Lily O'Connell Byrne

Founded in 2002, Bali Children's Foundation (BCF) works to break the cycle of poverty in Bali's most underserved communities through education. BCF identifies remote villages with under-resourced schools, provides scholarships to the most disadvantaged children and upgrades classrooms. It also delivers teaching in English, STEM, literacy and numeracy, trains local teachers and runs health check-ups for students. Its aim is to help children complete school, move into further education or employment and improve life in their communities. Responsibilities & Ideal Background Scholars can support BCF's education technology and youth empowerment programmes. Work may include building and improving data systems that track student progress, analysing programme data and working alongside local teachers on student and staff development. The role combines office-based technical work with visits to schools in rural villages. A good fit is someone adaptable and patient, who is comfortable learning new technical skills on the job and listening before proposing solutions. Backgrounds in education, data, technology or community development are all useful. Scholars should be prepared for unreliable internet access and changing schedules, and should research health, food and water safety and local transport before arriving. LiA Champion Curious about this project but not sure where to start? Our LiA Champion can share candid insights from their placement in Bali, where they built a data system to track the progress of more than 1,300 students across 53 schools, which BCF now uses across other departments. Harold Kwong (University College London) Email: haroldwskwong@gmail.com · Phone: +44 7808 430586 View profile Organisation Contact Kadek Suparma, EdTech and Youth Empowerment Lead Email: implementation@balichildrenfoundation.org

Hi, I’m Katie McGowan, a Psychology undergraduate at the University of Leeds and a 2025 Laidlaw Scholar. My academic interests centre around human behaviour, social influence, and cultural psychology. This summer, I’m researching how cultural background and perceived empathy in artificial intelligence influence consumer trust — a project that brings together my fascination with social psychology and cross-cultural dynamics. Outside of academia, I’m passionate about women’s rights, youth leadership, and community impact. I’ve volunteered with organisations including Let Me Know (LMK) and Jewish Women’s Aid (JWA), helping to raise awareness around healthy relationships and gender-based violence. I’m also a Holocaust Educational Ambassador, committed to promoting dialogue, reflection, and education around collective memory and human rights. I currently serve as a School Representative for Psychology, advocating for students and working with staff to ensure that student feedback leads to meaningful change. Leadership, empathy, and representation are values that guide everything I do. Outside of my academic and voluntary work, I love travel and adventure — I hold an Advanced Open Water Scuba Diving certification, and I’m always looking for new ways to explore both above and below the surface. I'm especially interested in how research and leadership can create real-world change, and I’m always open to connecting with others who share those goals.

Hello! My name is Lily, and I’m pursuing a degree in psychology with a minor in music. My first summer research was interdisciplinary in that it included psychology, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral studies, and music. I designed an experiment about how emotional music impacts future perception and imagination. Then, I collected behavioral data to address my research question. For my LiA, I traveled to Cape Town, South Africa with Anjelica Young, Elizabeth Wallace, and Soyu Hong to create programming for kids and child/youth care workers at SOS Children's Villages, with the support of our coordinator: Youness Robert-Tahiri. I taught poetry and developmental psychology; I co-taught visual art, music, and college/career prep workshops. In the future, my goal is to get a PhD in clinical psychology to support the mental health of kids who survived early adversity and continue research. I love making art, playing my violin, and reading and writing poetry. Some of my favorite books are Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke and any poetry by Langston Hughes. 

Hello! I'm Eugenia, a second-year undergraduate student studying Biomedical Sciences at The University of Hong Kong. I'm passionate about healthcare and biotechnology, particularly stem cells, cancer biology, genomics and neuroscience. I aspire to become a research scientist, designing experiments that lead to meaningful discoveries. I'm especially driven by the goal of promoting healthcare equity, and I hope my future work can contribute to solving global health challenges and improving access to effective treatments for all. So far, for my research project the first summer, I investigated how we could reprogram immunity to target the most common type of liver cancer, known as hepatocellular carcinoma. My project focused on a promising cancer treatment strategy known as chimeric antigen receptors (CAR), which enable immune cells to better recognise and eliminate cancer.  In my free time, you'll likely find me at a cafe with a friend or curled up with a good book (I especially enjoy historical fiction and mystery).  I love meeting new people and exchanging ideas, so please feel free to connect! :) Email: ecalvoprieto479@gmail.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-eugenia-calvo-prieto/

