Anglia Ruskin lecturer Zoe Cadwell, from Bury St Edmunds, awarded Churchill Fellowship grant

A Bury St Edmunds scientist will complete funded research in Canada and Australia after being awarded a Churchill Fellowship grant.

Forensic specialist Zoe Cadwell, 40, of Crown Street, has been awarded a figure in the region of £6,000 to study the recovery of finger marks on buried evidence.

She said: “You apply by identifying a problem in one of a number of categories and show how you would gather research to solve it.

“In the UK we are strong with the forensic work at crime scenes but not so good when we encounter evidence that has been buried.

“It is not just about murders, but also when organised crime groups bury drugs or weapons.

“I found out about the scheme but did not expect them to be interested.”

The Stowmarket-born scientist will complete the exercise over four weeks of travel this summer, before the autumn term begins at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, where she teaches forensics.

She hopes by studying techniques in Australia and Canada she can see how teams work in different conditions, and use this knowledge to prepare a report on how British systems can improve.

“I will be going for two weeks in each country while the students are away,” she said. “I had to present a timeplan of how I would be working.”