23 Women Named Gates Cambridge Scholars

Each year 40 Americans are awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarships. The awards pay for graduate study at Cambridge University in England. The scholarships were established in 2000 with a $210 million endowment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Of the 40 Gates Cambridge Scholars from America who will begin study in England this fall, 23 are women. Here are brief biographies of the women selected from a field of 800 applicants.

(L to R) Top row: Adriana Cherskov, Sonya Davey, Shannon Esswein, Irene Falk, Ashley Fidler, Allyson Freedy, Margaret Gilroy, and Victoria Herrmann. Second row: Brooke Elena Husic, Evelyn Jagoda, Isabel Kasdin, Michelle Kelley, Neha Kinariwalla, Stephanie Gabriella Lopez, Laura Marcus, and Madeline McMahon. Bottom row: Annika Pecchia-Bekkum, Elizabeth Presser, Rachel Reckin, Casey Rimland, Michelle Teplensky, Julia Chang Wang, and Madeline Weeks.

Adriana Cherskov will graduate from Princeton University this spring with a degree in molecular biology. A native of Bellevue, Washington, Cherskov will study for a master’s degree in medical science with a concentration in psychiatry at Cambridge.

Sonya Davey from Gaithersburg, Maryland, is the daughter of two immigrants from India. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she tripled majored in global health, South Asian studies, and biology. At Cambridge, she will pursue a master’s degree in social anthropology.

Shannon Esswein is a 2013 graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, where she majored in physiological science. Her research is focused on examining protein structure to understand mechanisms of disease. She will enter the master’s degree program in biological sciences at Cambridge.

Irene Falk from Decatur, Georgia, is a 2011 graduate of Duke University. She is currently a second year student at the Medical College of Georgia. She plans to complete her medical degree after earning a Ph.D. in clinical neurosciences at Cambridge.

Ashley Fidler is a student at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where she is majoring in chemistry and biology. At Cambridge, the native of Falls Church, Virginia, will study for a master’s degree in the department of chemical engineering and biotechnology.

Allyson Freedy from Clearwater, Florida, is a senior at Harvard University. She is majoring in chemistry and conducting research on experimental drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease. After earning a master’s degree in chemistry at Cambridge, Freedy hopes to enroll in an M.D./Ph.D program.

Margaret Gilroy is a senior at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She will study nuclear engineering at Cambridge with a focus on nuclear safety. After completing her master’s degree she will return to the United States and eventually will serve as an officer on a U.S. nuclear submarine.

Victoria Herrmann is a graduate of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She is currently on a Fulbright scholarship studying Inuit art at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. At Cambridge, Herrmann will pursue a Ph.D. in polar studies.

Brooke Elena Husic is a native of Glastonbury, Connecticut, and a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied chemistry, mathematics, and German literature. She will study for a master’s degree in chemistry at Cambridge and then hopes to enroll in a Ph.D. program in theoretical physical chemistry.

Evelyn Jagoda is a senior at Columbia University in New York City. The Scarsdale, New York, native is completing work on a bachelor’s degree in evolutionary biology. While at Columbia, she has participated in archaeological excavations of Paleolithic modern human and Neanderthal sites in Germany. At Cambridge she will enroll in a master’s degree program in biological anthropological science and conduct research on the genome of populations in Southeast Asia and Siberia.

Isabel Kasdin is a graduate of Princeton University, where she majored in history and American studies. At Cambridge she will pursue a master’s degree in archaeology with a concentration in archaeological heritage and museums.

Michelle Kelley is from Schaumburg, Illinois, and is completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois, where she is majoring in physics. At Cambridge, Kelley will study for a master’s degree in scientific computing and then plans to enroll in a Ph.D. program in physics.

Neha Kinariwalla is currently studying the psychosocial effect of epilepsy, with a special focus on the societal stigma that surrounds the disorder in the department of sociology at Stony Brook University in New York. At Cambridge, she will pursue a master’s degree in modern society and global transformations.

Stephanie Gabriella Lopez from Fresno, California, is the daughter of immigrants from El Salvador. As an undergraduate student at California State University, Fresno, she majored in political science and mass communication and journalism and conducted research centered on indigenous social movements in Latin America. She will enter the master’s degree program in Latin American studies at Cambridge.

A graduate of Yale University, Laura Marcus has spent the last two years working at Deep Springs College in California. At Cambridge, she will study for a master’s degree in politics, development, and democratic Education.

Madeline McMahon, from St. Louis, is a 2013 graduate of Princeton University, where she majored in history and minored in European cultural studies, Latin, and medieval studies. Currently she is a student in Columbia University’s post-baccalaureate program in Classics. At Cambridge, she will pursue a master’s degree in early modern history.

Annika Pecchia-Bekkum is a graduate of Salt Lake Community College and the University of Utah, where she double majored in English and chemistry. She is currently completing work on a master’s degree in chemistry at the University of Utah. She will enter the Ph.D. program in medicine at Cambridge and hopes to pursue a career in pediatric immunology.

Elizabeth Presser is a 2010 graduate of Princeton University. After graduation, she worked for two years in Thailand. Since returning to the United States, she has been a research assistant for a book project. At Cambridge, Presser will study for a master’s degree in public policy.

Rachel Reckin is a fifth generation Montanan. She is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound and earned a master’s degree at the University of Wyoming. At Cambridge she will enter the Ph.D. program in archaeology and conduct research on how prehistoric Native Americans dealt with climate change.

Casey Rimland is native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is a second year medical student at the University of North Carolina. At Cambridge, she will enroll in the M.D./Ph.D. program in surgery. Her research focuses on stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine.

Michelle Teplensky is a native of Somers, New York. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical biological engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At Cambridge, she will enroll in the Ph.D. program in chemical engineering.

Julia Chang Wang was born in Beijing, China, and moved to Chicago with her parents at the age of 9. As an undergraduate at Harvard University, Wang studied history, economics, and French, focusing on the history of empire and decolonization in the twentieth century. She will pursue a master’s degree in modern European history at Cambridge.

Madeline Weeks, of Los Altos, California, has British and Chinese heritage. In 2011 she graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts with a double major in economics and Spanish. Since graduation she has been conducting research on the economics of coffee in Mexico as a Fulbright-Garcia Robles Scholar. At Cambridge she will study for a master’s degree in geographical research.