In Brief: 15 Harvard Students Named Inaugural Laidlaw Scholars

Fifteen students in the Harvard College Class of 2029 were named Harvard's first cohort of Laidlaw Scholars.

Since 2014, The Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme, provided by the Laidlaw Foundation, has invested in undergraduate students through a two-year program focused on research, ethical leadership, and social impact. Scholars complete a first summer of funded research, followed by a year of leadership development and a second summer of leadership-in-action experience. The new program is open to all first-years at Harvard.

The Harvard College Spring 2026 Laidlaw Scholars are:

• Olamide Adekoya '29 of New Jersey is interested in studying History and the intersection of Data Sciences. Over the summer, she will work at The Good Services Lab at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University under Kimberlyn Leary, Emma Bloomberg Lecturer in Public Policy and Management at Harvard Kennedy School, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. There, she will collaborate with city leaders to develop skills and services that improve resident well-being.
• Stanisław Bektaş '29 of Poland plans to double concentrate in Chemistry and Economics, and is interested in learning about how these fields work together to expand access to medicine. This summer, he will work under his faculty mentor Richard Liu, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology to explore the design and synthesis of light-activated molecules that release drugs more efficiently in water.
• Sarah Benz '29 of Vermont is deciding between the concentrations of Neuroscience and Human Biology, Behavior, and Evolution, due to her love of science and fascination with the human brain. During summer break, she will be exploring the nature of headache and migraine pain through a behavioral study with mice in The Levy Lab with Dan Levy, Associate Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School.
• Taylor Cross '29 of Texas plans to study Neuroscience on a pre-med track with a secondary concentration in Psychology. Over the summer, she will analyze MRI scans and clinical data under the mentorship of Meher Juttukonda, Assistant Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School, to learn about cognitive decline prevention and how common conditions affect the brain's blood flow.
• Andrew Levy '29 of New York hopes to concentrate in Social Studies on a pre-med track due to his passion for interactions between healthcare systems and patients, and the non-medical factors that influence care. This summer, he will study patient blood samples and the application of a microfluidic chip to diagnose Long Covid. Levy will work with Shannon Stott, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, at the Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.
• Annabella Mack '29 of New York is interested in studying Auditory Neuroscience to combine her passions of Neuroscience, music, and Deaf Culture. During the summer, she will conduct research on mice to learn more about how experiences shape neural responses to salient sounds. Anna will work in the laboratory of Anne Takesian, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School.
• Celine Muir '29 of Scotland plans a double concentration in Computer Science and English due to her interests in technology and how it can be integrated into society. This summer, she will study how sports fandoms can increase social connection under Todd Rogers, Weatherhead Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
• Alexander (Zander) Samuel '29 of Washington is considering a double concentration in Physics and Economics. Over the summer, he will explore how cities can design public services around residents' experiences at The Good Services Lab at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University under Kimberlyn Leary, Emma Bloomberg Lecturer in Public Policy and Management at Harvard Kennedy School, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
• Megan Sawant '29 of Virginia is interested in studying Biomedical Engineering and Economics. During her Laidlaw research summer, she will work with Pamela Barraza-Flores, Pediatrics Research Fellow in the Beggs Laboratory at Boston Children's Hospital, to explore oxidative stress in singular muscle cells and create a reliable platform for testing rare pediatric disease treatments.
• Ellis Schroeder '29 of Georgia is considering the concentrations of Anthropology or Sociology alongside Art History, to further explore the intersections of science and visual culture within healthcare. This summer, he will work with his faculty mentor Sabra L. Katz-Wise, Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to trace how the experiences of LGBTQ+ young adults shape healthcare engagement.
• Maria Clara Souza Rocha '29 of Brazil plans to double concentrate in Government and Economics. Over the summer, she will work alongside Augustin Bergeron, Assistant Professor of Economics, to study state capacity and development policies in emerging economies.
• Mirari Ubani '29 of Canada is interested in studying Chemistry and Anthropology on the pre-med track. This summer, she will work under the guidance of Hannah Greenwald Healy, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health and Exposure Science at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to conduct DNA extractions and identify target sequences associated with sexually transmitted infections through wastewater surveillance.
• Krishaan Vadia '29 of Indiana hopes to study Economics, with an interest in improving global welfare. Over the summer, he will research public budgeting frameworks and education policy under the mentorship of Martin West, Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education and Academic Dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
• Karen Yoda '29 of Massachusetts plans to concentrate in Developmental Biology. This summer, she will work alongside Dr. Ishani Ganguli, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Margaret Anne McConnell, Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to explore the equity and sustainability of U.S. primary and prenatal healthcare.

• Emily Yu '29 of Massachusetts is interested in studying Chemistry. During her summer of research, she will learn under Pearl Lie in the Nilay Sethi Lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and work with mice to explore the SOX9 protein's role in reducing tumor growth.

  Information and photos courtesy of the Laidlaw Foundation. Learn more at laidlawfoundation.com.

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