St Catharine’s is delighted to announce the election of two Fellows following votes by the College’s Governing Body. Dr Varun Warrier has been elected to an Official Fellowship with effect from 23 February 2023 and Professor Adrian Liston has been elected to a Professorial Fellowship as of 12 May 2023.
Professorial Fellows hold professorships in the University of Cambridge, while Official Fellows typically either hold lectureships or readerships in the University or are employed by the College in academic and/or senior administrative posts. Both categories are appointed to Governing Body and become Trustees of the College on election.
Professor Adrian Liston and Dr Varun Warrier
Dr Warrier is Assistant Professor of Neurodevelopmental Research at the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology. His research group works on social and genetic factors that influence neurodevelopment, and mental health, with a particular interest in investigating heterogeneity in outcomes of various neurodevelopmental conditions to develop targeted support and therapy for those who need it.
He will be familiar to many at St Catharine’s because he was previously the College’s Bowring Research Fellow (2019–2022) and Warden of our Russell Street accommodation. He completed his PhD from the Department of Psychiatry in Cambridge in 2018 as a student at St John's College. Prior to that, he completed an MSc in Neuroscience from UCL, and a BSc in Zoology from the University of Madras.
He said, "I'm absolutely thrilled to be returning to Catz as a Fellow. Catz was my home for three years that overlapped with the pandemic, and the warmth and generosity of the College was unparalleled. I'm looking forward to engaging again with the vibrant collegiate community."
Professor Liston is Professor of Pathology at the Department of Pathology. He trained at Adelaide University before a PhD at the Australian National University, and a post-doc at the University of Washington, with additional degrees in Higher Education and Public Health. He ran a lab with Dr James Dooley for 10 years (2009–18) at the VIB and University of Leuven in Belgium before moving the lab to the Babraham Institute in 2019. Between 2019 and 2023, the Liston-Dooley lab worked on biotechnology developments in neuroinflammation, developing new therapeutic approaches and setting up a spin-off company Aila Biotech Ltd. In 2023, the Liston-Dooley laboratory relocated to the Department of Pathology.
Beyond his research interests, Professor Liston works on improving equality of opportunity within the scientific career structure. He writes extensively about science careers: how early career scientists can navigate the academic career pathway and succeed in starting their own lab, and what should be done to make scientific careers more equitable. He openly discusses his experiences as a scientist-parent, and works extensively on communicating science to children, with the online game VirusFighter and the illustrated children’s books 'All about Coronavirus', 'Battle Robots of the Blood' and 'Maya’s Marvellous Medicine'.
Professor Liston commented, “Joining St Catharine's is a wonderful opportunity to dive into the most rewarding aspects of Cambridge – mentoring our next generation of leaders, and forging interdisciplinary relationships with the diverse Fellowship. The College environment provides an intellectual oasis, where we can reconnect with our priorities. I'm really excited about making Catz a part of my everyday life!"
