I completed my undergraduate studies at The University of Edinburgh, gaining a BSc in Biological Sciences with honours in Zoology. My senior thesis examined the persistence of behavioural traits across ontogeny, and I received the Ashworth prize for final year distinguished performance. I spent the third year of my degree at The University of Queensland, where I took the opportunity increase both my terrestrial and marine based field experience. After graduating, I completed a research diving expedition in and around Komodo National Park. The main objective was to assess the effectiveness of the marine protected area in conserving predatory shark and ray species that suffer from extensive overfishing throughout Indonesia.
Current Research
The behaviour of apex predators has long fascinated me, an interest which grew as I learned more of their complex population dynamics, and the impacts these species have on ecosystem function. Further, while undertaking research in Indonesia I was able to see first-hand the problems faced by communities most affected by conservation issues, which fuelled my desire to work in human-wildlife conflict. I am further interested in researching the drivers of conflict between humans and predators, to help move towards preventing such problems, and finding sustainable solutions.
