In 2020 the College announced the creation of a new PhD Scholarship in honour of our beloved late Master, Professor Sir Christopher Dobson.
Chris was elected Master of St John’s in 2007, and for 12 years he led the College community with dedication, good humour and a passion to make higher education accessible to all. He balanced this with being an innovative and prolific chemist, and his scientific accomplishments significantly advanced global understanding of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
The Professor Sir Christopher Dobson PhD Scholarship was launched to preserve Chris’s ethos for future generations and is open to applicants from all the natural sciences, in acknowledgement of Chris’s conviction that ‘an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach is needed to try to tackle the multifaceted problems of today’.
Over the past four years, 423 generous alumni and friends have donated over £900,000 to the scholarship, allowing the College to welcome the inaugural scholar, Callum Thomas. Below, Callum describes his fascinating work in Zoology:
‘On average, up to 14% of all food produced worldwide is lost before it reaches the tables of consumers, while a further 17% of all food purchased by consumers is wasted. Farmed insects are increasingly being used to convert wasted food into products such as livestock feed or organic compost in order to create a more sustainable, circular, agricultural economy.
‘The black soldier fly, hermetia illucens, is particularly suited to this task due to the high protein and fat content of its larvae and their ability to eat a wide range of food and animal waste products. However, despite being at the centre of a rapidly expanding industry, relatively little is known about the genetic background or evolutionary history of this species.
‘I aim to investigate the genetic diversity of wild and farmed populations of the black soldier fly and its sister species, constructing a “family tree” that will provide insight into how, when and where these species evolved.
‘This work will enable farmers to improve the efficiency and viability of their black soldier fly stocks via selective breeding or targeted crossing experiments. Such work would allow the industry to identify populations possessing commercially advantageous genes or traits, while reducing the negative impacts of inbreeding or low genetic diversity.’
You can read more and support the Professor Sir Christopher Dobson PhD Scholarship on the College website
