Biology for a
Better Tomorrow

Use biology & medicine to make a difference

5-week free online fellowship exploring how you can use biology to best help others, from morally-motivated medicine to revolutionary research.

  • Dates: 27th July to 1st September, 2024 (5 weeks over the Summer holidays)

  • Who: Smart, curious, and ambitiously altruistic students aged 15-19 studying biology in the UK or Ireland who haven’t started university

  • Applications: Apply by Sunday 7th July, 2024

What you can expect

Oxbridge-style learning with tutorials and a cohort of smart, curious bio students

Talks and Q&As with professionals using biology to tackle pressing problems

Mentorship and up to £1,000 in grant funding for alumni to pursue follow-up projects

Support with UCAS applications and Oxbridge interviews

9/10 past Leaf Fellows would recommend

Surveyed at the end of our last cohort of online programmes, Fellows gave an average of 9.0 when asked to rate from 1 to 10 how likely they would be to recommend their Fellowship to a friend interested in having a big impact.

Plus, 81% of Fellows feel both more confident in their ability to make a positive impact and more ready to take ambitious actions as a result of participating.

Fellowship overview

Weekly structure

  • Dive deep into intriguing scientific topics and advanced concepts using our curated resources, organised on our online learning platform with interactive videos, engaging quizzes, and other activities.

  • Weekly check-in and discussion with an advisor and 3-5 peers; develop your critical thinking in conversation with intelligent, interesting, like-minded teens.

    We’ll do our best to find a slot that works around your other commitments!

  • From revolutionary research projects to virtual work experiences or lab practicals, each week you’ll explore a new activity and skill, accelerating you on your path to impact. Get feedback from peers and Leaf staff. Win prizes!

  • Meet professionals who studied biology or medicine and are using what they learned to change the world.

  • Share your own knowledge plus join sessions run by Fellows and alumni! Meet inspiring peers with shared interests; collaborate on projects; discover exciting new ideas.

  • Discord channel, paired 1:1s, and opportunities to get to know peers with different backgrounds but shared passions.

Meet the speakers & staff

Leaf is supported by a wide range of experts, facilitators, and alumni to help support the growth of our Fellows.

Sofya Lebedeva

Oxford Biosecurity Group

  • Sofya is a Co-Founder of the Oxford Biosecurity Group (OBG) and the Alliance for Reducing Microbial Resistance (ARMoR), following her research experience ranging from Stanford University to biotech startups. Having studied cellular and molecular biology at undergrad, she is currently studying a PhD in Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford.

Clare Harris

High-Impact Medicine

  • Clare is a junior medical doctor who now does research for several organisations, including a startup foundry called SparkWave.tech. She's also the Head of Monitoring & Evaluation at High Impact Medicine, which aims to support medical students and doctors who aspire to increase the positive impact they have in their careers and giving decisions. She has a dual undergraduate degree in Health Sciences, Medicine, and Surgery, an MSc specialising in mathematics and statistics, and an MPhil in computational neuroscience.

Kaleem Ahmid

Effective Ventures

  • Kaleem has held research roles focusing on public health and biosecurity at Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security, Northeastern University, and the Happier Lives Institute. More recently, he’s been a project manager at Effective Ventures, leading two EAGx conferences with ~2000 attendees exploring pressing world problems. His current work considers the intersection of Islam and effective altruism, such as effective uses of Zakat. He studied philosophy and public health at Northeastern University in Boston.

Frederik Lau

Università di Trento

  • Frederik is a PhD student learning to cultivate meat from animal cells, having studied biotechnology at master's and undergraduate. He is very interested in ensuring the future has enough to eat when transitioning from more animal-based food to sustainable sources or in the case of emergency. As well as hosting a radio show, he has facilitated a range of programmes focused on exploring how ambitious students can best help others.

Dhruval Soni

University of Cambridge

  • Dhruval is a second-year Medicine student at the University of Cambridge; he is interested in medical technology and the application of stem cell research to novel treatments. After attending the Leaf 2022 programme, Dhruval has explored the intersection between the medical sciences and effective altruism. Dhruval is pursuing a neuroscience course as part of his intercalated degree and is currently involved in an MRI study of the brain in Alzheimer's disease.

