Featured Scholar
Sudeshna Das
SUDESHNA DAS, PHD Sudeshna Das received funding from the Karen Toffler Charitable Trust in 2024 and 2022 at Harvard FIND ME ON 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…
Read MoreReena Gottesman
REENA GOTTESMAN, MD, PHD Reena Gottesman earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2022 at Columbia University FIND ME ON 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…
Read MoreAlberto Serrano-Pozo
Alberto Serrano-Pozo, MD, PHD Alberto Serrano-Pozo earned the 2024 and 2022 Toffler Scholar Award at Harvard Medical School FIND ME ON 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…
Read MoreJoe Mazzulli
JOE MAZZULLI, PHD Joe Mazzulli earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2025 and 2021 at Northwestern University. FIND ME ON Biography Dr. Joe Mazzulli grew up in a suburb right outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Both his parents were hard workers and instilled in him the value and importance of work. His mother and father regularly…
Read MoreCatherine Psaras
CATHERINE PSARAS, PHD Catherine Psaras earned the Toffler Scholar Leadership Award in 2021 at UCLA FIND ME ON 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…
Read MoreZhe Zhang
Zhe Zhang, PHD Zhe Zhang earned the 2024 and 2021 Toffler Scholar at Johns Hopkins University. FIND ME ON 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…
Read MoreCindy Beard
Cindy Beard, PHD Cynthia Beard earned the Toffler Scholar Leadership 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.…
Read MoreLara Yoon
Lara Yoon, PHD Lara Yoon earned the Toffler Scholar Leadership Award in 2021 at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health FIND ME ON 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…
Read MoreVijaya Kolachalama
Vijaya Kolachalama Vijaya Kolachalama earned the 2022 and 2020 Toffler Scholar Award at Boston University. FIND ME ON 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…
Read MoreDaniel Tward
Daniel Tward, PHD Daniel Tward earned the Toffler Scholar Award in 2021 at the University of California Los Angeles. FIND ME ON 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…
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