My name is Hannah Ramsey (she/her), and I am a senior at Barnard College studying neuroscience and English, though my research is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing heavily from the fields of medical anthropology, sociology, and narrative medicine. Currently, I am researching how clinicians' reliance on body composition indicators (BCIs) in health assessments may contribute to the stigmatization of bodies. My intention with this work is to illuminate how moral and aesthetic biases within healthcare teams can negatively influence patient outcomes as a result of the stigmatizing effects associated with body-centric paradigms of health promotion. The goal of this research is to begin conceiving alternative approaches to promoting patients' physical health and subjective well-being that are both body-affirming and size-agnostic. Apart from this research, I also have personal and academic interests in creative writing, writing pedagogy, and advocacy as it relates to the neurodiversity movement. In my spare time, I enjoy writing poetry, playing guitar, and taking long walks outside!

Hi, my name is Aleena Mehta and I am a sophomore at Barnard College, majoring in Economics with a minor in Political Science. I grew up in Jammu and Kashmir, India, and hence have always been fascinated by the field of geopolitics. My research at the Laidlaw Foundation would revolve around extrapolating a relationship between state sovereignty and civil rights violations in the Kashmir crisis. This includes understanding the threat to the autonomy and stability of non-state actors in periods of territorial conflicts while investigating the recent socio-economic developments in the region.

Hi! I'm Sophia, an aspiring scientist and philomath. I love learning about everything and anything and delight in spending time with people who are passionate about the things they love! I am really interested and curious about how we can use chemistry to improve processes and products to help society. For example, my research project is looking into the possibility of turning struvite, a mineral which is a by-product of waste-water treatment processes into slow-release nitrogen and phosphorous fertilisers, which would be a green source nitrogen and phosphorous fertilisers and help achieve goals of zero-waste.  If you are researching something similar or are interested in learning more about the project, please reach out! I am super happy to talk about the project and meet other who are doing something similar and possibly collaborate! 

I am an incoming MPhil candidate in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology at the University of Oxford. My Laidlaw research explores the Incan Empire's positive view of female homosexuality, exploring how their diverse understandings of gender influenced these views on sexuality. It also considered how La Conquista's use of a European lens and translation when documenting Incan civilisation resulted in the erasure of much of the sexual and gender diversity which existed throughout Incan Peru.  Show more

I was fortunate enough to conduct academic research under the supervision of Stephen Gethins,  Professor of Practice in International Relations at the University of St Andrews and now a sitting MP. Stephen introduced me to a truly fascinating yet often overlooked area of International Relations: sub-state and regional actors and their place in global politics, with a focus on Scotland in particular. Through this, I have developed an interest in Scotland's place in the world as a nation without an independent foreign office, but as a nation with extensive international influence and a powerful global diaspora. This topic formed the basis of my Laidlaw project, my undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation, and my PhD. I take a keen interested in other academic fields such as politics, history, and philosophy. Although an International Relations and Sociology student first and foremost, I had the opportunity of studying Ancient History and Classics alongside my degree for two years. If I were to ever win the lottery, you would find me endlessly cycling University, spending my remaining days studying Ancient History and Philosophy, Politics, Anthropology, Theology, Theoretical Physics and Maths, or whatever subject I develop an interest in down the line. Since leaving the University of St Andrews and the Laidlaw Programme, I completed an MRes degree at the University of Glasgow in Sociology and Research Methods. I received a scholarship for a PhD in Sociology at the University of Glasgow which I am completing part-time in addition to my role as Research Officer at Carers Trust Scotland - a charity supporting unpaid carers which I had previously volunteered for. My PhD is a continuation of my Scottish diaspora studies, seeking to reconcile the notion of 'civic Scottishness' with the Scottish identity of the lived diaspora.  

I am studying Sociology, and my research area is sense of belonging, achievement and peer group formation in first-generation undergraduates at Durham University. More generally, I am interested in the sociological study of health (specifically mental health and wellbeing) and the ways in which this intersects with inequalities. Alongside this, I also have an interest in the role Higher Education plays in social mobility and inequalities.

I was a History undergraduate at Durham University, where I was part of the 2021-22 Laidlaw Scholars cohort (2020-23). Afterwards, I studied MSt in Global and Imperial University at Oxford University (2023-24) with a specialisation in postcolonial Anglophone African history and English-speaking Caribbean under the British empire. Now, I'm currently working in digital marketing. For my research, I investigated the use of the Crusades within far-right organisations and what it reveals about the readings of crusade history. During my second summer, I was a part of the ThinkPacific Youth and Community project in Fiji from June to July 2022.  If you have any questions about my research, LiA, or history stuff in general, feel free to contact me here! Also, I like music, video production, and photography.

My project looks at the educational outcomes of children on the Autistic Disorder Spectrum and their correlates. My subjects are Mathematics and Economics within NatSci at Durham University, but I'm eager to engage with anything economics, mathematics and mental health more broadly.

Hi👋🏾 I’m Pearls I am a final year Law student at the University of Leeds. I recently completed a placement year at The Walt Disney Company as a CPGP Contract Management Intern (hence the 'industrial' next to my degree title) My first-year research project looked at the way game-based learning could be incorporated into Multi-Academy Trusts (aka MATs) to improve the academic attainment and classroom engagement of GCSE-year black students. My Leadership-in-Action project was with MakeSense and focused on empowering minority communities within Mexico City.