AI Insight
Two MIT graduates, Mitali Chowdhury and Christina Kim, have been selected as 2026 Gates Cambridge Scholars, a highly competitive fellowship funding postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge. Chowdhury, who holds a degree in biological engineering, will pursue MPhil and PhD research on CRISPR-based diagnostics targeting antimicrobial resistance and equitable healthcare access. Kim, a second-time Gates Cambridge Scholar with a background in chemistry and biology, will continue PhD studies building on prior MPhil work in bioinformatics and tissue engineering for in vitro modeling in women's health.
Why it matters
These research directions address pressing global health challenges, particularly antimicrobial resistance and the historically underfunded field of women's health, with potential to improve diagnostic accessibility in low-resource settings. Advances in CRISPR diagnostics and novel in vitro models could reduce reliance on costly infrastructure and contribute to more equitable healthcare delivery worldwide.
Mitali Chowdhury ’24 and Christina Kim ’24 have been selected as 2026 Gates Cambridge Scholars. The highly competitive fellowship offers fully funded opportunities for postgraduate study in any field at Cambridge University in the U.K. Kim is a second-time Gates Cambridge Scholar.
MIT students interested in the Gates Cambridge Scholar program should contact Kim Benard, associate dean of distinguished fellowships in Career Advising and Professional Development.
Mitali Chowdhury
Chowdhury graduated from MIT with a BS in biological engineering and minors in both urban planning and environment and sustainability. Chowdhury has had a longstanding interest in reducing inequities in global health. At MIT, she pursued research in point-of-care diagnostics to identify and treat disease with accessible biotechnologies. She also helped develop low-cost testing for bacterial contamination in water in South Asia.
Chowdhury currently works at a startup advancing sequencing-based diagnostics. At Cambridge University, she will study for MPhil and PhD degrees in the Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies. Her research will focus on CRISPR-based diagnostics to address antimicrobial resistance and expand equitable access to care.
Christina Kim
After graduating from MIT with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology, Kim worked as a researcher in women’s health at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, U.K.
As a 2025 Gates Cambridge Scholar, Kim pursued an MPhil in research at the institute, focusing on using bioinformatics and tissue engineering to design novel in vitro models. Her second Gates Cambridge scholarship will fund her PhD studies.