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Ukrainian probes the war of public opinion (external link)
Anastasiia Pereverten, M.A. ’26

Ukrainian probes the war of public opinion 

When Russia invaded her home country of Ukraine in 2022, Anastasiia Pereverten was more than 5,000 miles away, studying at the University of Wyoming. From that distance, she watched a surge of support from Americans who were far removed from the conflict. “All this, so far away from Ukraine?” said Pereverten. “People were so incredibly vocal and supportive, and wanted to know more. I wanted to understand what shaped that.”

From bionic arms to machine learning researcher (external link)
Ben Choi ’26

From bionic arms to machine learning researcher 

Benjamin Choi built a mind-controlled bionic arm as a high school student in Virginia, and it made him realize something critical about human brains: they’re noisy. Brains constantly send out all kinds of signals regulating everything from breathing to hunger to planning one’s daily schedule. For his prosthetic to work, it needed software that could filter out the noise and recognize the signals specifically intended to manipulate the arm.

Hills, Mundy receive Abramson Award
Gage Hills and Julia Mundy

Hills, Mundy receive Abramson Award

The annual award for teaching excellence, which includes a monetary prize, was established three decades ago with a gift from Edward Abramson ’57 in honor of his mother.

Thesis investigates AI-image bias (external link)
Gauri Sood ’26

Thesis investigates AI-image bias 

With artificial intelligence quickly becoming ingrained in everyday life, psychology and government double-concentrator Gauri Sood ’26 is skeptical about non-human technologies mimicking human experiences without bias.

A gene delivery system for the human heart (external link)
Saron Meressi ’26

A gene delivery system for the human heart 

Engineering Design Projects (ES 100), the capstone course at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, challenges seniors to engineer a creative solution to a real-world problem. Saron Meressi's project focused on optimizing cardiac gene delivery using adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology. She specifically designed a tunable, ventricle-specific gene delivery system that enables more precise targeting within the heart.

Stopping cervical cancer before it starts (external link)
Alton Gayton, Ph.D. ’26, in the lab

Stopping cervical cancer before it starts 

A researcher focused on developing therapeutic vaccines for the human papillomavirus (HPV), Alton Gayton will graduate from the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in May 2026 with a Ph.D. in virology. He discusses his pioneering work using circular RNA and artificial intelligence to treat and prevent cervical cancer, his upbringing in North Carolina, and his path from there to Harvard, via the University of North Carolina.

A palpable shift in academic culture
A group of faculty and deans

A palpable shift in academic culture

The Classroom Social Compact report provided detailed blueprints for creating “a transformative educational experience.”

From uncertain freshman to future electrical engineering Ph.D. (external link)
Harvard electrical engineering student Ike Ogbu holidng a circuit board

From uncertain freshman to future electrical engineering Ph.D. 

Ike Ogbu didn’t arrive at Harvard with a clear academic plan. He’d taken an engineering design class at Foxborough Regional Charter School in southeastern Massachusetts, but wasn’t sure if he wanted to study engineering, computer science, or another topic entirely.

Bioengineering a career in cancer therapeutics (external link)
Danika Rodrigues, Ph.D. ’26

Bioengineering a career in cancer therapeutics 

Danika Rodrigues has been researching cancer therapies since she was a biomedical engineering undergraduate and master’s student at the University of Michigan. But it was working at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson, that convinced her that not only was cancer research interesting — it was what she wanted for her career.

How to restore trust in higher ed? (external link)
Harvard College student Ari Kohn ’26

How to restore trust in higher ed? 

Throughout her Harvard College experience, Social Studies and Philosophy concentrator Ari Kohn ‘26 has explored how the mission of Harvard College, to educate citizen and citizen-leaders through a liberal arts education, is enacted and preserved. The motivation behind her senior thesis, “Citizen or Citizen-Leader: Civic Thought Programs and the Trust Crisis in American Higher Education”, began as a first-year student in the aftermath of the pandemic, when Kohn witnessed difficulties in defining what an undergraduate institution should be.