When PhD student Sigourney Bell turned to Twitter to connect with other Black scientists, she could never have guessed that this would be the beginning of a journey that would see her co-founding an organisation that champions Black excellence in cancer research and medicine. — It wasn’t until I began my own PhD that I met another Black woman with a PhD, despite working for three pharmaceutical companies before I joined Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.

Self-confessed ‘nerd’ Serena Nik-Zainal went from hospital wards to the laboratory on a mission to provide patients with the best possible treatment for their illnesses. Ten years later she is at the forefront of genomic research, creating tools for clinicians which are transforming patient care. — I’m a doctor by training; I’d always wanted to be one. I specialised in genetics and dealt with kids with inherited rare disorders. To make a diagnosis I’d often be trying to identify the genetic mutation that caused the presenting symptoms.

Children in West Africa with cognitive difficulties are going undiagnosed because the tests used to assess their mental health are based on Western norms. Kwabena Kusi-Mensah is working with communities in Nigeria and Ghana to develop assessments that are culturally appropriate. — Like many young students entering medical school I initially wanted to become a neurosurgeon. But the reality was I just found surgery a bit too routine. At first it was exciting but after a while it became like cutting hair.

At the age of thirteen Mona Jebril found herself stranded in Gaza, becoming a refugee for the second time in her life. Her talent and determination brought her to Cambridge where she became the first Gates Cambridge Scholar from the Gaza Strip. She completed her PhD in education in 2017. Today she is using the arts to give a voice to those in areas of conflict. — I never saw daffodils in Gaza — or if I did, I don’t remember them. But I’d studied William Wordsworth’s poem, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, so I knew — in theory at least — what they were like. It was only when I came to Queens’ College that…

David Izuogu’s ambition is to establish a research institute in his home country of Nigeria. But he isn’t waiting until he realises his goal to help others get ahead. — Some people think that you need to climb up a staircase and get to the rooftop before you can begin to help others. But I believe that when you are climbing a staircase you can always help the people who are climbing with you. We were an average Nigerian family…

When Madeline Lancaster’s attempt to grow neural stem cells ‘failed’ she had no idea that the floating balls of cells she saw in her petri dish, resolutely not doing what she wanted them to do, were in fact miniature brain tissues. They would revolutionise our ability to study the early stages of brain development and take us closer to answering: what makes us human? — I’d set out to grow neural stem cells on the surface of a Petri dish but within a day, I’d realised something had gone wrong. The protein preparation I was using to coat the bottom of the dish was quite old, which meant that the cells were not sticking as…

Nikhil Krishnan, winner of a 2021 Pilkington Prize for outstanding teaching, says that what he loves about teaching is what he loves about philosophy: you can’t know in advance where it’s going to lead. Outside of the lecture hall he’s unravelling how philosophy came to be what it is today. — Philosophy isn’t about talking in a new language about a special class of ‘philosophical’ things. In philosophy, you talk about the everyday things we are very familiar with — like human life, love, friendship, politics — the sort of thing you’d talk about in the pub.

Against a global backdrop of rising energy demands and finite resources, Rihab Khalid set out to understand how buildings can become more energy efficient. As a result, she now advocates for building and energy policies that consider cultural differences and address the needs of women. — When I was first introduced to energy-efficient architecture I felt as though I’d found my calling. For me, energy is personal. I grew up in a community where for up to 12 hours a day we didn’t have access to electricity. It was the very absence of energy that made…

Tami Briggs didn’t want to apply to Cambridge but getting the right information made her change her mind. She became a volunteer for InsideUni, the student-led non-profit organisation that plugged the information gap for her at just the right time. — Studying for a degree at Cambridge seemed like an unobtainable goal — enough to make me not want to apply. The reality was that I simply lacked access to the right information.