Two new Fellows join Downing
Two new Fellows join Downing
Downing College is delighted to welcome Dr Hamish Symington and Dr James McCaffrey to the Fellowship.
Dr Hamish Symington joins Downing as the new Head of Academic Skills, having spent the previous year as a Bye-Fellow and Academic Skills Tutor at the College. In this role, he will arrange and deliver group sessions, supervision-style workshops and one-to-one support, helping students get the most out of their learning while at Cambridge.
Dr Symington completed his PhD in the Department of Plant Sciences, specifically looking at improving the pollination of crops. His current research interests lie in the relevance of floral traits to pollination.
He is also a cryptic crossword setter for The Guardian under the pseudonym 'Soup', and has set a special crossword to mark the start of his Fellowship.
He said: “I’ve really enjoyed working one-to-one with Downing students over the last year to help them with things like essay writing, exam technique and time-tabling.
“It’s brilliant that Downing has created this full-time role to help support students' learning, and I’m very much looking forward to working with undergraduates, postgraduates and the Fellowship to help get more out of their time here.”
Dr James McCaffrey joins the College as a new Fellow in Medical Sciences. He was previously a Bye-Fellow in Pathology at Downing.
His research focuses on applying modern molecular analytic approaches to human tissue, with the aim of elucidating pathophysiological mechanisms. His specific interests are kidney transplantation and ‘inflammatory’ renal diseases, including lupus nephritis and ANCA-associated vasculitis.
He leads the Molecular Diagnosis in Renal Pathology (MDiRP) study and has established, and currently runs, two Human Tissue Authority-licensed Research Tissue Banks situated on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Dr McCaffrey said: “I am delighted to join the Downing Fellowship and I look forward to improving the already excellent provision of teaching for medical undergraduates in College. I want each pre-clinical student to seize the many opportunities offered to them at Downing and support them as they develop into outstanding clinicians and researchers.”
Professor Graham Virgo, Master of Downing College, said: “I am delighted to welcome Hamish and James to their Fellowships at Downing and look forward to working with them as they enhance the education of our students.”
Published 3 July 2025