Featured image Skip featured image

Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of Johnians and friends, the Professor Sir Christopher Dobson PhD Scholarship has reached its endowment target of £1.9 million, ensuring that outstanding scientists from anywhere in the world can pursue doctoral study at St John’s in perpetuity.  

When we launched the campaign in memory of Chris Dobson, our much-loved former Master, we set out to honour both his scientific brilliance and his belief in opening doors for talented students. Today, his legacy is secure. The endowed fund will provide the fees, maintenance and essential research expenses for a PhD student in the natural sciences, in perpetuity.  

Failure is part of academic research. The important thing is what one learns from failures. Dealing with apparent failure is very often the way to eventual success. History has shown us that if you put clever people and resources to look at difficult problems, often you can find a solution.”- Professor Sir Christopher Dobson 

Postgraduate funding in the UK is increasingly constrained, and the conditions attached to some external awards can narrow the scope of research. The Dobson PhD Scholarship takes the opposite approach: it protects intellectual independence, giving exceptional researchers room to explore questions that might not fit neatly into grant checkboxes, but may unlock major scientific breakthroughs. 

More than 400 alumni and friends donated to the campaign, with a successful application to the University Contribution Scheme – part of the University’s priority to expand the size, quality and diversity of the postgraduate population– helping us cross the finishing line. We are deeply grateful to everyone who made this possible.  

The scholarship reflects Chris’s conviction that many of today’s most complex challenges demand an “interdisciplinary and collaborative approach”. Accordingly, it will be awarded across the natural sciences, and open to applicants from anywhere in the world. This ensures St John’s can continue to attract exceptional researchers regardless of background or geography, sustaining the College’s long tradition of scientific excellence and inclusive opportunity.  

The impact is already tangible. The first Dobson PhD Scholar, Callum Thomas, joined the College in Michaelmas 2024. Callum is pursuing innovative research in Zoology, exploring the genetic diversity of black soldier flies to help create a more sustainable global food system. 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this scholarship. Your support has secured this permanent tribute to Chris, ensuring that the very best scientists are attracted to Cambridge, and this provides them with the autonomy to follow their instincts, free from the increasingly rigid conditions of many external funding bodies. 

To read more about Callum’s research, see the article in The Marguerite: Read the feature