Postdoctoral fellow success for PhD student

Congratulations to PhD student Annemiek Waajen who has been selected as a Schmidt Science Fellow.

PhD student Annemiek Waajenhas been selected as one of the 32 researchers in this year’s cohort of Schmidt Science Fellows.

This prestigious postdoctoral program harnesses an interdisciplinary approach as a way to break down silos among scientific fields in order to solve the world’s biggest challenges and support future leaders in STEM.

The 2024 fellows consist of 17 nationalities across North America, Europe, and Asia. 

Annemiek was a PhD student with the UK Centre for Astrobiology, an interdisciplinary research centre established at the University of Edinburgh.

Microbiology to Bioinformatics

Annemiek’s postdoctoral research will focus on permafrost thawing and its impact on climate change.

The increasing temperatures in the Arctic, resulting from climate change, will lead to the thawing of currently frozen (permafrost) soils, soils that store large amounts of carbon. To what extent this will contribute to climate change is not well understood due to research limitations. 

As a 2024 Schmidt Science Fellow, Annemiek plans to build a holistic perspective on permafrost thawing, comparing single-site and single-method studies in a global, multi-omics meta-analysis.

This insight will help address this issue and support policymakers in limiting its impact.

Schmidt Science Fellows

The Schmidt Science Fellows program provides the world’s best emerging scientists with new skills and perspectives to develop novel solutions to society’s challenges, become scientific and societal thought leaders, and accelerate ground-breaking discoveries.

Each Fellow will undertake a year-long Science Leadership Program to develop the skills, experience and networks necessary to become the next generation of interdisciplinary science leaders alongside a one- to two-year research placement at an internationally-renowned lab.

Schmidt Science Fellows is an initiative of Schmidt Sciences, delivered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust.