Why study for a PhD at Cambridge?

Postgraduate students from across the University speak about their experiences of Cambridge, what inspires them, and the impact they hope their research will have as part of the launch of a new £48 million PhD fund.

The Trinity Cambridge Research Studentships programme will fund up to 300 PhD students in the humanities and sciences over the next 10 years.

The new film ‘Why study for a PhD?’, follows a short video with Nobel laureate and Trinity Fellow, Professor Didier Queloz which to date has been viewed more than 63,000 times on Instagram.

Read more about the students below:

Soniya Gupta-Rawal, Business & Marketing

Soniya’s research tackles critical marketing challenges in emerging markets. Using field experiments, AI and economic analysis to study the impact of various marketing strategies, Soniya is identifying what works for micro-entrepreneurs in India and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Emmanuel College

Frankie Butler, Earth Sciences 

Frankie is researching ancient volcanoes in Ireland and Northern Ireland, specifically focussing on ‘Slieve Gullion’, an eroded heart of a volcano. By unpicking the tapestry of magmatic history through analysis of the physical and chemical properties of the rocks and their relationships in the field, Frankie will create the first modern geological description of the area. Her work will also throw light on the formation of minerals vital for the transition to green energy.

Trinity College

Yumnah Khan, Psychiatry

Yumnah is investigating sex differences in the brain and cognition at birth, and how these early sex differences shape future life outcomes. Her work also involves mapping how the brain develops before and after birth. Understanding sex differences in early brain development might help to explain why males and females show different likelihoods for developing certain conditions.

Trinity College

Dr William H Cook, Clinical Neurosciences

William is a doctor researching the most common type of brain tumour, meningioma. Although some cases can be cured with surgery, patients are often left with debilitating seizures, other disabilities, and poor quality of life. William is investigating how seizures could be prevented and whether liquid biopsy is possible in meningioma, to help diagnose these tumours before surgery.

Christ’s College

Broderick House, Zoology

Broderick is pioneering marine urban aquaculture – ‘vertical seafood farms’ – to enable the cultivation of bivalves like mussels, clams, and oysters in inland environments in order to provide nutrient-rich and sustainable food sources in the context of global population growth and environmental resource constraint.

With a background in biochemistry and biomedical engineering, Broderick has witnessed the severe effects of malnutrition in high and low-resource communities, experiences which drive his commitment to innovate the global food system, working with policymakers, farmers, and other collaborators.

 Wolfson College

Lisanne Blok, Earth Sciences

Lisanne is using AI to study extreme events in sea level, to understand the atmospheric and oceanographic causes and how sea level varies spatially and over time. The understanding of these dynamics can inform policymakers’ work on adaptation plans and early warning systems for flooding, as well as underlining the connection between extreme sea level and climate change.

Murray Edwards

Emily Maisonville, English

Emily studies the influence of Augustine of Hippo’s philosophy in presentations of ‘reality’ in nineteenth-century literature, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Tennyson and Cardinal John Henry Newman.

Queens’ College

Hannah Clayton, Oncology

Hannah is developing AI models to predict treatment outcomes for ovarian cancer patients. By combining different kinds of medical data, her research aims to create tools that support personalized treatment and improve patient care.

Magdalene College

Rosalie Roechert, Politics & International Studies

Rosalie’s research will help us understand why and how more countries are adopting feminist values in their foreign policy by examining the role of policymakers and diplomats in navigating hierarchies and shaping norms.

Investigating in particular how Germany and France have spread ideas of feminist foreign policy to Colombia, Rosalie’s research will generate new understandings and perspectives on feminist foreign policy, a relatively new phenomenon in the diplomatic world.

Jesus College

(NB Rosie is an MPhil student)

Bjorn Olaisen, Medical Science

Bjorn investigates the biology of ageing in order to advance the development of therapeutics that can rejuvenate our cells, tissues, and organs, thereby reversing the age-related decline in health that can lead to chronic diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular diseases.

He will test whether correcting certain age-related changes in DNA modifications that regulate gene activity can increase the therapeutic potential of slowing or reversing cellular ageing to extend our healthy lifespan and broadly treat or protect against age-related diseases.

Trinity College

Mrittika Shahita, History

Mrittika investigates the phenomenon of ‘mixed marriage’ – primarily between Indian men and Burmese women – during the British colonial era, in order to understand how perceptions of gender and race became crucial in British Burma. Her research highlights the need to amplify the voices of colonized women who, despite their crucial roles, remained of lower status and thus were largely unheard.

St Edmund’s College

Philip O’Neal, Land Economy

Philip’s research examines how a holistic approach to community participation in urban regeneration can improve people’s quality of life. As a Barbadian with extensive experience in the national planning system, Philip intends to apply his research to improve the outcomes of urban growth and regeneration in his home country.

Christ’s College

Darold Cuba, History

Darold’s research focusses on post-emancipation ‘marronage’ in the United States. He looks at the way so-called ‘Black towns’ or ‘freedom settlements’ might be considered an extension of marronage as communities continued to seek refuge from white supremacy even after slavery was ended.

St John’s College

Photo credits: Henry Wolff