About The Committee
Each year, out of the MCR membership, we elect representatives to what we call the MCR committee. The role of the committee is two‐fold, it exists to:
- Serve as your representatives to college
- Organise the social‐side of the MCR
Members of the MCR Committee also sit on all the college level committee meetings, so as to best represent the graduate community at Clare College. Elections are held in Easter Term every year with the exception of the First Year Officers, who are elected towards the end of Michaelmas term.
Nikolas Markozanis
President
Hi (again) everyone and welcome! I’m Nikolas, a first-year PhD student in Stem Cell Biology, and your MCR President for the 2025-2026 academic year. My role is to represent you, the MCR body, to the College and ensure that our MCR is a welcoming and vibrant space for everyone.
Having served as Bar Manager, I’ve had the chance to get to know our MCR holistically and to see firsthand what makes our community one of a kind. This year, as President, I’m focused on continuing that work – making sure your voices are heard, organizing events that bring us together, and helping to create a supportive environment that everyone will end up calling ‘home’ by the end of the academic year.
Whether you have a question, need support, or just want to chat, I’m here for you. You’ll often find me in the MCR, especially during our Friday socials and bar nights, so don’t hesitate to come and say hello. Let’s make this year a great one, marking the 700th anniversary of Clare College, full of fun, collaboration, community, dance, music, and a bit of work along the way.
Simeon Hatzopoulos
Vice President
I’m a second-year PhD student in Physics, with a research focus on the numerical modelling of contrails and their impact on global warming. But studies aside, I want to congratulate you on earning a place at Clare, my favourite spot in all of Cambridge. A sentiment I hope you will come to share once settled in!
As Vice President, my role is to support our MCR President, Nikolas, and to help foster the well-being and sense of community within the MCR. I’m also here to support any student who wants to propose a motion or suggest ideas to improve MCR life.
Each term, I organise the MCR stash (that’s what we call merch around here!), so keep an eye on your inbox if you'd like to order some beautiful Clare apparel (Pro tip: we’re usually more affordable than Ryder & Amies!).
I'm really looking forward to meeting you all and making this a great year together!
Nils Lauermann
Treasurer
I am Nils and I’m honoured to serve as your treasurer in the forthcoming academic year. In that role, I oversee the MCR accounts that fund the activities and facilities within the MCR. As part of this, I propose a budget that I hope will give everyone value for money, as, ultimately, these are your membership fees. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with suggestions for how we might use our funds to improve everyone’s time here in the Clare MCR. In addition, I represent the MCR on the College’s Finance and Investment Committees.
Fiona Baumhauer
Secretary and Welfare Officer
Hi! I’m Fiona, a PhD student in Chemistry, and I am your MCR secretary! You will be hearing a lot from me this year – every Sunday morning in fact, which is when The Clare Times, the weekly MCR bulletin, comes out. This will keep you up to date with everything happening in the week ahead, such as formals and other fun events you won’t want to miss. If you have any questions before coming to Cambridge or throughout the year, please do reach out to me!
I will also be one of your welfare officers. There are many aspects of Cambridge life that can feel like a lot, so if you ever feel like you need a chat or a listening ear, please come speak to me anytime.
See you all very soon!
Zoe Bannister
Social Secretary
I’m Zoe, a PhD student in infection and immunity researching amino acid sensing.
It’s our job to bring the MCR community together, have fun, enjoy each other’s company, and unwind.
We’ll be putting on a programme of events in Fresher’s Week to welcome everyone to the new year ahead. We’ve also made a little guide (included later in this booklet) that we hope will help you settle in, find things to do and places to go, and get to know the city!
When Fresher’s Week has wrapped up, it’s then our role to organise the weekly Friday formals through term. Formals give the MCR a chance to dress up and catch up over a 3 course meal, enjoy our amazing hall, and they also often allow you to bring a friend or family along too! We also facilitate MCR members being able to dine once for free with the Fellows.
In addition to these weekly social opportunities, we will also be putting on other events through term - so please feel free to share any ideas with us for what you’d like to see!
Laetitia Pilgrim
Social Secretary
I’m Letty, a PhD student in History working on the history of memory, emotion, and old age.
It’s our job to bring the MCR community together, have fun, enjoy each other’s company, and unwind.
We’ll be putting on a programme of events in Fresher’s Week to welcome everyone to the new year ahead. We’ve also made a little guide (included later in this booklet) that we hope will help you settle in, find things to do and places to go, and get to know the city!
When Fresher’s Week has wrapped up, it’s then our role to organise the weekly Friday formals through term. Formals give the MCR a chance to dress up and catch up over a 3 course meal, enjoy our amazing hall, and they also often allow you to bring a friend or family along too! We also facilitate MCR members being able to dine once for free with the Fellows.
