Mahya Fazel-Zarandi ’25 has been awarded the Gates Cambridge scholarship as a Canadian scholar, joining the 95 other winners from across the globe for the 2025 cycle. This prestigious award is given to college seniors looking to pursue postgraduate study, and is awarded to “outstanding scholars and future leaders,” according to its website. She joins Joshua Yang ’25, who was awarded a Gates Cambridge scholarship as a U.S. scholar in late February.
Fazel-Zarandi is a former senior News contributor for The Daily Princetonian. Yang is a former associate Prospect editor for the ‘Prince.’
The Gates Cambridge program has been active for 25 years, and has awarded a total of 2,218 scholarships. The primary goal of the program, according to its website, is to provide a community where “scholars come together from a broad sweep of disciplines, backgrounds and countries to tackle the most challenging issues humanity faces.”
“I remember calling my parents as soon as I found out and being completely overwhelmed with joy and disbelief,” Fazel-Zarandi wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Winning the Gates Cambridge Scholarship felt like a dream come true, for me, but also for everyone who has supported me along the way.”
Fazel-Zarandi majored in molecular biology at Princeton and received a certificate in quantitative and computational biology, with her senior thesis focused on thymidine analogs in cancer treatments. The scholarship will support Fazel-Zarandi at Cambridge while she pursues her Master of Philosophy in Medical Science at their Early Cancer Institute, with a project centering on harnessing AI to detect early ovarian cancer.
Her interest in women’s health was sparked in the summer before her junior year at Princeton during an internship, in which she “worked on designing organ-on-chip models that mimic the reproductive tract to study bacterial vaginosis, a condition that disproportionately affects women in under-resourced settings.”
The following summer, Fazel-Zarandi worked with refugee women in the field of reproductive health.
“I witnessed firsthand the stigma surrounding reproductive health and the devastating impact of misinformation and limited access to care,” Fazel-Zarandi wrote.
This past year, Fazel-Zarandi’s mom was diagnosed with cancer.
“Navigating her diagnosis and treatment exposed me to the gaps in care, research, and support that many women face, even in well-resourced healthcare systems,” she wrote. “That experience gave me a more personal and urgent understanding of why this work matters.”
Fazel-Zarandi was a co-founder of the Princeton Association of Women in STEM, a group designed to “create a space where women could connect, mentor, and uplift one another.” She was also an RCA and science writer for the ‘Prince’ during her time at Princeton, covering Nobel Prize recipients, Princeton lab research, and other stories in the field of STEM.
At Cambridge, Fazel-Zarandi looks forward to her research and global perspectives that the Gates Foundation has helped to provide.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I feel incredibly lucky for the one that has shaped me: my family, mentors, peers, and the communities I’ve worked with,” Fazel-Zarandi wrote. “I carry their stories, strength, and hopes with me as I move into this next chapter, and I’m committed to giving back with the same care and conviction that they’ve shown me.”
Devon Rudolph is an associate News editor and staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’ She is from northern Virginia and typically covers student life and USG.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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