Dr Cal Shearer. D. Phil Oxon 21st March 1999 - 30th October 2024

Dr Cal Shearer.

Cal Shearer, who identified as non-binary, was born in London to Vicky Licorish and Paul Shearer. They had an older sister, Eleanor. Cal’s maternal grandparents emigrated to Britain from the Caribbean in the 1950s and the connection with St Lucia was an important part of their identity. Cal was educated at City of London Girls’ School; here they met their future wife, Imogen, when they were both aged seven. Cal excelled in school, deciding to read psychology and linguistics (PPL). Following in Eleanor’s footsteps, Cal applied to Oxford. and After talking to Professor Kate Nation on a couple of occasions in 2015 and 2016, they were convinced that St John’s was absolutely the right college for them. Indeed, Cal always valued both the College and their research laboratory as places where they could be themselves and pursue the things that really mattered to them.
Cal’s undergraduate career, beginning in 2017, was stellar; from statistics to behavioural neuroscience and historical linguistics, they loved what they were studying. At the same time, Cal was quietly committed to volunteering: a tireless listener for the University’s Nightline helpline and later training as a Samaritan. The Samaritans named a star after Cal in the constellation of Aries to honour their memory. They coxed for St John’s, enjoyed women’s football and played the recorder in a recorder ensemble. Cal’s competence and calm was a boon to their undergraduate tutors, who could always rely on them to ask the right questions and to help struggling peers. For their third-year dissertation, Cal turned to a project involving working memory and visual attention: this was their introduction to cognitive neuroscience, the eventual area of their doctoral study.
Gaining a First-Class degree, despite the vicissitudes of sitting Finals during lockdown, Cal remained at St John’s for graduate work, undertaking an MSc and then doctoral study in cognitive neuroscience, funded by a Wellcome Trust Biomedical Vaccination Scholarship.  Cal proved a skilled and inspirational tutor, teaching statistics classes for their supervisor; they also revitalized the college psychology society. In 2022 they became the only Oxford representative in the second cohort of British Neuroscience Scholars, set up to support students from under-represented ethnic groups. At the time of their death, Cal’s doctoral thesis was almost complete and thanks to the efforts of their supervisors, Helen Barron and Jill O’Reilly, the University has agreed to posthumous certification of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Cal and Immi’s marriage was blessed in St John’s chapel on July 2nd, 2023, where their funeral also took place, fifteen months later, with the Rev Elizabeth Macfarlane once again officiating. Cal was not only a brilliant scientist, they were also witty, compassionate and brave. They loved animals, particularly the family’s dogs and cats, and cared deeply about other people struggling with their mental health. Their life ended much too soon, but their contribution to life in St John’s, to neuroscience and to mental health support across the City and University lives on.



Cal Shearer, born  21st March, 1999,  died October 30th, 2024.