Research and teaching

Research and teaching

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  • Emeritus Professor Chris Lowe OBE with David Holden-White (Churchill 2014), Master's in Bioscience Enterprise student
    Emeritus Professor Chris Lowe OBE with David Holden-White (Churchill 2014), Master's in Bioscience Enterprise student

Our senior academics set the agenda. It is through their expertise and leadership that we discover extraordinary things and train the next generation.

The competition to attract the world’s most brilliant minds is fierce and we must ensure that we have the resources we need to endow academic posts, which can be filled by the world's best thinkers, so Cambridge can continue to compete at a global level.

We want to make sure that we have the skills and expertise to lead the world in new fields of inquiry, continuing the Cambridge tradition of setting the global benchmark for standards of education, learning and research. Crucial to this is the endowment of fellowships, lectureships and professorships, so that Cambridge continues to attract and provide for the world's best thinkers. Endowing these academic posts is at the heart of the plan for the University's future as it is the senior academics who lead our extraordinary research projects and shape the next generation of researchers and thinkers.

Related stories

Illustration of a nerve cell

Researchers and pharmaceutical companies working together to develop better medicines

The recently-launched Milner Therapeutics Institute and Consortium aims to tackle some of today’s most globally devastating diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Wolfson Laser Lab

Imaging laboratories to test new chemical designs

A generous donation from the Wolfson Foundation is supporting the construction of high-specification imaging laboratories, including a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Wing and Laser Imaging Laboratories.

The new Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Addenbrooke's hospital

Increasing the number of clinical trials to speed up development of new medical treatments

The Evelyn Trust is helping this happen faster by supporting the expansion of the Addenbrooke’s Clinical Research Centre, the epicentre of translational medicine on the Campus. A gift from the Trust has ensured the construction of level two of a five-storey expansion to the Clinical Research Centre.

Faculty of Law

Researching into medical law and ethics

As new research and technologies transform medicine, so too they change the nature of health issues, medico-legal dilemmas and the realities of health care systems, from consent and confidentiality to public health and biosecurity.

Mother holding hands with a newborn baby

Understanding the causes of complications in pregnancy

Cambridge is focused on this urgent global challenge and is making great strides in the field of maternal-fetal health thanks to a generous endowment from a single donor in 2007. The gift enabled the establishment of the Centre for Trophoblast Research, the only such facility worldwide that focuses exclusively on maternal-fetal interactions and on the role of the placenta in complications in pregnancy.

A piece of Persian art

Researching Persian literature, history and art

The 11th-century epic poem the Shahnama holds a hugely important place in Persian culture. Richly illustrated manuscripts of the work, by Firdausi of Tus, can be found in libraries around the world, recounting the history of the ancient kings of Iran from mythical beginnings to the Arab conquest in 651 AD.
Indian farmer holding a small seedling

Helping to fight infectious diseases in India

One of the biggest challenges of the 21st century is developing prevention strategies, treatments and vaccinations to combat infectious diseases, which kill more people worldwide than any other medical condition.
Chris Lowe, Emeritus Professor (right) is pictured with David Holden-White

Supporting sustainable entrepreneurship in the life sciences

Darrin Disley, a postgraduate of the Institute of Biotechnology at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, has established the Christopher R Lowe Carpe Diem Enterprise Programme, named in recognition of his mentor and PhD supervisor.

Dr Brigitte 'Ita' Askonas, 1923-2013

Nurturing early career researchers in immunology

Postdoctoral researchers are regarded as the engine of Cambridge’s research discovery, and supporting them in the early stages of their careers is a top priority for the University. Through the Ita Askonas Bursaries, a new generation of extraordinary scientists will be given the opportunity and support to develop their careers in immunology and infection.

'Hubble peers at the heart of a spiral galaxy' shows NGC 5793, over 150 million light-years away in the constellation of Libra

Ensuring the human race has a long-term future

The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk is focused on the task of safely harnessing our rapidly-developing technological power to ensure that our own species has a long-term future.

Microscopic photograph of the hippocampus demonstrating the characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease

Making sense of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

The development of new treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s is one step closer thanks to the generous support of the Frances and Augustus Newman Foundation.