Angelina Chan, Ben Fischer, Jaeah Kim, Alina Wilson, and Jessica Yan are among the recipients of the 2025 Marshall Scholarship, a nationally competitive award that supports American students pursuing graduate degrees in any field and at any university in the United Kingdom.

The Marshall Scholarship was established in 1953 to strengthen the relationship between the British and American peoples, governments, and institutions. The award is named for former U.S. Secretary of State and Army Gen. George Marshall, who formulated the Marshall Plan to aid economic development in Western Europe after World War II.

Angelina Chan | Courtesy Office of Global Scholarships

Angelina Chan is from Long Grove, Illinois. She graduated in 2024 from Stanford with a BS with honors and distinction in human biology and minors in chemistry and English. She is currently pursuing an MS in biology. At the University of Cambridge, she will pursue a PhD at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology to explore how tools in chemical and synthetic biology can reprogram the genome in novel ways.

“I am so grateful for the support of so many wonderful mentors during my undergraduate years and beyond – especially Professor Gavin Sherlock and Professor Roel Nusse, who have truly inspired me to be the best scientist I can be and to never stop asking questions about all the amazing things that biology can accomplish,” Chan said. “I am also grateful for the mentorship of my coterm MS research advisor, Professor Aaron Straight. And many thanks to John Pearson at the Office of Global Scholarships for his guidance and support.”

Chan started college at age 16. At Stanford, she’s conducted research on the experimental evolution of budding yeast and on the epigenetic regulation of the human centromere. She is a Goldwater Scholar and received the J.E. Wallace Sterling Award for Scholastic Achievement. She has also volunteered with Stanford Matriculate since 2021, serving as 2023 Head Advising Fellow. She is also a harpist with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra.

Chan hopes to become a principal investigator of her own lab, where she’ll research the intersection of genetics and chemical/synthetic biology while mentoring the next generation of scientists.

Ben Fischer | Courtesy Office of Global Scholarships

Ben Fischer is from Livingston, Montana. He graduated Tau Beta Pi from Stanford in 2024 with a BS in product design and a minor in international relations. As a Marshall Scholar, he intends to research prosocial design within the field of digital humanities, specifically the link between social media features and civic behavior online.

Fischer said he is humbled and grateful to receive the Marshall Scholarship and credits the support of faculty, mentors, friends, and family.

“This achievement is thanks to them,” he said, adding that “the Marshall experience will be a launchpad for my dream to design digital platforms toward a safer, more prosocial internet. There is so much to research to explore and work to do. I can’t wait!”

At Stanford, Fischer conducted research on causes of and cures for social disconnect. He built Lighthouse, a company that brought connection to thousands of users worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also co-founded Tree Tutors, a remote-only peer-tutoring network addressing the education gap that resulted from the pandemic. He was captain of Stanford’s Mock Trial team, co-instructed design courses, taught public speaking to third graders, and acted in plays. He hopes his graduate studies will support his goal of building platforms that foster healthier lives online.

Jaeah Kim | Courtesy Office of Global Scholarships

Jaeah Kim is from New York City. She will graduate from Stanford in 2025 with a BS in biology. As a Marshall Scholar, she will pursue an MSc in applied digital health at Oxford University and an MSc in biomedical innovation at the University of Birmingham.

“Receiving the Marshall Scholarship is an incredible honor and a unique opportunity to pursue my vision of bridging science and medicine to address unmet health care needs,” Kim said. “I am deeply grateful for the support of the Marshall Commission and my mentors who have guided me along the way.”

Kim has conducted research focused on developing bioengineered proteins for neural modulation, investigating neural activity in Alzheimer’s disease, and studying how social behavior is encoded in the brain. Her work has been published in Cell, and she has been recognized as a Goldwater Scholar. She has received awards for her health care innovation projects, including a patent-pending surgical device, an app for real-time monitoring of infections, and a novel method to improve stroke triage accuracy.

Kim is pursuing a career as a physician-scientist-innovator. She plans to research, develop, and implement novel therapies and technologies to address unmet health care needs.

Alina Wilson | Courtesy Office of Global Scholarships

Alina Wilson is from Edmond, Oklahoma. She earned an honors degree in human biology in 2024 from Stanford. She will pursue an MSc degree in the control of infectious diseases at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Master of Public Policy degree at the University of Oxford.

Wilson said she is humbled and honored to receive the Marshall Scholarship and grateful for the support of the Office of Global Scholarships and her mentors, especially John Pearson and Professor Geoff Tabin.

“Having studied public health and infectious disease control across several countries, I’m eager to deepen my expertise while in the UK,” Wilson said. “The innovative work scholars there are doing – challenging traditional pandemic preparedness metrics and pioneering new approaches to public health policy and pandemic-fighting tools – is truly inspiring. I can’t wait to immerse myself in this dynamic environment.”

Wilson has worked on infectious disease and public health projects in Switzerland, Taiwan, South Africa, Chile, and the United States, including founding the V.O.I.C.E.S. Project, which aims to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates in Oklahoma’s Black community. Her scholarship has been recognized with the Stanford Award of Excellence, Kirsten Frohnmayer Research Prize for Human Biology Juniors, and the Cap and Gown Leader Award. She was an international Girls Leading Our World Cohort selectee and honored as a United Nations Foundation Shot@Life Champion. She intends to become a physician advocate and public health leader.

Jessica Yan | Courtesy Office of Global Scholarships

Jessica Yan is from Mesa, Arizona. She graduated from Stanford in 2024 with a BA in economics and will graduate in 2025 with an MS in management science and engineering. As a Marshall Scholar, she will pursue an MSc in sustainability, enterprise, and the environment and a Master of Public Policy at Oxford University.

“I am honored by the Marshall Commission’s decision to grant me the opportunity to continue pursuing my interests in climate finance and policy,” Yan said. “Collaboration between the government and private sector will be critical to continuing climate progress in the United States. After I complete my studies in the U.K., I look forward to returning to the U.S. with improved knowledge on how to strengthen these public-private partnerships.”

At Stanford, Yan has been involved in climate and entrepreneurship initiatives. She served as a Schneider Fellow on the climate finance team at RMI (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute), assisted the U.S. Department of State with research on energy transition in Barbados, and interned for an alternative protein company as a Mayfield Fellow.

Yan said she is grateful for the support of her friends, mentors, and many Stanford professors and staff. She intends to become a climate finance and policy expert to design policy frameworks that align private investment with climate goals.