Sarah Mummah ‘10 has been named a 2012 Gates Cambridge Scholar. The scholarship enables outstanding students from outside the United Kingdom to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Cambridge.

Mummah, who graduated from Stanford with a bachelor’s degree with honors in Human Biology, was one of 40 Americans selected as 2012 Gates Cambridge Scholars. She intends to conduct research examining approaches to new health behavior changes through Cambridge’s new Behavior and Health Research Unit, while pursuing a master’s degree in public health.

In her application to the Gates Scholar program, Mummah stated her desire to “champion a new approach to obesity prevention…designed to usher in a paradigm shift in the way we tackle our obesity crisis, both domestically and abroad.”

Mummah currently serves as executive director of DreamCatchers, a nonprofit she founded in 2008 that seeks to develop after-school programming to improve low-income middle school student health and education. She previously conducted public health research in Oaxaca, Mexico, under a Fulbright Grant during the 2010-11 academic year.

DreamCatchers, which provides students with tutoring and mentoring as well as healthy snacks and nutrition education, has received several awards for its work, including a U.S. Congressional Certificate of Recognition.

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship program, established in 2000, was funded by a $210 million donation by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. More than 1,000 Gates Scholars, from nearly 100 countries, have been selected since 2001.

— Marshall Watkins