The Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowship (SIGF) is a competitive University-wide program that awards three-year fellowships to outstanding doctoral students engaged in interdisciplinary research.
SIGF
SIGF supports doctoral students whose research crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries.
2019 SIGF Fellows
Marissa Childs
Illich-Sadowsky Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow, Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and ResourcesHuman health and the environment are inextricably linked. In particular, environmental conditions can influence human health through mosquito-borne diseases. These diseases—including malaria, Zika, dengue, and yellow fever—cause over a million...
Olivia de Goede
Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow (Anonymous Donor), Bio-X SIGF, GeneticsMost genomic research focuses on genes that make proteins. But these protein-coding genes are only approximately 2% of our DNA - the other 98% that is “non-coding” isn’t well understood. To shed some light on non-coding DNA, I study long non-...
Abby Fanlo
Christiana Shi Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow in International Studies, Political ScienceUncertainty surrounding US alliance commitments has led to concern that America’s allies are now more likely to be targeted militarily. Such shifts in the commitment of a great power to a smaller security partner are nothing new, however, and the...
Corey Fernandez
Bruce and Elizabeth Dunlevie Fellow, Bio-X SIGF, NeurosciencesOur memory systems allow us to recall specific episodes from the past, and also learn across our experiences to build up knowledge about the world. We use this knowledge to plan, make decisions, and guide future behavior. My research combines...
Amanda Gaggioli
Matthew and Janice Barger Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow, ClassicsEarthquakes have disrupted societies since prehistory, and they continue to cause increasingly complex social problems. My project intervenes by working at the intersections of archaeology, literature, and natural sciences in order to define and...
Tony Ginart
Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow (Anonymous Donor), Bio-X SIGF, Electrical EngineeringIn 1948, Professor Norbert Wiener defined "cybernetics" as "the scientific study of control and communication in the animal and the machine." One of the most interesting aspects of cybernetics is the emergence of complex behavior to optimize...
Chiara Giovanni
Thomas C. Nelson Graduate Fellow, Comparative LiteratureHave you ever felt like you’re out of step with everyone around you? Maybe you’ve found your place in the world, maybe you’re still looking, or maybe you like to imagine a totally different world where you feel like you belong. My research...
Michael Hahn
Jacobsson Family Graduate Fellow, LinguisticsWhy do the over 6,000 human languages, despite all their differences, share many grammatical properties? My PhD research investigates a possible explanation: Language enables us humans to communicate effectively with each other, using the...
Jitka Hiscox
Gordon Hartogensis and Grace Chao Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow, Civil and Environmental EngineeringSignificant progress has been made on global poverty alleviation, but 10% of the global population still lives in extreme poverty. The goal of my research is to connect theory and applied research related to the effects of water access on...
Nina Horowitz
Mona M. Burgess Fellow, Bio-X SIGF, BioengineeringCancer is one of the most challenging medical issues of our time, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths within the United States each year and often proving incurable. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have been refined as treatment options...
