Dr Andrew Martin Catherall-Ostler

I am an evolutionary biologist based mostly at Homerton College (University of Cambridge), where I am a College Lecturer (Assistant Professor) teaching undergraduates as part of the Natural Sciences Tripos. I also teach in-person and online evolutionary biology courses for PACE. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than spending time discussing biology’s biggest questions with interested learners of all ages: what explains the incredible diversity of life on Earth? How can we apply evolutionary biology to both solve real-world problems, and gain a better understanding of our place in the cosmos? 

I am particularly keen to help people understand that evolution is far more rapid than they imagine: we can observe natural selection in the wild and in the lab, making evolutionary hypotheses experimentally testable. Thanks to evolutionary biology, the sorts of ‘why’ questions we had the confidence to ask as children – e.g., ‘why don’t animals have wheels?’, ‘why aren’t plants black?’, etc. –, can become a conduit for helping us gain a much fuller understanding of why life is the way it is. I hope all learners in my courses gain a life-long appreciation of just how enjoyable asking and answering ‘why’ questions can be.