The opportunities don’t end after 5 weeks

Alumni from our recent Fellowships are being supported to pursue projects like:

  • Research projects into topics they were fascinated by during the course content

  • A podcast investigating effective altruism — what it is, how it can be applied, and what its limitations are

  • A new fundraising initiative, Youth United for Good, coordinating an inter-school non-uniform day to raise money for GiveWell-recommended cost-effective charities


Plus taking follow-up opportunities* offered by Leaf like:

  • Weekly accountability calls to create a long-term career plan

  • Virtual work experience with a high-impact nonprofit

  • Up to £1,000 in grant funding plus mentorship for projects

*These follow-ups are applied for or earned, not guaranteed!

Plus, you’ll still have access to the online learning platform, the Discord channel, and your new friends after the 5 weeks end.

Our partners

Biology for a Better Tomorrow is supported by a partners who help us provide our Fellows with additional opportunities, from networking to competition places to internships:

Oxford Biosecurity Group

High-Impact Medicine

How our previous programmes helped

  • "I'm definitely applying for medicine at uni, but Leaf allowed me to solidify and consider my next steps. I learned about many new topics, including factors that go into building a cost-effective charity, and the difference between average and top charities. I did not realise the danger imposed by pathogens and new diseases on humans and how severely underfunded the prevention of this is, especially considering longtermism and the risk of human extinction."

    Jeyneeshaa

  • "The programme gave me a chance to go above and beyond classroom learning and learn so many new things. Highlights included exploring new concepts such as the Scout Mindset, existential risk, and effective altruism. The weekly discussion calls enabled discussion of what I had learned with highly intelligent and deep-thinking people. The Q&As provided an opportunity to hear about the experiences and passions of academic scholars. I would recommend Leaf especially to those who feel restricted by the school curriculum and want to discover more deeply."

    Koyuki

  • "Leaf opened my eyes to so many different career options I didn't know were available to me, and most importantly, showed me the biggest impact is made in ways I did not at all expect, like from going into AI safety research. The pandemic videos were really interesting too. While learning about different areas of research and techniques was really interesting and useful, the most valuable things I took away were possible career paths. I now have much clearer ideas on options post uni."

    Johnny

  • "I learned about my own intrinsic beliefs and values, and how there are so many ways I can make a positive impact in my life. I have heard many people say that they 'want to make an impact in the world', but I had never considered in depth what this could involve, and the diverse ways this can actually be done (in addition to more conventional careers). I enjoyed learning about different ways we can approach effective altruism, not just from a subject-specific standpoint, but also from philosophy, STEM, and politics. I am really grateful for this opportunity and would definitely recommend Leaf!"

    Larissa

  • "There is a very focused and clear encouraging atmosphere around the idea of creating a big positive impact throughout the course, and the content and the further opportunities suggested help a lot to reach this goal. Finding out the links between my subject and ethics was really useful to understand what type of career would be most suitable for me. Going forwards, I'm going to be more focused on what the impact of my career is for the world, and less focused on money and status. The idea of neglected problems was interesting because it showed me that the biggest problems might not always be the most beneficial cause to donate time and money to."

    Rehan

  • "It's made me think about my subject in a way that school has never encouraged me to do, and changed my perception of it. The resources and expertise in the programme are incredibly valuable, and talking to other students who share similar interests to me has really broadened my outlook on various topics. Leaf has definitely boosted my confidence in voicing my ideas; by the end of the course, I felt very comfortable sparking debate and conversation with other fellows."

    Natalie

Where Leaf alumni are now

Oxford University

Cambridge University

Harvard University

London School of Economics

Secure a place in 15 minutes

The first stage of your application is a short written form (15 minutes). We mostly ask for basic info about you to check eligibility. When you complete this, you’ll immediately be sent a personalised link to our fun but challenging puzzle quiz with rapid-fire, brain teaser questions (20 minutes). Both parts are due by 7th July.

We’ll get back to you within two weeks (21st July or before), either inviting you to participate as an Independent Learner with access to our platform for self-paced exploration, or proceeding with your application for the full fellowship.

If you are invited to the final stage (30 minutes), you’ll answer a small number of thought-provoking, open-ended questions relevant to the topics of the programme, plus some multiple choice personality quiz questions. (There’s no interview!)

More questions? See our “FAQ” page.