Crawford International Sandton alum wows the world with her academic journey
After research stints in Philadelphia, Cambridge, and Berkeley, Savanna Cohen is ready to tackle Oxford’s toughest neuroscience programme.
When Savanna Cohen walked the halls of Crawford International Sandton, few could have imagined the scale of her future academic path.
Today, she stands at the threshold of Oxford University, preparing to join one of the world’s most competitive neuroscience programmes.
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Cohen, who will graduate summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in 2026, has pursued a trajectory marked by both intellectual depth and international recognition.
She majored in neuroscience with honours, complemented by minors in psychology and science, technology, and society.
Her studies included an exchange with Cambridge University’s Pembroke College, where she undertook advanced courses in psychology and anthropology.
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Her research experience is equally impressive. At Penn, she worked on the biology of appetite and the neural mechanisms of opioid addiction, where she developed a novel machine learning pipeline to classify withdrawal behaviours. At the University of California, Berkeley, her contributions on oxytocin and maternal behaviour are expected to appear in leading scientific journals.
Beyond her academic record, she has embodied leadership and service. She has been an executive board member of the college dean’s advisory board, vice president of the Penn Neuroscience Society, and vice president of Out in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (oSTEM), advancing diversity and inclusion.
Her excellence has been recognised through awards such as the Melvin M Goldberg Fellowship and the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award.
Now, she’s joining Oxford’s 1+3 MSc + DPhil in Neuroscience programme, which admits only five students each year. “From a pool of 470 applicants, I secured my place. I also received an offer from Cambridge, but I chose Oxford for its research culture and interdisciplinary approach.”
Reflecting on her achievement, she said: “It’s humbling to be part of such a small, dedicated cohort. I can’t wait to deepen my understanding of the brain and contribute to meaningful advancements in neuroscience.”
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