Meet the first cohort of Positron PhD Fellows.

Meet the first cohort of Positron PhD Fellows: Sarah, Erica, and Kumaran — three aspiring scientist-entrepreneurs diving headfirst into the weirder, wilder edges of deep tech.

Spanning DNA nanotechnology, biosensing and advanced semiconductors, they bring serious technical talent and a shared ambition to turn overlooked ideas into real-world breakthroughs. Over the next six months, they’ll be chasing bold questions, mapping unexplored territory, and maybe even building the ventures that shape what’s next.

Here’s a bit more about each of them:

🧬 Sarah Sandler holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge and is currently a research fellow at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard. She’s an expert in nanopore sensing and DNA nanotechnology, and is especially curious about how translating these technologies could reshape diagnostics. When she’s not in the lab, she’s likely at sea — as a competitive ocean sailor, avid surfer, and travel enthusiast.

🌊 Erica Olsen got her start in the Stanford biotech bubble, where she studied bioengineering and biomedical informatics before diving headfirst into New York’s life science ecosystem. There, she made waves building founder communities, leading pitch events, and working with tech transfer offices. Now a PhD student at Cambridge, she’s developing minimally invasive biosensors to transform human health. No stranger to deep dives, she brings the same energy to translational research as she does to her SCUBA adventures.

🔬Sivaloganathan Kumaran is a former London lawyer turned materials physicist, currently completing his PhD in Semiconductor Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. Before swapping courtrooms for cleanrooms, he trained as a solicitor at Bristows LLP, specialising in intellectual property, antitrust, and corporate law. Kumaran is passionate about advancing sustainable and energy efficient semiconductor solutions, with a particular focus on quantum technologies and novel materials. Outside the lab, he enjoys playing men’s lacrosse, debating science policy, and getting lost in the lore of J. R. R. Tolkien.

We’re thrilled to have Sarah, Erica and Kumaran on board — more soon.