Flora Donald is a PhD candidate who splits her time between the Department of Plant Sciences and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Here, she tells us about growing up in a family of gardeners, her research on conserving the native UK juniper, and her love of the Scottish Highlands.
Sophia Cooke is a PhD candidate in the Department of Zoology, and a member of King's College. Here, she tells us about splitting her time between Cambridge and Galápagos, why working in the David Attenborough Building is so special, and how a little room in Norfolk with no wifi helped build her confidence as a researcher.
Dr Jenny Zhang is a group leader and BBSRC David Phillips Fellow in the Department of Chemistry, where she is re-wiring photosynthesis to generate renewable fuels. Here, she tells us about why she switched from cancer research to sustainability, how her Fellowship programme is helping her develop leadership skills, and why eggs in her childhood home would regularly go missing.
Fiona Llewellyn-Beard is a PhD candidate in the Department of Earth Sciences, where she studies salt marshes and how they store huge amounts of carbon. Here, she tells us about how a childhood love of mud pies led to her current research, her love of the outdoors, and how everything in the environment is interconnected.
Amy Rankine is a PhD candidate in the Institute of Astronomy and a member of Clare Hall. Here, she tells us about being the first in her family to go to university, why she decided to pursue an academic career, and how the brightest things in the universe affect the formation of galaxies.
Dr Stephanie Höhn is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and a member of Trinity Hall. Here, she tells us about her unusual path to an academic career, the advantages of being a biologist in a mathematics department, and how an organism that can turn itself inside out might one day help us prevent certain birth defects.
Vidhi is a PhD candidate at the Cavendish Laboratory, a Turing Scholar, and a member of Christ’s College. Here, she tells us about growing up in Madras, her research in machine learning and leaving the world of finance for academia.
Professor Marian Holness leads a research group in the Department of Earth Sciences, and studies the processes which occur during the melting and solidification of rocks. Here, she tells us how time spent in quiet activities like running, knitting and even breastfeeding have helped to trigger new insights in her research.
Stepheni Uh is a PhD candidate in the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Here, she tells us about her research studying the cognitive effects of growing up in poverty, the gap between science and policy, and falling asleep in an MRI machine.
Emma Glennon is a PhD candidate in the Department of Veterinary Medicine and a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Here, she tells us about her research on infectious disease and how they emerge, the importance of interdisciplinary work, and learning how to catch bats.
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