New research shows a previously unrecognised adaptation to changing climatic conditions in one of the most charismatic plant genera of South-East Asia, the carnivorous pitcher plant. Published in the March 2026 edition of the Annals of Botany, the research was led by Charlotte Andrew, a PhD student in our Insect...

An 100% Research Technician position is available in the Deep Time Ecology Group, led by Dr Emily Mitchell, in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. The position is part of a five-year project starting in June 2026: Understanding selection in the early animals of the Ediacaran. This project will bring together geochemistry, palaeontology and evolutionary biology to create an innovative framework for understanding early animal evolution - specifically, 1) What the patterns of early animal evolution were; 2) How selection acted upon these early animals; and 3) Why these adaptations occurred.

The successful applicant will support the lab's research through the processing and management of their digital palaeontological data. The key responsibilities will be to provide support for research projects by ensuring that raw fieldwork data is properly backed up for processing the fieldwork data. The technician will also manage the data storage as well as preparing and updating documentation, help train new lab members, and liaise with other research groups and departmental technical staff.

Applicants should have a BSc in a relevant field to palaeontology, such as biology or Earth sciences (or equivalent practical experience), with experience in processing 3D digital data. Essential skills include having a high degree of precision and accuracy, excellent organisational skills, the ability to work well within a team, as well as the ability to work autonomously and make independent decisions within guidelines. Experience with palaeontological data and an interest in understanding early animal evolution are desirable. There may be opportunities to participate in international fieldwork, though this is not required.

The role will be based on site in the Department of Zoology. Work cannot be undertaken remotely.

Interview date: Interviews are expected to take place in Cambridge during the week commencing Monday, 11th May 2026 (subject to change) and may be conducted remotely under exceptional circumstances.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for up to 36 months.

Applications are welcome from internal candidates who would like to apply for the role on the basis of a secondment from their current role in the University.

Flexible working request will be considered.

We particularly welcome applications from candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our University.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be directed to Dr Emily Mitchell [email: ek338@cam.ac.uk]

If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Paulina Lasocka or Anastasia Nezhentseva [email: hr@zoo.cam.ac.uk]

Please quote reference PF49018 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

An 100% Research Technician position is available in the Deep Time Ecology Group, led by Dr Emily Mitchell, in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. The position is part of a five-year project starting in June 2026: Understanding selection in the early animals of the Ediacaran. This project will bring together geochemistry, palaeontology and evolutionary biology to create an innovative framework for understanding early animal evolution - specifically, 1) What the patterns of early animal evolution were; 2) How selection acted upon these early animals; and 3) Why these adaptations occurred.

The successful applicant will support the lab's research through the processing and management of their digital palaeontological data. The key responsibilities will be to provide support for research projects by ensuring that raw fieldwork data is properly backed up for processing the fieldwork data. The technician will also manage the data storage as well as preparing and updating documentation, help train new lab members, and liaise with other research groups and departmental technical staff.

Applicants should have a BSc in a relevant field to palaeontology, such as biology or Earth sciences (or equivalent practical experience), with experience in processing 3D digital data. Essential skills include having a high degree of precision and accuracy, excellent organisational skills, the ability to work well within a team, as well as the ability to work autonomously and make independent decisions within guidelines. Experience with palaeontological data and an interest in understanding early animal evolution are desirable. There may be opportunities to participate in international fieldwork, though this is not required.

The role will be based on site in the Department of Zoology. Work cannot be undertaken remotely.

Interview date: Interviews are expected to take place in Cambridge during the week commencing Monday, 11th May 2026 (subject to change) and may be conducted remotely under exceptional circumstances.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for up to 36 months.

Applications are welcome from internal candidates who would like to apply for the role on the basis of a secondment from their current role in the University.

Flexible working request will be considered.

