Image by Sylke Rohrlach, used under a Creative Commons licence
Two new PhD studentships for the Department of Zoology
Marine biology is one of two subjects that will benefit from a PhD studentship as a result of this gift
A Cambridge alumna has given a 'birthday present' to the Department of Zoology, as it celebrates 150 years of zoology at the University.
The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has pledged to support two PhD studentships: one in the biology and ecology of Asia and one in marine biology. Professor Michael Akam FRS, Head of Department and Professor of Zoology, said: “This is exceptionally generous and we are extremely grateful to the donor for her visionary contribution, especially in this, our 150th anniversary year".
These studentships will make a most welcome and palpable improvement to the training of our PhD students and thus to the research profile of the Department as a whole.
150 years of zoology in Cambridge
The Department’s anniversary marks the appointment in 1866 of Alfred Newton as the first Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, and of John Willis Clark as the first Superintendent of the Museum of Zoology. It was also the year that saw the arrival of the Museum’s iconic finback whale skeleton, shortly to be redisplayed in the refurbished Museum space in the David Attenborough Building.
Celebrations of the Department’s 150th anniversary took place during this year’s Alumni Festival in September.
Further reading
The Department of Zoology's research centres on the broad goal of understanding the diversity of animal life. Its approaches range from cellular processes through to behavioural studies of wild populations. The unifying thread is evolution, the single process that underlies all of the diversity of life. Read more about research themes in Zoology
Return to impact of giving stories
Published on:
26 October 2016