Featured Scholar
Julia TCW
Julia TCW Julia TCW earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2022 at Boston University Biography Julia TCW was born in South Korea but spent her early childhood in Rockville, Maryland. Dr. TCW’s early interest in science and biology was inspired by her grandfather, who helped raise her. A microbiologist and visiting professor at Duke University,…
Read MoreSudeshna Das
DR. SUDESHNA DAS Dr. Sudeshna Das received funding from the Karen Toffler Charitable Trust in 2022 at Harvard Biography Dr. Sudeshna Das grew up in India. Her mother was an elementary school teacher, and her father was an engineer. She and her sister spent their childhood in various cities throughout India and Nigeria because of…
Read MoreReena Gottesman
REENA GOTTESMAN Dr. Reena Gottesman earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2022 at Columbia University Biography Dr. Reena Gottesman grew up in New York. The oldest of five children, she developed an early interest in medicine, the sciences, and healthcare. She attributes some of this interest to the time she was able to spend with…
Read MoreAlberto Serrano-Pozo
Alberto Serrano-Pozo Alberto Serrano-Pozo earned the Toffler Scholar Award at Harvard Medical School Biography Alberto Serrano-Pozo grew up in Málaga, Spain, with his parents and three siblings. From a very young age, Dr. Serrano-Pozo was motivated to study hard. His father always taught him that no matter what he chose to do, he should always…
Read MoreCatherine Psaras
CATHERINE PSARAS Catherine Psaras is a 2021 Toffler Scholar at UCLA Biography Catherine Psaras grew up in New Jersey. The daughter of immigrants, Catherine’s mother is from England and her father is from Greece. As a child, she spent idyllic summers in Greece, where she remembers eating figs off of trees. Both of Catherine’s parents…
Read MoreZhe Zhang
Zhe Zhang Dr. Zhang is the inaugural Toffler Scholar at Johns Hopkins University. Biography Zhe Zhang was born in a town outside of Beijing, China. A curious child, she loved exploring the outdoors and remembers spending hours on end watching ants build their homes. She also enjoyed taking apart household items, like clocks, then putting…
Read MoreCindy Beard
Cindy Beard Cindy Beard earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2021 at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, Epidemiology Department. Biography Cindy Beard was born in Darnestown, Maryland, a suburb of Washington D.C. The daughter of two mechanical engineers, Beard grew up exploring and enjoying the outdoors with her parents and her brother. She credits…
Read MoreLara Yoon
Lara Yoon Lara Yoon earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2021 at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health Biography Lara Yoon grew up in Norcross, a suburb just north of Atlanta, Georgia. Her parents’ work in public health inspired her, and her eighth-grade science teacher was influential in her pursuit of science and research. Her…
Read MoreVijaya Kolachalama
Dr. VijayaKolachalama Dr. Kolachalama earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2021 at Boston University. Biography Vijaya Kolachalama was born in Hyderabad, a city in South India, to a close-knit family. He feels that growing up he had three parents: his mother, his father, and his grandmother, and he credits his grandmother in particular with teaching…
Read MoreDr. Daniel Tward
Dr. Daniel Tward Daniel Tward earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2020 at the University of California Los Angeles. Biography Dr. Daniel Tward was born in Toronto, Canada. Growing up, Dr. Tward’s family encouraged him to pursue interests in multiple areas, and he developed a love of visual art and music. This attitude was nurtured…
Read More