Cambridge Summer Courses

Andrew Parker Lawson is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Spanish and a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge. His research explores the relationship between progressive pedagogical movements, nationalism, and national identity in modern Spain and Catalonia. Prior to beginning the PhD, Lawson completed an MPhil in Modern European History at Selwyn College Cambridge. Lawson was previously a Fulbright Scholar to Madrid, Spain, where he taught upper level courses in international relations, history, and English language and literature. Lawson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Centre College (USA) with degrees in International Studies and Spanish.

Aisha Sobey is a PhD student with the University of Cambridge and Lee Kuan Yew Scholar at Fitzwlliam College. She completed her MPhil in International Relations and Politics this year at Cambridge and received her BA Hons degree from Queen’s University Belfast in the summer of 2016 in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. While at in Belfast she was presented the Students Union award for the best Course representative and was president of her course society. She has taught in the US for two seasons at a summer camp in North Carolina, first as a counsellor and second as the program director. In 2017 She worked in China for an NGO working on social issues in conjunction with EU embassies. She is set to have her first article published by Cambridge University Science and Policy Exchange on Blockchain Policy this summer.

Dr. Claudia Bonfio is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the MRC – Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge where she studies the chemical origin of extant life. She gained her PhD in Biomolecular Sciences (subject: Biochemistry) in 2017 from the University of Trento (Italy), after publishing 6 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Claudia has experienced interdisciplinary research in international teams across Europe and US and has tutored high school students and undergraduates in General, Inorganic and Organic Chemistry for 4 years. A strong believer in science communication, she spends her spare time attending workshops and watching TED talks to improve her transferable skills.

Dr. Gerald Mako studied History at Cambridge where now he is working on his PhD in Development Studies; trained as a specialist in Central Asian history his research focuses on conversion to Islam/Christianity/Judaism and Soviet/Russian policymaking. Aside from publishing two dozen articles and presenting more than 25 papers across the globe he has also been teaching extensively at the University and is now in the process of setting up his own firm in the education&tech industry.

Francis Grant is currently studying for his PhD in immunology at the University of Cambridge. Prior to his doctoral studies, he worked for several different biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in Cambridge. His current research area explores the role of the immune system in cancer and autoimmune disease. Francis is also involved in a collaborative effort with Cancer Research UK to apply bioinformatic analyses to large datasets from clinical cancer studies. Other than biology, he has taught the guitar professionally, become a qualified snowboard instructor in Canada and a martial arts instructor in the UK.