In addition to these weekly social opportunities, we will also be putting on other events through term - so please feel free to share any ideas with us for what you’d like to see!
Bethan White
Bar Manager
I’m Bethan (she/her), a third-year PhD student in cancer genetic epidemiology, and I’ll be one of your bar managers this year. Our job is to keep the MCR bar running smoothly, and to ensure that it remains a welcoming and vibrant hub for our community. Please do get in contact if you’d be interested in working on the bar!
Tom Lechmere
Bar Manager and LGBTQ+ Welfare Officer
Hi everyone and welcome to Clare! My name’s Tom and I’m a third-year PhD student in Clinical Neurosciences.
I’ll be one of your three esteemed bar managers for the coming year, meaning you’ll very often see me in the MCR serving drinks and interacting with as many people as possible. We’ll also be responsible for organising shifts for anyone who’d like to volunteer for bar work later in the year - so do say hello!
I will also be this year’s LGBTQ+ Welfare Officer, meaning I’ll be a port of call for any social issues you may experience (LGBTQ-related or otherwise). I’ll be able to offer discrete advice and refer any concerns onto the appropriate people if need be.
Looking forward to meeting everyone and for the year ahead!
Thomas Godfrey
Bar Manager
Hello! I’m Tom 2.0 and I’ll be one of your bar managers this year, as well as serving as the Arts Sub-Committee representative. If you’d like to get involved with the bar or have thoughts about art in the college, I’d be very happy to hear from you!
Beyond these roles, I’m a second-year PhD student in Italian literature and art history. Most of the time you’ll find me floating somewhere around college - usually doing my best to avoid work.
I look forward to meeting you all and hope that you enjoy Clare MCR as much as I did in my first year!
Justin Tan
Sports Officer
Hello, my name is Justin - a PhD student studying the geometry of strange spaces. I also like to study the geometry of the real world through sport - an excellent way to decompress from the rigors of postgraduate work. Clare is blessed with an abundance of friendly teams at all levels in the popular intercollegiate sporting competitions - feel free to get in touch anytime with questions about how to join or general questions about sport facilities either at Clare or the wider University.
Jona Nagerl
Exchange Officer
Hi everyone, my name is Jona, and I am a second-year PhD student in applied mathematics as well as your exchange officer this year! Originally from Germany, I studied in Regensburg and Paris before moving here last year.
One of the best parts of university life in Cambridge is the college community, and I am excited to organise a diverse selection of swaps for you to connect with other colleges and meet new people!
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or ideas on how to foster inter-college exchange. I am looking forward to getting to know many of you!
Liv Smith
Welfare Officer
Hey! I’m Liv (she/her) and I’m a fourth-year Biochemistry PhD student. As one of the Welfare Officers this year, my role is to make sure that your time at Clare is enjoyable and provide you with support should you need it. I will be involved in organising some welfare-related events throughout the year and I am able to provide a point of contact with the College and signpost you to the resources that will be most helpful.
I’m always up for a tea or coffee so if you have any welfare issues relating to the MCR or need someone to debrief to after a stressful week, please feel free to drop me a message or find me for a chat!
Capucine Mamak
Green Officer
Hello! I’m Capucine (she/her), a third year PhD student studying solar cell Physics. I’ll be your green officer this year representing the MCR cohort on environmental and gardening discussions at Clare.
Please reach out if you have any questions about making your college life greener, ranging from composting in college accommodation to Clare’s current environmental strategies. I’d also be very happy to hear any of your ideas for ways we can make our Clare community more sustainable! We also host a gown resale scheme where we buy back gowns from graduating students to resell to the next cohort - so keep an eye out for that if you’re interested!
Stefan Schöpf
Accommodation Officer
Hi, my name is Stefan (he/him)! I am a final-year Engineering PhD student doing research in machine unlearning and LLM agents. I’ll be the accommodation officer this term and am happy to hear from you regarding any (accommodation) ideas to improve life at Clare. Feel free to reach out anytime!
James Mallord
Library Officer
Hi everyone! I’m James, a 2nd-year PhD student in Quantum Engineering, and I’m really excited to be your MCR Library Officer this year. My main role is to attend library committee meetings and make sure any questions, issues, or suggestions you have about the library are heard. If you ever need help finding resources or navigating the library system, I’ll be more than happy to point you in the right direction.
Please don’t hesitate to come and say hello, whether it’s about the library or anything else. I’m really looking forward to meeting you all and helping make the year ahead a great one!
Noah Grodzinski
Admiral of the Punts
Hi, I’m Noah, a second-year PhD student in Maths at Clare and this year’s Punt Admiral. When I’m not banging my head against a whiteboard, you’ll probably find me climbing, cycling, or drinking too much coffee. If you’d like to learn more about sailing the high seas (the Cam) on a grand ship (a punt), let me know!
