2026 Mini-Grad Recipients
2026 Mini-Grad Grants Recipients
Sebastian Lucek and Rabia Kutlu Karasu
Sebastian Lucek, is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Stanford University. His research examines the evolution of party politics in India over time, highlighting how political mobilization by historically marginalized social groups alters political competition and social identity. His work utilizes a range of quantitative and qualitative approaches, blending computational methods, political psychology, and in-depth fieldwork.
Rabia Kutlu Karasu is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Stanford University. Her research explores legislative politics and political behavior in contexts of democratic backsliding, with a particular focus on elite behavior and representation. She employs quantitative and computational methods to uncover dynamics within transitional regimes.
What do you hope to do with the grant? With the Markaz mini-grant, we will work on digitizing a wide variety of data sources from India and Turkey related to the Khilafat Movement in colonial India (1919–1924), which mobilized Indian Muslims against the British treatment of the Ottoman Caliphate and briefly brought Hindus and Muslims together in a unified anti-colonial campaign. Constructing a comprehensive dataset on Khilafat Movement activity will allow us to study the impact of joint protest between Hindus and Muslims on subsequent political outcomes and intergroup relations.
Nadia Kirmani and Rania Abdusamad
Nadia Kirmani is an MD/MS candidate at Stanford School of Medicine whose work is grounded in advancing health equity for historically underserved communities. She leads projects at the intersection of oncology and equity such as immunotherapy outcomes and structural barriers to cancer care.
Rania Abdusamad, is MD student with scholarly concentration in informatics & data-driven medicine/ cardiovascular pulmonary sciences
What do you hope to do with the grant? We are developing ‘Havenly’, a broad-reaching tool, aimed at targeting the core issues Muslim immigrants and refugees face in integrating into American communities. Our tool seeks to bridge disciplines and serve as an initial touch point for immigrants daunted by the challenges of a new system. In doing so, we hope to create a replicable model for culturally-anchored digital care navigation across the state.
Fyza Parviz Jazra
Fyza Parviz Jazra is a second year PhD student in the History of Science. Her research focuses on the intersections between the intellectual life of Early Modern Europe and the Islamicate World. She is particularly interested in astronomy, cartography, cosmography, antiquarianism, and other forms of early modern sciences. Before joining the academic world, Fyza worked as a Software Engineer for ten years. She lives in Palo Alto with her husband and two sons.
What do you hope to do with the grant? The “Islam and Science,” is a new series that I have devised currently co-sponsored by the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, the Program in History & Philosophy of Science, Stanford’s History Department, and the Middle Eastern Studies Forum. The series brings in cutting-edge researchers to Stanford who discuss how scientific knowledge was practiced, taught, debated, and exchanged across the medieval, early modern, and modern Islamic world, often through newly uncovered sources that challenge received narratives and reshape our understanding of science in Islamicate societies.
Samran Ahmad
Samran Ahmad is a second year PhD student in Religious Studies. His doctoral research examines the reciprocity between urbanity and religion, exploring how sacred spaces both shape and are shaped by the cities they inhabit, thus producing distinctive sacred geographies.
What do you hope to do with the grant? The project focuses on mapping and documenting sacred shrines of prominent Sufi saints in New Delhi, India. It centers on three major sites: the shrines of Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya (d.1325), Sheikh Bakhtiyar Kaki (d. 1235), and Sheikh Nasiruddin Chiragh Dehlavi (d.1337). In the contemporary moment, these shrines serve as focal points of vibrant neighborhoods that have developed around them, which act as catalysts for place-making, devotion, and community life in predominantly Muslim yet religiously diverse urban sprawls. Methodologically, the project will employ geospatial tools such as QGIS and ArcGIS-based Story Maps to visualize these sacred sites. This approach will allow the mapping of spatial constructions, historical narratives, embedded rituals, and the circulation of sacred objects. The resulting academically informed Story Maps will be published on the website of the Shared Sacred Sites Project at Stanford.
Deniz Cenk Demir
Deniz Cenk Demir is a fifth year PhD student in Anthropology. His doctoral research examines the concept of Martyrs and martyrdom in Islamdom.
What do you hope to do with the grant? Martyrs and martyrdom have been observed diversely as prevalent phenomena of the Islamic world, as they embodied specific cultural references from sacrifice to dedication in different theaters of war and struggle across the Islamdom. Not necessarily for Islamic politics, martyrdom has an elevated status regardless of cultural differences, as it carries strong transcendental references. But it has always been a politically charged concept as well; it is an impelling force, a powerful motive for mobilization. I plan to travel to connect with the families of martyrs to conduct in-person interviews and archival research in different regions of US.