"We are tremendously excited to welcome this new class to the community of Schmidt Science Fellows. We cannot wait to see what they will accomplish in the years to come"

An incoming Research Fellow at St John’s has been named as one of the 20 members of the 2019 class of Schmidt Science Fellows.

Kadi Liis Saar was elected as one of our five new Research Fellows that will join St John’s in October 2019.

Saar studied Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology via Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge, before progressing to an MEng (Hons) in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology in 2014.  She then began her PhD in biophysical chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, during which she was also appointed as a visiting researcher at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University.

Her work focuses on developing new physical approaches for probing the behaviour of complex systems of proteins and the proteomic landscapes of single cells.

Now she has been named as a Schmidt Science Fellow – an initiative of Schmidt Futures, delivered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust. Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, that ‘bets early on people who will make the world better’. The programme has an initial financial commitment of at least $25 million for the first three years, and is the beginning of a broader $100 million effort by the couple to promote scientific leadership and interdisciplinary research over the next decade and beyond.

Saar has been welcomed onto the innovative post-doctoral programme that aims to develop the next generation of interdisciplinary science leaders to tackle the world’s most significant problems and maximise scientific opportunities for society.

Wendy Schmidt, Co-Founder of Schmidt Futures, President of the Schmidt Family Foundation, and Co-Founder of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, said: “We are tremendously excited to welcome this new class to the growing community of Schmidt Science Fellows. They are truly exceptional in their insight, intellect, and eagerness to work across scientific disciplines and pursue discovery in unprecedented ways. We cannot wait to see what they will accomplish in the years to come.”

Saar studies proteins, the molecules that are central to virtually all processes in our bodies. She is currently working on devising new methods for probing protein folding and aggregation in the context of neurodegeneration.

Her work uses new techniques, similar to those used by the computer chip and microprocessor industry, to develop a platform for high-throughput characterisation of proteomic fingerprints of individual cells, opening up the possibility of identifying previously unknown targets and disease biomarkers.

This technology could have a transformative effect on human health-related studies.

Published: 16/04/19

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