Sidney alumna awarded Yorke Prize for outstanding PhD research in Law

Endowed in 1873 by Edmund Yorke, the Yorke Prize is awarded annually for doctoral research of exceptional quality that makes a substantial contribution to legal knowledge. This year, five researchers were recognised for the outstanding quality and impact of their work.

Dr Khanna's thesis examines the relationship between race, poverty and equality in European human rights law. While racialised minorities disproportionately experience poverty across Europe and beyond, equality law has traditionally paid little attention to the racialisation of poverty. Combining a critical lens with doctrinal analysis of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, her research demonstrates how equality law could play a far greater role in addressing racialised poverty.

Reflecting on the award, Dr Khanna said:

"I am thrilled to have been awarded a Yorke Prize for my PhD thesis. A heartfelt thanks to my PhD supervisor, Dr Kirsty Hughes, for her unwavering support and guidance over the years, as well as my examiners, Professor Virginia Mantouvalou (UCL) and Dr Stephanie Palmer (Cambridge), for their rigorous, kind and constructive engagement with my research. I am excited to continue working on a monograph based on my PhD."

She also expressed her gratitude to her postgraduate tutors and Shaun Darby for their tremendous support throughout her doctoral studies. 

Dr Khanna's PhD was jointly funded by the Cambridge Trust and Sidney Sussex College through the Cambridge International and Evan Lewis-Thomas Law Studentship. Sidney's support also enabled her to present her research internationally, including at the 2024 Law and Society Association Annual Meeting in Denver, USA.

During her PhD, Dr Khanna was awarded the Fox International Fellowship, representing Sidney Sussex College and the University of Cambridge at Yale University during the 2024/25 academic year.

Speaking about the opportunities she received during her time at Sidney, she said:

"I am extremely grateful to Sidney for making all of these experiences possible."

Dr Khanna is now a Humboldt Research Fellow at the Academy for European Human Rights Protection at the University of Cologne, where her postdoctoral research is funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. She is currently developing her prize-winning doctoral research into a monograph.