We particularly welcome applications from candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our University.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be directed to Dr Emily Mitchell [email: ek338@cam.ac.uk]

If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Paulina Lasocka or Anastasia Nezhentseva [email: hr@zoo.cam.ac.uk]

Please quote reference PF49018 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

A recent paper led by Dr Arik Kershenbaum , a College Associate Professor here in Zoology, describes how both wildlife and humans could benefit from networks of acoustic detectors to monitor tiger activity in Nepal. Here Dr Kershenbaum writes about his group's research, and how a faux tiger skin came in handy. kershenbaum_...

On 20th November, the Cambridge University Entomological Society ran a symposium, titled ’The Good, the Bad, and the Monstrous: Insects in Mythology, Literature and Media’, at the Department of Zoology. This symposium discussed the portrayal of insects in mythology, literature, and present-day media, with the objective of...

Pollinator Ambassadors, a European charity co-founded by Zoology PhD student Nynke Blömer ( Agroecology Group ), has recently won grants for two new projects on youth engagement on the topic of pollinators. Together with Biodiversity Action Europe, Pollinator Ambassadors secured funding worth 67,300 euros for the project "...

Research published in Nature Communications on Thursday 15 January 2026, co-authored by Dr Joseph Millard of our Agroecology Research Group, provides new insights into the threat that invasive alien species pose to terrestrial insects. This is the first study to analyse and quantify the impact of invasive alien species on...

Research published today in the journal Science Advances shows that part of the answer lies in a subtle but consequential shift in how individual workers are built. Using a computer vision approach applied to 3D X-ray scans, researchers digitally reconstructed the anatomy of more than 500 ant species and traced how their...

It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Dr Nancy Lane Perham OBE last month at the age of 89. She was a pioneering cell biologist and a champion of women in science. Nancy was a member of our department and fellow of Girton College from 1968 until her retirement in 2006. She was an outstanding microscopist...

A paper published this week, in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, led by Dr Tasnuva Ming Khan, Deep-time Ecology Group , supports the theory that there was a single extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period in Antarctica, due to a catastrophic asteroid impact, rather than gradual...

Congratulations to Dr Charles Emogor and Professor Stephen Montgomery, winners of prestigious awards at the Zoological Society of London’s annual awards ceremony yesterday. Professor Montgomery was awarded the Society's Scientific Medal for outstanding contributions to zoology by an early career researcher. Professor...

We’re very pleased to announce that two of our group leaders, Dr Emília Santos and Dr Emily Mitchell have been awarded European Research Council Consolidator Grants (part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme). These grants are awarded to outstanding scientists who are establishing independent research teams to work on...

Eight University of Cambridge researchers will receive a share of the European Research Council’s (ERC) record €728 million Consolidator Grant awards this year. The grants support mid-career researchers to carry out cutting-edge research projects lasting up to five years, in fields from astronomy to zoology.

In total the ERC has selected 349 mid-career researchers to receive awards this year. With funding from the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, the grants support research at universities and research centres in 25 EU Member States - and associated countries including the UK.

The 2025 Cambridge recipients are:

Dr Davide Luca, Department of Land Economy, for ‘Bridging Rural-urban Individual Divides in Outlooks and Political Engagement’. Luca will investigate the roots of the growing social and political divide between urban and rural communities - one of the defining issues of our time. Using innovative research across six countries he will explore how early-life environments and local social interactions shape views, and develop practical ways to reduce divisions on key issues like migration and climate policy.

Professor Blake Sherwin, Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics, for ‘Revealing Cosmic Structure Growth and the Early Universe with the CMB Backlight’. Sherwin will use the universe’s oldest light, the cosmic microwave background, as a backlight to map where cosmic matter lies and how it moves. This will provide new insights into how the universe began and allow the team to test ideas about how cosmic structure grew.

Professor Alexandra Woolgar, Department of Psychology and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, for ‘Pinging the brain to reveal hidden neural states underpinning flexible human cognition’. What if the real magic of thinking happens in hidden brain states we can’t usually see? Woolgar is developing new ways to reveal these invisible patterns using advanced brain imaging and stimulation. By uncovering this ‘secret wiring’ she aims to better understand how our minds focus, adapt, and think flexibly.