Ellie Williams
Mature Students' Officer
I’m Ellie and I’m a 4th year PhD student in bioinformatics/computational biology. As this year’s Mature Student Officer, my role is to represent and support anyone who falls under our ‘mature’ category at the MCR. This includes anyone studying for a PhD, those who are a bit older than the average student (25+), those with families, or those living in private accommodation. I want to make sure the MCR is a welcoming space for everyone so if you have any questions or concerns throughout the year that I might be able to help with, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I look forward to meeting you all soon!
Hannah Bazin
Welfare Officer
Hi everyone!
First of all, welcome to Clare!!! We are so happy to have you here. I’m Hannah and I’m very excited to be Welfare Officer this year. My role is to make sure the MCR stays a fun, welcoming, and safe space for you all. 💌 I was in Clare last year for my MPhil, and am now continuing onto a PhD programme in Cancer Biology. I know Cambridge can be as intimidating as it is exciting, so please don’t hesitate to reach out for a chat if you ever need any advice or support. We all have our ups and downs! See you in the MCR🥰.
Claire Saint-Amour
Disabilities Officer
Hello! I'm Claire (she/her), a third-year PhD in Classics and your Disabilities Officer. I'm here to represent and support students with disabilities, including physical and mental impairments and specific learning differences. Reach out for a chat, for guidance on accessing university resources, or with any questions and concerns about accessibility at Cambridge!
Chiara Leadbeater
Clareity President
Hello everyone! I’m Chiara (she/her), a PhD student working on quantum algorithm design for quantum chemistry, and this year I’m excited to be part of your Clareity team alongside Sea Yun. Our role is to organise a series of informal talks throughout the year, giving MCR members — and occasionally fellows, alumni, and others — a chance to present their interests to the MCR community.
In addition, we’ll be putting together the Clareity Symposium in March. This college-wide event is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the incredible variety of research being done by MCR members. Both the regular talks and the symposium are perfect for discovering what your peers are working on and for celebrating each other’s achievements.
If you’d like to share your work at a talk, we’d love to hear from you!
Sea-Yun Pius Joung
Clareity President
Dearly Beloved Clare MCR!
I’m Sea Yun – and along with Chiara, I’m super excited to coordinate the Clareity Symposium and Evenings throughout this academic year. I’m a second-year PhD student in the Faculty of Divinity, studying the letters of St Maximus the Confessor – a seventh century Byzantine monk who had his right arm and tongue chopped off by the Emperor for his defence of Dyothelitism! Having lived in Korea, Australia, Norway, and the US, I’m super interested in different perspectives – and being very nerdy, I’m super excited to hear about your niche research interests and to build an academic community around Clare. Every other Thursday, Clareity Evenings are a super fun opportunity to present to a welcoming community of fellow graduate students over pizza (did I mention FREE PIZZA?), and to hear about the cutting-edge research in College. The Symposium (end of Lent Term) is an opportunity to present at a chill conference-like setting with a formal dinner afterwards. Super excited to hear all of your stories and research interests!
Clare Love
Timothy Moy
Quartermaster
G’day all,
I’m Tim, a fourth year PhD student in maths and I will be your quartermaster for the 2025-2026 academic year. This year it is my role to keep the MCR stocked with biscuits, coffee, tea, and more generally, I will work to make sure the MCR is a pleasant space to study and relax in during the daytime. Please get in touch if you have any suggestions for things you would like stocked in the MCR for our community to enjoy. It has been a pleasure being a part of the Clare MCR community over the course of my PhD and I am very excited to once again be energised by the arrival of a new cohort of students.
See you all around!
Elliott Kasoar
Computing Officer
Hi everyone! I’m Elliott (he/him), a first-year, part-time PhD student in Engineering, and your Computing Officer. In addition to helping with any issues you have with the MCR website and technology, I’ll be representing the MCR at the college’s Computer Committee meetings. If you have any problems, or if you would like me to raise anything at these meetings, please get in touch!
Adelaide Brooks
International Students' Officer
Hi everyone, I’m Adelaide, this year’s international students’ officer! I am a 4th-year PhD student working on Holocaust testimony written in Italian, French, and English by women who were non-native speakers (short and less confusing version, PhD in Italian). I am originally from the US, but I have been at Clare since I started my MPhil here in September 2021.
This year I will be co-running international film evenings with the Clareity officers, as well as language exchanges and other events TBD. I am also here for any questions you might have about adjusting to life in Cambridge, the UK, etc–please feel free to send me an email with any concerns or questions you might have, as I have been in your shoes before and am happy to help!
I hope to meet many of you at international events sometime soon (all welcome–whether you are an international student or not)!