meet the team

The Liu Early Life Lab is based in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge, U.K. Interests of lab members span Ediacaran macrofossils, Cryogenian glacial events, Proterozoic depositional environments, and the early evolution of animals and their behaviours.

Dr. alex liu

Alex is a palaeobiologist whose work focuses on the fossil record of the late Ediacaran Period. He employs analytical and field-based techniques to study aspects of Ediacaran palaeoecology, evolution, and taphonomy. He is an Associate Professor in Palaeobiology at the University of Cambridge, and the Christine McKie Fellow in Natural Sciences at Girton College, Cambridge.

DR. brennan o'connell

Brennan is a PDRA on a project looking to decipher the environmental context for a late Ediacaran mass extinction, funded by the Leverhulme Trust. Brennan is a sedimentologist interested in Neoproterozoic reefs, tidal deposits, and nearshore facies models before the evolution of land plants. She completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne, Australia, before moving to the U.K. in April 2022.

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Ben tindal

Ben is a fourth year PhD student investigating the geological record of ice through time. He joined the group in 2018 following his undergraduate degree in Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, and has specific interests in the Neoproterozoic glacial record. He is co-supervised by Dr Neil Davies (Cambridge), and funded by a NERC C-CLEAR DTP / CASE+ studentship.

Katie delahooke

Katie is a second year PhD student, and joined the group following a combined Geology/Biology degree at the University of St. Andrews. She is investigating the palaeoecology of the smallest Ediacaran macrofossils (sub-3cm) from fossil assemblages in Newfoundland, Canada. Katie is co-supervised by Dr Emily Mitchell (Cambridge), and funded by a NERC C-CLEAR DTP studentship.

Philip vixseboxse

Phil is a first year PhD student on our Leverhulme Trust funded project. Following completion of his Palaeobiology MSc degree at the University of Bristol, he is now investigating the taphonomy of Ediacaran macrofossils, using petrological and experimental methods. He is co-supervised by Dr Sean McMahon (University of Edinburgh).

CATHERINE BODDY

Cat is also a first year PhD student on our Leverhulme Trust project. She is reconstructing the late Ediacaran shallow marine sedimentary environments of Newfoundland and the U.K., co-supervised by Dr William McMahon (Cambridge) and Brennan O'Connell. Cat completed her undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, where her Masters project explored the palaeolatitudinal distribution of Ediacaran macrofossils.

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LAB ALUMNI

PhD students

Dr Frankie Dunn (2015-2019)            Currently an independent postdoctoral research fellow at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History


Masters students

Catherine Boddy (2019)                     Currently a PhD student in our group in Cambridge.
Erin Leahy (2019)                                Graduate geologist at the Geological Survey of Ireland.
Anna McGairy (2019)                          Currently a PhD student at the University of Leicester, U.K.
Alavya Dhungana (2018)                     Currently a PhD student at the University of Durham, U.K.
Dr Christos Psarras (2015)                 Completed a PhD on molluscan palaeontology at the University of Athens, Greece.