Dr Emília Santos, Department of Zoology, for ‘A predictive model of diversification and convergence of colour patterns in East African cichlid fishes’. This work will help understand, and ultimately predict, how diversity arises in nature. Santos will study striking colour patterns in East African cichlid fishes to understand how novel traits originate and evolve. By combining population genomics, developmental biology and mathematical modelling, the work will reveal how different biological layers interact to produce morphological diversity, and why certain traits evolve repeatedly.

Dr Emily Mitchell, Department of Zoology, for ‘Understanding selection in the early animals of the Ediacaran’. Animals first evolved on Earth during the Ediacaran time period, after over three billion years of only microbial life. Yet scientists don’t understand what drove this evolution. This project will help us to understand how natural selection acted upon these early animals and why these adaptations occurred.

Dr Somenath Bakshi, Department of Engineering, for ‘Systems Analysis of The Physiological Determinants of Phage Infection Dynamics’. As antibiotic resistance surges, phages - viruses that infect and kill bacteria - offer a transformative therapeutic alternative. Bakshi will map how bacterial physiology, including cellular resources, energy, and stress, controls phage infection dynamics. These insights will guide the design of engineered phages and treatment strategies that work reliably in complex, real-world clinical settings.

Dr Eleanor Raffan, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, for ‘Appetite and Obesity: leveraging the power of dog genetics for biomedical insight’. Raffan will study pet dogs to find genes and biological processes that contribute to obesity. Laboratory studies will help in understanding how these genes influence appetite, activity, and metabolism, and the team will check whether they have similar effects in humans. The overarching aim is to reduce the impact of obesity on human and animal health.

Dr Angela Trentacoste, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, for ‘Feeding Roman Italy: Continuities and Innovations in animal production from urbanisation to empire’. This project will investigate farming in Italy from 600 BC–AD 200, a dynamic period of urbanisation and political expansion. By studying the bones and teeth of ancient livestock, it aims to reshape understanding of this fundamental area of ancient society, and whether shifts in its organisation could have motivated expansion in early urban states.

President of the European Research Council, Professor Maria Leptin, said: “To see all this talent with groundbreaking ideas, based in Europe, is truly inspiring. This bold research may well lead to new industries, improve lives and strengthen Europe’s global standing.

"This was one of the most competitive ERC calls ever, with record demand and many excellent projects left unfunded. It is yet another reminder of how urgent the call for increased EU investment in frontier research has become.”

Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said: “Congratulations to all the researchers on winning the ERC grants. The record budget of 728 million euro invested to support these scientific projects shows the EU is serious about making the continent attractive for excellent researchers.”

Funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme will support promising mid-career scientists to pursue creative research ideas across a broad range of scientific fields.

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright ©University of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Eight University of Cambridge researchers will receive a share of the European Research Council’s (ERC) record €728 million Consolidator Grant awards this year. The grants support mid-career researchers to carry out cutting-edge research projects lasting up to five years, in fields from astronomy to zoology.

In total the ERC has selected 349 mid-career researchers to receive awards this year. With funding from the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, the grants support research at universities and research centres in 25 EU Member States - and associated countries including the UK.

The 2025 Cambridge recipients are:

Dr Davide Luca, Department of Land Economy, for ‘Bridging Rural-urban Individual Divides in Outlooks and Political Engagement’. Luca will investigate the roots of the growing social and political divide between urban and rural communities - one of the defining issues of our time. Using innovative research across six countries he will explore how early-life environments and local social interactions shape views, and develop practical ways to reduce divisions on key issues like migration and climate policy.

Professor Blake Sherwin, Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics, for ‘Revealing Cosmic Structure Growth and the Early Universe with the CMB Backlight’. Sherwin will use the universe’s oldest light, the cosmic microwave background, as a backlight to map where cosmic matter lies and how it moves. This will provide new insights into how the universe began and allow the team to test ideas about how cosmic structure grew.

