Joshua Tickner Bellau
Laidlaw Scholar | Undergraduate Student | French and Spanish Joint Honours, Trinity College Dublin
Hi my name is Paul, I am a fourth year medical student in Trinity College Dublin.
Laidlaw Scholar 2024/2025
Geography and Geoscience Student at Trinity College Dublin
Research Project Title:
Investigating how trace concentrations of fluorine impact the growth of the most important carbonate biomineral, calcite.
Hello wonderful people :D
My name is Deep and I am a first-year undergraduate studying Biology at Pembroke College, the University of Oxford.
I am also proud to be part of the 2025-2026 Laidlaw Scholars Cohort at the Oxford SDG Impact Lab!
I'm excited to learn about and get experience in using biology to create a meaningful impact in the world, particularly in the fields of conservation, climate change, ecology and sustainability.
I am also passionate about learning science and student empowerment! I hope to help build a world in which every child and student has the resources, support, guidance and opportunities to dream big; turn their dreams into goals; and turn their goals into reality. I hope to help build a world that is brighter, kinder and more loving, in which more people reach their full, golden glowing potential.
So far in my leadership journey, I have been creating meaningful impact on a small scale, through volunteering as a tutor and at my high school's pupil support centre; my current role as a student mentor at Biology By Clare; and more recently starting an online academic empowerment project! Over the years, I have become fascinated with ways we could empower more students using larger-scale initiatives, at the levels of education policy, charities and other organisations. Hence, I am very excited about my Laidlaw research project!
For my research project, I am going to be working in a group with some of my Laidlaw Scholar friends at the Oxford SDG Impact Lab. We are going to be researching how we can use co-curricular programmes to improve student well-being and educational outcomes, particularly with the hope of helping solve educational inequity in Oxfordshire.
Outside of Biology and academic empowerment, I love English Literature; Drama, Theatre and Film (I'm currently obsessed with the Wicked!). I am also a big Taylor Swift fan :)
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, want to work on a meaningful project together, or just want to have a good conversation :)
(I prefer email or Instagram)
I am immensely grateful for this opportunity and for being part of this incredible global community. Wishing and sending everyone here so much joy, light and happiness! I'm rooting for you!
Here is a link to my YouTube channel by the way, in case you want to check it out :D
A link to my YouTube channel, in case you want to check it out :D
A link to my empowerment Instagram channel
A link to my personal Instagram account
My email: deep.thakkar.world@gmail.com
Hi! My name is Neasa Nic Corcráin and I’m an Environmental Science and Engineering student at Trinity College Dublin.
My research project is titled “Investigating the link between heavy metals in menstrual hygiene products and hormonal reproductive health"
This research aims to explore how heavy metals commonly found in menstrual products, like lead and arsenic, may impact hormonal health in the short term. I’ll be testing a range of products in collaboration with an analytical laboratory, running a survey to assess self-reported hormonal symptoms, and analysing the data to understand potential risks. I’m also interested in how aware consumers are of these risks and hope the project will help advocate for safer product formulations, clearer labelling, and stronger regulations.
I look forward to meeting other members of the Laidlaw community, feel free to contact me!
Hello! My name is Bhadra, and I am a second-year Law and Business student at Trinity College Dublin. I have an interest in criminal law, in particular feminist criminology. My Summer 1 research topic is 'Motherhood on Trial: A Comparative Analysis of the Miscarriage of Justice in Infanticide Cases'. I aim to take an inter-jurisdictional perspective in examining three notable cases - those of Joanne Hayes, Sally Clarke and Kathleen Folbigg.
Overall, my overarching goal is to highlight how women exist and are perceived within inherently oppressive social systems. If you have any questions or would like to reach out, please feel free to do so on panickeb@tcd.ie!
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!
Hi everyone! My name is Beatrice Wharton-Hood and I am a Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering student from Trinity College Dublin. I am from Johannesburg, South Africa, and moved to Dublin for university. I am super excited to be a part of the Laidlaw community and look forward to connecting with all of you!
My research project this summer delves into the world of nanomaterials and how they can be used to enhance and improve perovskite solar cells. This project aims to identify which nanomaterial is the champion in enhancing the cell's efficiency, stability and durability, as well as how it can help the cell be manufactured on a larger scale. Furthermore, the environmental and economic impacts of the material's inclusion will be analysed and discussed.
Apart from having a keen interest in sustainability and engineering, I am an avid sports fan, particularly tennis and field hockey!
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
Hello, I'm Ethan! I am a Political Science and Social Policy Student at Trinity College Dublin. I am originally from California, but I split my time between California and Ireland growing up. As a politics student, I am interested in the policy and regulation of the technology sector.
Through my research, I wish to study the relationship between innovation and regulation for countries looking to remain innovative while also mitigating the adverse effects that come along with the rapid development of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
I look forward to connecting with other scholars at Trinity and beyond!
Hi! I’m Rachel, a 3rd year undergraduate at Trinity College Dublin. I'm a Computer Science major with a minor in Business. My current research focuses on AI-generated content detection in academic writing, and how we can design systems that go beyond surface-level tone analysis and actually look at how something was created, not just what it looks like on the page.
I’m particularly interested in where technology meets accountability; whether that’s through blockchain-backed transparency, ethical design, or just building tools that help people do good things better. I think we need to be a lot more thoughtful about how we integrate AI into education, and a lot more ambitious about the kinds of institutions we want to shape in the process. Also, like most people who spend too long on side projects, I occasionally forget how to relax.
When I do, though, I read whatever I can get my hands (usually poetry or classic fiction). Or I try baking some treats. Or I go cafe hopping with friends for conversation. If you’d like to chat about any of the above, or anything really, I’d love to hear from you.
David Emanuel Elcock
Student | Founder of the Journal of Biometallics, Trinity College Dublin | Journal of Biometallics