Sydney Animals for Everyone Rehoming (SAFE) is a volunteer-run organisation supporting unwanted and vulnerable cats through care, socialisation, and adoption, with a community that is compassionate and supportive.
Responsibilities & Ideal Background
Typical activities include cat socialisation and daily care, assisting with adoption enquiries and community outreach, and helping with simple digital materials for events and awareness.
A good fit is someone passionate about animals, patient, and ready to work closely in a team. Skills in social media or community engagement are helpful for promoting adoption and events.
LiA Champion
Our LiA Champion is Rong Hua. Curious about this project but not sure where to start? They can share candid insights from their experience—what the work involved, skills that proved useful, and pointers for exploring a good fit. Please contact them via the Laidlaw Scholars Network: https://laidlawscholars.network/users/rong-hua
Organisation Contact
SAFE – Sydney Animals for Everyone Rehoming
Email: sue@saferehoming.com.au
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.
Interested in anything and everything in chemistry that looks fun. Currently active in STEM outreach and volunteering.
Hello, I am a current graduate medic at Imperial College London with research interests in cancer immunology. My summer research project will be on improving the efficacy of immunotherapies for treating cervical cancer, and I am hoping to conduct my leadership in action project in a related area as well.
Active programmer very interested in science and solving global problems.
I'm a Geography student at UCL, interested in conservation ecology, environmentalism and climate change. My Laidlaw research project is based on freshwater ecology, where I try to create a manual for citizen scientists conducting river monitoring projects.
As hobby I love music: I'm an amateur singer and songwriter! I'm also interested in learning foreign languages, and actually spent a year studying an undergraduate degree in French at Peking University before coming to UCL.
Feel free to contact me about anything related to geography... or any fun stuff!
