Tia Bulgen

I recently withdrew from studying (general) Engineering at Durham University, and am now exploring defence, development, and diplomacy: writing for Durham Diplomatic Society, and volunteering remotely as visiting coach for Durham University Negotiation Society. The Laidlaw Leadership and Research Scholarship's summer research internship, with my supervisor Prof. Toby Breckon, has provided me great insight into computer vision and pattern recognition research, which not only happily furthered my curiosity, but also better positioned me to report on the Royal Aeronautical Society's recent conference on automation, which I expect to mark a turning point in my career. My previous work in STEM includes co-authoring "Preliminary results from the ROJER-X...", a conference paper which you can find the abstract of through my LinkedIn profile's "Publications" section. The full paper on the ROJER-X remains in preparation.

Hi, I'm Aaryn! I completed my BSc in Biological Sciences at Durham University and I am now at St Andrews for an MSc by research in Biology! I completed my research project in summer 2024, with a Leadership in Action project in Boston, summer 2025. My research project focused on the regulation of stem cells in model organism Drosophila melanogaster (common fruit flies) specifically investigating genes linked to cancer in humans and my LiA was with the Timothy Smith Network. I am particularly interested in genetics and disease, and I would like to pursue a career in research. 

Hello! I'm Lizzie, a graduate of Biological Sciences at Durham University and current Laidlaw Scholars Advisory Board Member. I was extremely involved in sports during school and my degree, which inspired my research project on hustle culture within university sports. I conducted interviews with current student athletes studying and competing at top UK universities to explore the prevalence of hustle culture within university sports and its impact on student athletes' health and wellbeing.  I spent my LiA at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus creating an Impact Report with Cambridge Global Health Partnerships, a linked charity to Addenbrooke's Hospital. CGHP provides ethical, effective, and sustainable partnerships between the East of England and low- and middle-income countries. My task was to showcase the incredible impact of these partnerships on strengthening health systems globally. My Laidlaw scholarship has been a great experience so far and has provided me many opportunities. As the Advisory Board is designed to improve scholars experiences during your time with the Laidlaw scholarship, feel free to reach out to me with any questions or feedback or fill out this form: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=m1iBtASKYUmzmpVa7SUZOYAOFAGNJNdOhV2pziMDdMZURFE0SEkxVTFDSEQ2TjhXR0cwNlNSMUFKUy4u&route=shorturl

Hello! I’m a psychology researcher and the founder of HaHaHelps, a nonprofit organisation developing and delivering a comedy-based psychosocial programme designed to support young people in residential care. I am currently completing an MSocSci in Psychology at the University of Cape Town, where my dissertation examines the feasibility of HaHaHelps programme with adolescents in South African child and youth care centres. My broader interests include youth mental health, psychosocial intervention development, implementation, participatory approaches, and the use of humour and play to support connection, emotional expression, self-efficacy, and coping with uncertainty. HaHaHelps grew out of my Laidlaw Leadership-in-Action project at SOS Children’s Villages in Cape Town, where I designed and facilitated an improv-comedy programme for adolescents. Since then, I have continued developing and delivering the programme with young people in residential care and am now studying how it can be refined, evaluated, and ultimately adapted for use in other communities and settings. Before this, my Laidlaw research at the University of Toronto examined relationships between childhood adversity, aggression, and self-regulation. I’d love to connect with other Laidlaw Scholars and alumni interested in youth mental health, social impact, intervention development, social entrepreneurship, or simply finding creative ways to turn research into something useful in the world.

Hello! I am Emily, a Biosciences student at Durham University with aspirations to become an academic researcher. I am particularly interested in molecular biology and genetics.  I love meeting people and learning new things - I would love to connect with you!

I am passionate about creating an inclusive sense of belonging for students, leadership development, harm reduction, and helping students identify their version of success.  I have worked in higher education for the last eight years in different functional areas, including identity-based advocacy, orientation, transition and retention, fraternity and sorority life, and leadership development. I have a B.A. from Willamette University in American Ethnic Studies and History and a M.S. in Educational Administration with an emphasis in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Texas A&M University (Gig 'em!).  I spend my free time fly-fishing, hiking, watching anything in the Star Wars universe, reading, browsing record stores, going to concerts, and searching for the best flat white in NE England!

Hello! I am Mairéad, a PPE student at Durham University. I am really interested in social justice and how human rights are upheld/fail to be upheld. I have aspirations to work in the international human rights sector. I am excited to hear about other people's research and looking forward to being part of the 2024 cohort of research and leadership scholars!  Outside of academics, I'm quite involved in some charity and activist work, particularly around the protection of refugee rights. I'm also big into netball and run my college's team!

Hi! I am a junior at Cornell University pursuing an independent major of Interdisciplinary Studies (Education, Information Science, Psychology). Through Laidlaw, I am conducting research on the social-ecological impacts of Indonesia's capital relocation and am excited to explore the intersection between bioacoustics, Indigenous knowledge, and public education. Feel free to connect with me on here or on LinkedIn!

Amber is a Bachelor of Psychology student at The University of Hong Kong. As a Laidlaw Scholar from the 2024 cohort, she completed her research project, titled “Reading Through Gaming in Primary School,” at the University of Leeds and volunteered with the Red Cross in Taiwan (Pingtung County) during her second summer.