Big Group Hug is a children's charity providing material aid to vulnerable children and families across Victoria, Australia, regardless of circumstance or eligibility criteria. It makes sustainable use of second-hand donations of clothes, toys, books and hardware, alongside purchased essentials such as toiletries and baby formula, to support families facing a wide range of challenges. Responsibilities & Ideal Background Scholars can lead an independent project shaped around both their interests and the organisation's needs, for example designing and running research such as BGH's caseworker survey, analysing the results and presenting recommendations to senior leadership. Scholars are also expected to help with day-to-day volunteering at the main warehouse, including processing aid requests. The team is supportive, and project planning before arrival is well organised. A good fit is someone willing to get involved in every part of a not-for-profit's work alongside their own project, with skills in research, data analysis, project management or community engagement. The BGH site is around 20km from Melbourne's city centre, roughly a 40-minute train journey and a 2km walk. Accommodation in Melbourne is expensive, so scholars should budget for this. LiA Champions Curious about this project but not sure where to start? Our LiA Champions can share candid insights from their placements in Melbourne, including running BGH's 2026 caseworker survey and helping with operations at the warehouse. Elena Law ([University]) Contact via the Laidlaw Scholars Network: View profile Melissa Brownbridge (Durham University) Email: mhwb29@durham.ac.uk View profile Organisation Contact Bernadene Voss, CEO Email: [EMAIL]

Star Top Community School was founded by Mercy and Isaac Sakala in Ng'ombe, an underserved settlement in Lusaka, after first running as a tuition centre for children struggling at school. Its mission is to provide affordable, high-quality primary education to children who might otherwise fall through the gaps of an overcrowded system. Alongside lessons, the school offers an eight-hour day, a free daily meal and moral as well as academic teaching, and encourages students to go on to secondary school. Responsibilities & Ideal Background Scholars teach across a range of subjects and age groups, helping to ease understaffing. Day to day, this involves lesson planning, teaching, marking and pastoral care. Past scholars have also taught music, dance, yoga, storytelling and first aid, prepared students for exams and created grammar resources and promotional videos for the school. Scholars are given a lot of responsibility for a large number of children, and the work is demanding but deeply rewarding. A good fit is someone patient, positive and service-minded, who is happy to adapt to the school's needs rather than arriving with fixed plans. Teaching experience helps, but any experience with children is valuable. Scholars live with the Sakala family on the school site and are welcomed as part of the family. For safety reasons, there is little opportunity to walk around the compound or sightsee independently, so it helps to plan placement dates alongside other scholars. LiA Champions Curious about this project but not sure where to start? Our LiA Champions can share candid insights from teaching at Star Top: what the classroom is like, how to prepare and what life with the Sakala family involves. Cothney Lasaracina (University of Leeds) Contact via the Laidlaw Scholars Network: View profile Rebecca Cole (Cornell University) Email: rmc343@cornell.edu · Phone: +1 512 591 5331 View profile Grace Stephens-Spada (University of St Andrews) Email: gracestephensspada@icloud.com · Phone: +44 7380 289742 View profile Henry Farmer (University of St Andrews) Email: hf70@st-andrews.ac.uk · Phone: +44 7577 759955 View profile Organisation Contact Mercy Mbewe Sakala, Headteacher Email: mercymsakala@gmail.com

I am a rising sophomore at Harvard college pursuing a double concentration in Computer Science and English. For my research summer I worked at Harvard Kennedy School's Fandom and Social Connection Initiative, investigating how shared sports fandom can be used to mitigate the effects of social isolation. I am interested in the intersection of technology and social connection, and how we can use digital tools to create a more connected society.

My name is Rosalind and I'm a first year student in psychology at the University of Cambridge. I am particularly interested in the interection between physical and mental health and how psychological and neurological processes can impact somatic functions. Another major interest of mine is the maintenance of mental health recovery, and how post-acute care in communities and systems can support the longevity of recovery and prevent relapse.