Professor Alexandra Woolgar, Department of Psychology and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, for ‘Pinging the brain to reveal hidden neural states underpinning flexible human cognition’. What if the real magic of thinking happens in hidden brain states we can’t usually see? Woolgar is developing new ways to reveal these invisible patterns using advanced brain imaging and stimulation. By uncovering this ‘secret wiring’ she aims to better understand how our minds focus, adapt, and think flexibly.

Dr Emília Santos, Department of Zoology, for ‘A predictive model of diversification and convergence of colour patterns in East African cichlid fishes’. This work will help understand, and ultimately predict, how diversity arises in nature. Santos will study striking colour patterns in East African cichlid fishes to understand how novel traits originate and evolve. By combining population genomics, developmental biology and mathematical modelling, the work will reveal how different biological layers interact to produce morphological diversity, and why certain traits evolve repeatedly.

Dr Emily Mitchell, Department of Zoology, for ‘Understanding selection in the early animals of the Ediacaran’. Animals first evolved on Earth during the Ediacaran time period, after over three billion years of only microbial life. Yet scientists don’t understand what drove this evolution. This project will help us to understand how natural selection acted upon these early animals and why these adaptations occurred.

Dr Somenath Bakshi, Department of Engineering, for ‘Systems Analysis of The Physiological Determinants of Phage Infection Dynamics’. As antibiotic resistance surges, phages - viruses that infect and kill bacteria - offer a transformative therapeutic alternative. Bakshi will map how bacterial physiology, including cellular resources, energy, and stress, controls phage infection dynamics. These insights will guide the design of engineered phages and treatment strategies that work reliably in complex, real-world clinical settings.

Dr Eleanor Raffan, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, for ‘Appetite and Obesity: leveraging the power of dog genetics for biomedical insight’. Raffan will study pet dogs to find genes and biological processes that contribute to obesity. Laboratory studies will help in understanding how these genes influence appetite, activity, and metabolism, and the team will check whether they have similar effects in humans. The overarching aim is to reduce the impact of obesity on human and animal health.

Dr Angela Trentacoste, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, for ‘Feeding Roman Italy: Continuities and Innovations in animal production from urbanisation to empire’. This project will investigate farming in Italy from 600 BC–AD 200, a dynamic period of urbanisation and political expansion. By studying the bones and teeth of ancient livestock, it aims to reshape understanding of this fundamental area of ancient society, and whether shifts in its organisation could have motivated expansion in early urban states.

President of the European Research Council, Professor Maria Leptin, said: “To see all this talent with groundbreaking ideas, based in Europe, is truly inspiring. This bold research may well lead to new industries, improve lives and strengthen Europe’s global standing.

"This was one of the most competitive ERC calls ever, with record demand and many excellent projects left unfunded. It is yet another reminder of how urgent the call for increased EU investment in frontier research has become.”

Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said: “Congratulations to all the researchers on winning the ERC grants. The record budget of 728 million euro invested to support these scientific projects shows the EU is serious about making the continent attractive for excellent researchers.”

Funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme will support promising mid-career scientists to pursue creative research ideas across a broad range of scientific fields.

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright ©University of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

A paper lead by Gates Cambridge Scholar Andres Alfonso-Rojas published this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, that sheds light on the has attracted widespread press attention. Andres, who is a PhD student here in the Vertebrate Palaeontology Group , studied 12 million year old anaconda fossils, to find they...

We’re delighted to share the news that Prof Rhys Green , Emeritus Honorary Professor of Conservation Science here at the Dept of Zoology has won the Outstanding Contribution Award at the Nature of Scotland Awards 2025. The Award recognises his decades-long contribution to problem-solving conservation science and in...

The Cambridge Biotomography Centre, based here in the Department of Zoology, is a leading UK facility for high-resolution 3D imaging using micro-computed tomography (MicroCT) and X-ray tomography. The Centre's scanners allow researchers and industry clients to see internal structures without destroying the objects examined...