Field Scholarship
The Field Foundation Scholarship offers exceptional international students an opportunity to complete a 2-3 month research and clinical elective at Stanford University. Field Scholars will join the Ashley Laboratory and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.
The Field Scholarship is available to enrolled students at any stage of their career. Medical students will have the opportunity to complete observership rotations across all subspecialties of cardiology at Stanford.
The balance between scientific research and clinical exposure is flexible and tailored to each Field Scholar’s unique interests.
Scholars will join lab meetings, lab sporting and social events, and have time to fully engage in life in Silicon Valley.
Eligibility and selection criteria
The selection committee seeks exceptional international students with a strong interest in cardiovascular medicine, genomics, artificial intelligence or basic science research. Successful applicants will exhibit: intellectual curiosity, a strong work ethic, sharp problem-solving skills, and creative and innovative thinking.
The Field Scholarship covers: travel expenses (round-trip airfare to Stanford, USA), accommodation support, and a modest stipend for living costs during the elective.
Prior Field Scholars have a diverse array of backgrounds and interests.
Field Scholarship Alumni
Sumayyah is a penultimate-year medical student at the University of Glasgow and the 2025 Field Foundation Scholar. She spent two transformative months at Stanford University, gaining clinical experience across the cardiovascular inherited diseases clinic, cardiology wards, and coronary intensive care unit. Alongside this, she contributed to a dry-lab project that analysed PPG interpretation in atrial fibrillation, which will become one of the largest open-access PPG datasets with AF annotations when released. Her scholarship experience deepened her belief in the power of research and innovation to transform patient care, and she was especially inspired by observing Stanford’s Medical Catalyst, which aligned with her growing interest in start-ups and entrepreneurship. What she valued most, however, were the extraordinary mentors and peers she connected with, relationships that she knows will shape her journey for years to come. She hopes to follow in the footsteps of those who inspired her, working to create meaningful change for patients throughout her career.
Claire is currently a 4th year medical student at the University of Glasgow (Class of 2026). Prior to this she completed a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in pharmacology at the University of Glasgow. Her research interests have focused on cardiology, clinical genomics & precision medicine and in widening participation in medicine. Outside of academics, she enjoys attending concerts, jump roping, teaching dance and gymnastics, and spending time with her family. Claire was awarded the 2024 Field Scholarship and was given the amazing opportunity to spend 10 weeks at Stanford University working between the Ashley Lab and Stanford Hospital. This was a once in a lifetime experience which she is extremely grateful for! Stanford was an extraordinary and inspiring environment to be immersed in. She experienced exceptional teaching throughout all clinics, ward rounds and lab meetings and had the opportunity to speak with and ask questions to many exceptional members of staff. Additionally, coming from Glasgow, enjoying the Californian weather and many fun life experiences that came as part of spending the summer in Stanford were added bonuses!
Hassan is an academic foundation programme doctor and an honorary clinical fellow at the University of Glasgow and the British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Research Centre in Glasgow, Scotland. He was the second Field Foundation Scholar in 2023, spending two months at the Ashley Lab and Stanford hospital experiencing several subspecialties within cardiology: inherited cardiovascular disease, electrophysiology, advanced coronary care, precision medicine, and sports and exercise medicine. During his time at Stanford he developed an appreciation for wet-lab (bench) and dry-lab (computational) research surrounding inherited cardiovascular disease; whilst making rich, long-lasting friendships with the welcoming team at the Ashley Lab. This scholarship formed a solid foundation to appreciate the possibilities of academic leaders in cardiology within a world-class institution, something Hassan aspires towards.
Lydia came to the Ashley Lab for four weeks as a Field Scholar in summer 2022 for an elective placement, when she was a final year medical student at the University of Cambridge. While in the Ashley Lab, Lydia worked on identifying the optimal structural variant caller to use in the bioinformatics pipeline for analysis of ultra-rapid whole genome sequencing data. In her spare time at Stanford, she enjoyed exploring San Francisco and visiting some of the beautiful nature Northern California has to offer, such as driving the Big Sur and going to Lake Tahoe on the Summer Lab Trip! Lydia is extremely grateful for the Field Scholarship, which funded her flights, accommodation and lab expenses. She is now an academic junior doctor in Oxford on a research rotation in Prof Hugh Watkins’ lab where she is working on the CureHeart Project to develop effective genetic therapies for inherited cardiomyopathies.