Hello! My name is Anjelica and I'm a student at Columbia University in New York. My current research aims to look into how language shapes the discourse on femicide in the media. In my free time, I make podcast videos with people who I find inspiring, I write (and hunt for banger book quotes on Pinterest), I'm currently planning an initiative in my foundation, and I love improv comedy. A quote that I really love as of now is: "When God had made The Man, he made him out of stuff that sung all the time and glittered all over. Some angels got jealous and chopped him into millions of pieces, but still he glittered and hummed. So they beat him down to nothing but sparks but each little spark had a shine and a song. So they covered each one over with mud. And the lonesomeness in the sparks make them hunt for one another." Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God And yes, I love existential questions.

Hi, everyone! I'm Martin. I'm a third-year student at Georgetown majoring in Biology (with a concentration in Molecular Bio), and I'm planning to minor in Japanese. My focus has always been on cancer biology; so many people I've known have been affected by it, and my life's goal is to contribute to a cure. I'm half-American, half-Bulgarian, the child of two diplomats; I speak English fluently, and intermediate Bulgarian, Japanese, and Spanish. I have a lot of different interests outside of science: basketball and baseball, chess, politics, music, literature, and a whole list of other things that's way too long for this blurb. Here's a random fact about me which I think is kinda cool: I once saw the tallest manmade thing on Earth (the Burj Khalifa) and the tallest thing on Earth, period (Mt. Everest) from the window of the same flight!

I will be studying medicine through the four-year graduate-entry track MBChB at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from September 2026. I am also a graduate in Global Health and Development BASc (1:1), with Psychology and Neuroscience double minors, at the University of Hong Kong, where I joined the Laidlaw Scholars Programme. With my dual background in global health and psychology, I am passionate about the human mind and a sustainable healthcare system that supports mental well-being. I am an enthusiastic learner and proactive leader, building strong teamwork and communication skills by volunteering in youth engagement projects. Working in an overseas health organisation placement and with international research teams has also cultivated my flexible and global mindset. I aspire to contribute to public health and medicine by further integrating my studies in brain and psychological sciences. I had a broad research exposure across the UK, Hong Kong and Japan during my first undergraduate degree. I conducted my Laidlaw research project at the UCL Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health. I also undertook a six-month capstone attachment in Japan, working at the International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba. Some of my ongoing or previous projects include those related to sleep medicine, psychoeducation, mental health, psychiatry and female menstruation health. I am also looking for research internships and further study opportunities in psychological medicine and public health. Last updated: Jul 2026

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! 

I am a 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!

Hi everyone! I am a sophomore at Tufts University in Boston, studying biology and environmental science. I am originally from Cape Town, South Africa, and attended high school in Louisiana. This summer, I am working in Tanzania on a coral restoration project, conducting my own experiment to identify which coral species will be most resilient during this year's El Niño and rising sea temperatures. I will also be exploring how to make the coral gardening process more cost-effective and accessible to coastal East African fishing communities. 

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! 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! 

Dia dhuit! My name is Seán Radcliffe and I am an Economics student at Trinity College Dublin. Outside of my studies, I am a political campaigner, pro-Palestine activist, and the Housing Rights Officer of my student union. I love to sing, travel, and have a laugh! This summer, under the academic supervision of Trinity Fellow and Associate Professor Dr. Davide Romelli, I will be conducting research at Trinity College Dublin on the effects of economic conditions, shocks, and crises on cocaine-related harm and deaths in Ireland between 2004 and 2024; "Reading Between the White Lines: An Investigation into Cocaine-Related Harm in Ireland During Periods of Economic Change and Crisis, 2004-2024." Using statistical analysis and interviews with experts, policymakers, and activists, my project aims to challenge damaging assumptions around drug addiction and harm in Ireland, particularly narratives that simplistically link economic growth and employment with reduced harm. Grateful for this opportunity and excited for what lies ahead.

Hi! My name is Hayden Chernow and I am from Boston, Massachusetts. I am a rising junior at Barnard College majoring in Urban Studies with a focus on the Middle East and Education.  My Laidlaw Scholars Research topic will examine how Jordan's growing refugee population impacts access to trauma-informed education.