Genetics: University of Cambridge

Founded in 1912, today the Department of Genetics is recognised as one of the few major departments in the UK and Europe that continues to embrace all aspects of genetics from molecular to population biology.

Key research areas

The Department has over 200 workers divided into 21 research groups, each of which is either led by a University Teaching Officer or is independently funded (eight group leaders are funded by the Wellcome Trust, MRC, Lister Institute, and CMI).

The unifying theme of their research is the application of genetic methodologies to biological problems. Research areas include:

• Developmental biology of Drosophila (A Martinez Arias, C O'Kane, D St Johnston)
• Developmental biology of the C. elegans embryo (J Ahringer)
• Developmental biology of mammals (C Boulter, M Zernicka-Goetz)
• Cell division cycle and chromosome biology (D Glover, J Raff, M Segal, C Farr)
• Bacterial genetics (P Oliver, D Summers, J Archer)
• Gene silencing and genome organisation in plants (I Furner, D MacDonald)
• Evolution and population genetics (M Majerus, F Balloux)
• Genomics (M Ashburner, S Russell, G Micklem)
• Stem cells and cancer (F Watt)

The confluence of groups who use similar genetic tools in different organisms, or who have evolutionary interests which straddle different organisms, facilitates the study of universal biological problems and stimulates interaction between groups.

One of their strengths is the interaction between biologists with an evolutionary background and those with a more molecular or developmental background.

Further information:

• www.gen.cam.ac.uk
• Department brochure is available on request
• see Graduate School website: www.bio.cam.ac.uk/gradschool