaptable educational toolkit suitable for worldwide implementation.
I am passionate about sustainability, having been a member of the National Youth Assembly of Ireland and the Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, amongst other advocacy groups. I also am an avid member of many choirs, dramatic societies and a committed member of my university rowing team, Dublin University Ladies Boat Club, just a few of the many parts which make up my life. I would love to connect with fellow scholars and alumni. If you would like to discuss research, sustainable development or the future, please get in touch!
Hello! My name is Anna Halvey, and I am an undergraduate student of Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology (PPES) at Trinity College Dublin and a member of the Laidlaw Leadership and Research Scholars 2026 cohort.
I am broadly interested in political behaviour, public discourse, and the ways technology shapes how we understand and engage with the world.
As such, my summer research project, Delegated Citizenship in the New Public Sphere, explores the growing role of social media influencers in shaping political understanding and behaviour in an Irish context. Rather than relying primarily on traditional political institutions or mainstream news media, many citizens now engage with digital intermediaries who frame, simplify, and interpret political information on their behalf. Drawing on survey data and semi-structured interviews, I will examine whether Irish citizens are increasingly outsourcing political judgement to these actors, how this shapes political behaviour, and what implications this may have for the public sphere. In light of ongoing policy debates around democratic protection, the era of misinformation, and the rise of populism and post-truth politics, I believe this is a particularly important moment to study how political understanding is formed in digitally mediated environments.
My interests outside academia reflect these themes. I have a history of environmental, gender equality, and mental health activism at a local and national level. I am particularly interested in policy addressing climate (in)justice and the protection of human rights. Beyond this, I love being out in nature, learning about subjects outside my discipline, and trying a different genre of music every week.
Feel free to reach out if you have questions, want to discuss research, or simply chat about your niche interests - I would love to hear from you!
Hi, my name is Peter McNulty. I am an Undergraduate Leadership & Research Scholar at Trinity College Dublin.
For my research project, I will be "Pricing the environmental impact of AI-related data centre energy consumption in Ireland" as I think that it is important to balance AI's economic benefits with the growing emissions and energy consumption burden that Ireland faces. This will involve a literature review of EU Carbon Policy, research into carbon market trends and computation of AI-specific consumption costs using EU ETS pricing frameworks.
Outside of my studies, I play guitar, piano and sing in pubs! I also enjoy running long distances for charity.
Hi! My name is Stephanie, and I am a medical student from Trinity College Dublin. I am drawn to how medicine helps us understand our brains, people, society, and systems to improve health and well-being.
My research project examines the intersection of climate change and brain health from a policy perspective. Climate change is often framed as an environmental emergency. However, its consequences such as extreme heat, disaster-related trauma, and air pollution have an indispensable toll on brain and general health. Yet, global frameworks and mitigation strategies continue to treat health and neurological wellbeing as an afterthought.
My project will uncover how current policy guidelines and interventions lack investment in population wellbeing and health. I aim to work with experts in the field and together build a framework to help countries tailor their climate-health responses with an emphasis on brain and general health. With this interdisciplinary and international approach, I hope to expose and close the gap between policy and wellbeing, translating scientific discovery to real-life health and comfort.
Outside of classes and placements, you can find me outdoors pretending to study in the sun or travelling. I also enjoy Olympic target shooting and hiking.
Very grateful and excited for the Laidlaw journey ahead, feel free to reach out and connect!
Hello! I'm Sonia, a student of Political Science and Economics at Trinity College Dublin. I'm also a 2026 Laidlaw Scholar.
In research and in everyday life, my main interest is how the traumas of the past affect the wellbeing of people in the present. War, structural discrimination and communal violence rarely conclude at appointed historical end dates, but persist in the daily realities of communities for decades. The impacts are often invisible and difficult to quantify, such as chronic stress, sectarianism and complex national identification.
My Summer 1 research examines the modern-day impacts of Ireland's revolutionary past. In the 1920s, over 275 Irish country houses were burned in conflicts over land, religion, class and politics. I will interview members of the tight-knit rural communities where the burnings occurred. My objective is to understand how that legacy of violence impacts people's sense of belonging.
I hope to connect with fellow Scholars and alumni. Especially if you have an interest in conflict, peacebuilding or memory politics, get in touch!
Hello! My name is Lilly Heffernan and I'm a 2026 Laidlaw Scholar from Trinity College Dublin. I'm interested in the way in which human effects on animal behaviour influence their disease spread. 75% of emerging diseases are coming from animals, and I believe that we can manage this in an effective and humane way.
I'm exploring this topic by investigating how artificial light changes how bats use space, and stresses their immune systems. I suspect that artificial light negatively impacts bat immunity, making them more likely to spread disease. This may be a reason we are seeing more human pathogens which originate from bats, such as SARS-CoV-2, and Ebola virus.
I strongly believe that we can curb the spread of these diseases by understanding how our behaviour is affecting our ecosystem. We cannot have healthy humans without healthy animals. This approach targets new pathogens before they spread to humans. If we focus on this angle, we can prevent the inefficient and cruel practice of culling sick animals for our own benefit.
Hi everyone! My name is Anna and I'm part of the 2026 Laidlaw Scholars cohort at Trinity College Dublin, where I study Mathematics with a minor in Statistics.
For my research project, I'll be exploring a question that is becoming more important as AI develops: who is better at predicting the future, humans or algorithms? I'll be comparing forecasts from machine learning models with those from prediction markets, where collective human judgement is turned into live probabilities. After the 2024 US elections, prediction markets rapidly gained attention for correctly predicting the outcome before many traditional forecasts. At the same time, AI is making data-driven forecasting more powerful than ever. Through quantitative analysis, I'm curious to see whether the best predictions come from human insight, algorithmic pattern recognition, or perhaps a combination of both.
More broadly, I am interested in using mathematics to better understand and solve real-world problems like this one. I'm especially drawn to the way it combines logic with creativity, allowing us to approach challenges from different angles and develop efficient and innovative solutions.
Feel free to reach out if you want to discuss research or simply chat!