Hello! My name is Christian Rebolledo, a rising sophomore in Columbia College at Columbia University studying Political Science and Medical Humanities with a Special Concentration in Public Health. I am passionate about intersecting the worlds of public health with political advocacy: people are social, and thus political. I am passionate about community building, civic engagement, and building systems for the next generation of leaders across disciplines. For my first summer as a Laidlaw scholar in the 2026 cohort, I will be characterizing postmortem data from ICE detention centers to identify trends across factors relatd to social determinants of health. I look forward to uncovering the quantitative facets of qualitative reporting currently populating the literature on carceral justice and public health.

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 am currently conducting a feasibility study of the program in South Africa as part of my master’s dissertation in Psychology at the University of Cape Town, 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

Hey everyone! My name is Rinaz Jamal, and I'm a rising sophomore at Columbia University majoring in Neuroscience & Behavior. I am passionate about helping individuals with mental health and neurodegenerative disorders feel seen, heard, and supported. This summer, I will be doing research at the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute under the supervision of Dr. Franck Polleux. My project aims to understand the activity-dependent regulation of mitochondrial protein expression in parvalbumin-positive interneurons, which are among the first neurons to fail in Alzheimer's disease (AD). I am excited to add to the scholarly conversation around Alzheimer's research by identifying the molecular pathways that would be most valuable to target for drug development in the future. Because PV-INs are among the first neurons to fail in AD, understanding these metabolic pathways and restoring levels of mitochondrial proteins has the potential to improve clinical outcomes much earlier in AD progression than current methods. At Columbia, I am involved as a Scientific Review Editor for Grey Matters, our undergraduate neuroscience journal; Blog Editor for the Journal of Global Health; Conference Committee member and Peer Buddy for Columbia Synapse, which advocates for patients with acquired brain injury; and volunteer with Brain Exercise Initiative, where I visit patients with Alzheimer's disease and dementia at a local assisted living home. I also play flute and piccolo in the Columbia University Orchestra. In my free time, I love to read and explore New York City. Please feel free to reach out; I would love to get to know you all!

Hi! My name is Celine and I'm an undergraduate at Columbia University studying Economics-Political Science and Hispanic Studies. In addition to these topics, I also enjoy learnings about China-Taiwan history and politics.  A big part of my interests and passions also lie in journalism. I work as a student journalist at the Columbia Daily Spectator, where reporting on university news. I love studying the things I do because the allow me to tell stories and learn about people from across the world, just as journalism allows me to do here at Columbia.  In my free time, I also love cooking, baking, running, listening to music–maybe occasionally singing some karaoke–and spending time with my friends. 

Hello! My name is Abril Rodriguez Calle, and I am a student at Columbia University studying Medical Humanities with the goal of eventually becoming a doctor. My interests lie in the intersection between medicine, the healthcare system, and ethics, especially in understanding how healthcare decisions and policies affect both patients and communities. This summer, I will be working with Dr. Sandra Lee on an NIH-funded research project exploring the ethical, legal, and social dimensions of global genomics research partnerships. The project examines how institutions and communities negotiate issues such as data ownership, privacy, benefit-sharing, and decision-making in genomics research, with the goal of creating a practical “negotiation playbook” to support more meaningful and equitable collaboration. As part of the research team, I will help analyze policies and institutional practices while gaining experience in qualitative research, bioethics, and global health policy.

Hello! My name is Claire and I'm an incoming sophomore at Columbia University from Los Angeles, California. I am a prospective Medical Humanities major with a special concentration in Public Health. This summer, I look forward to conducting chemistry education research to help learners regain agency in guiding their own problem solving. In my free time, I love ballet, running, reading, and trying new cuisines around New York.