Two Yalies receive prestigious Churchill scholarship

Two members of the Yale community — Noemi Guerra, a 2024 Yale College graduate, and Andy Nilipour, a senior studying astrophysics and mathematics — are among 18 individuals nationwide to be selected as Churchill Scholars for the 2025-26 academic year. 

Recipients of the Churchill scholarship, who are selected by the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States, receive support for one year of master’s degree study at Churchill College in the University of Cambridge. The awards are given to American students in the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering.

The award covers full tuition, a stipend, travel costs, and the chance to apply for a $4,000 research grant. This year’s scholars were chosen from 121 nominees from 75 participating institutions.

Noemi Guerra, who graduated from Yale College with a bachelor of science degree in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, and a global health studies certificate, is among just two recipients of the Kanders Churchill Scholarship in science policy. A QuestBridge Scholar and proud Chicana, she is dedicated to addressing health inequities, particularly those affecting marginalized communities. 

As a Kanders Churchill Scholar, she will pursue an M.Phil. degree in public policy at the University of Cambridge, where she aims to bridge clinical practice and policymaking to drive systemic change. Her work spans malaria vaccine research, global health case competitions, and community-based storytelling initiatives.

With immigrant communities facing growing barriers in hospitals, schools, and beyond, Guerra says she is committed to advocating for policies that make health care “a source of dignity — not fear.” After completing the program, she plans to attend medical school.

Andy Nilipour, a Yale senior pursuing a degree in astrophysics and mathematics, as well as a certificate in Japanese, is focusing his research on cosmology and the large-scale structure of the universe with Nikhil Padmanabhan, associate professor of physics. He has also conducted research at the Berkeley SETI Research Center, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and the MIT Haystack Observatory.

Beyond research, Nilipour serves as a teaching fellow for the Yale Japanese Language Program, a grader for the Department of Math, and a peer tutor for the Center for Language Study. As a Churchill Scholar, he will pursue a M.Phil. degree in physics at Cambridge, with a focus on applications of machine learning to computational cosmology.

The Winston Churchill Foundation selected recipients of the Kanders Churchill Scholarships from a pool of applicants to the University of Cambridge Master’s in Public Policy program. The 16 Churchill Scholars were selected from a group of 127 candidates nominated by 82 institutions, the largest pool of candidates in the history of the program.

The Churchill Scholarship program was established as part of the founding of Churchill College, a predominantly science and technology college established in 1960 as a national and commonwealth memorial to Sir Winston Churchill. The scholarship aims to help fulfill Churchill’s vision of a deeper partnership between the United States and the U.K. in order to advance science and technology on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Yale students who wish to apply for the Churchill Scholarship must be nominated by the university. The deadline for next year’s scholarship process, which are run through the Office of Fellowships and Funding, is early November.