As a fellow in the ARVO Science Communication program, I collaborated with Dr. Tasneem Khatib to establish the Peter Watson International Scholarship, a partnership between the University of Cambridge and the National Institutes of Health that aims to inspire the next generation of researchers in vision science.
The inaugural program received applications from more than 50 secondary students in the UK. From ten finalists, two winners were selected by a panel of judges from the University of Cambridge. In April 2018, the winners visited the NIH for a week of lab tours, research seminars, meetings with scientists, a tour of the Capitol, and exploration of Washington, DC.
The scholarship was renewed for a second year with support from the Cambridge Eye Trust, AstraZeneca, the National Eye Institute, and the Biomedical Research Alliance. In August 2019, the winning students visited the NIH for a week.
