Water and Life
Water is the medium of all life, the substance in which biological systems emerge, evolve, and function.
From the role of water in the molecular origins of life and the physiology of cells, to its influence on species interactions, ecosystem resilience, and the spread of pathogens, water shapes biological processes at every scale. Across the University of Cambridge, researchers are working to deepen our understanding of water and its living systems, developing insights that support the conservation of aquatic life and, in turn, help sustain and enrich human wellbeing.
Support Water and Life at Cambridge
If you would like to be part of Water and Life research at Cambridge, consider donating to our pioneering research agenda.
The Cambridge Ecosystem
Cambridge has a unique intellectual ecosystem that brings together expertise across Biological Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences. Here, research on water spans scales, disciplines and ways of knowing, from molecules, cells and aquatic organisms to ecosystems, polar environments and changing climates, from cities and cultures to histories, faiths and the human imagination. This breadth enables new insights into the role of water in life on Earth, and the complex challenges it faces in a changing world.
Origins and Futures of Aquatic Life
Exploring the biology, behaviour, evolution and ecology of aquatic life, from ancient oceans to coral reefs, freshwater systems to polar seas, and what the future holds for the species that depend on them.
Water, People and Imagination
Tracing the ways humans have understood, storied, feared, revered and reimagined water across cultures, faiths, histories and art forms, and what those traditions can teach us now.
Living with Change
How societies, cities and ecosystems adapt to floods, drought, scarcity and climate change through policy, planning, infrastructure and collective action.
Recent Highlights
The man behind the mangroves
Dr Tom Worthington is an expert on coastal ecosystems. His data underlies billion-pound initiatives to save our natural world.
New project to unlock life's secrets in extreme cold
The initiative, a collaboration led by British Antarctic Survey with the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology will develop novel microscopy techniques to observe living cells at subzero temperatures.
Living Water
Poetry, art, and the fight for clean rivers are featured in a major public exhibition and programme of events at Cambridge University Library and Pembroke College from 20th March to 5th December 2026.
Academic Leads
Melody Clark
British Antarctic Survey
Emilia Santos
Zoology
Mark Wormald
Faculty of English and Pembroke College
Tom Worthington
Department of Plant Sciences
Contributing Researchers
David Aldrige, Zoology
Adrian Baez-Ortega, Zoology and Genetics
Dan Bayley, Cambridge Conservation Initiative
Lovleen Bhullar, Land Economy
Nishant Chauhan, Earth Sciences
Melody Clark, British Antarctic Survey
Dan Cossey, Zoology
Jeremy Fonvielle, Plant Sciences
Maurine Hammel, Veterinary Medicine
Elizabeth Harper, Earth Sciences
James Herbert-Read, Zoology
Rebecca Kilner, Zoology
Susie McLaren, Physiology, Development and Neuroscience and Gurdon Institute
Maria Murace, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry
Richard Phillips, British Antarctic Survey
Nadine Randel, Physiology, Development and Neuroscience
Emilia Santos, Zoology
Nile Stephenson, Zoology
Nigel Taylor, Zoology
Ann Thorton, Zoology
Noura Wahby, Land Economy
Ross Waller, Biochemistry
John Welch, Genetics
Mark Wormald, English
Tom Worthington, Plant Sciences
Work with us
Collaboration is at the heart of the success of the University of Cambridge, driving discoveries that change the world.
By strengthening research into water and life, we can enhance ecosystem resilience, inform climate and conservation efforts, and help secure a sustainable future for life on Earth.
We welcome opportunities to collaborate with colleagues from academia and industry, policy makers, lived experience partners and philanthropists. and academics.
To explore opportunities to work together, please contact:
Dr Abi Herrmann, Research Strategy Manager
To learn more about supporting this vital research, please contact:
Holly Singlehurst, Associate Director, Biological Sciences
Cambridge University Development and Alumni Relations Office