Biography

I joined the University of Portsmouth as a Lecturer in 2022. I hold a BA in Experimental Psychology and MSc in Human Biology from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Behavioural Ecology from the University of St Andrews. I also completed my first post-doc research period at St Andrews, on Leverhulme Trust funded project exploring social cognition in savannah elephants, working in collaboration with the Amboseli Trust for Elephants. After that, I spent eight years working as a consultant for various conservation projects in southern Africa, before returning to academic research with a Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowship, held at the University of Sussex. I then worked as an Associate Lecturer for the Open University prior to joining Portsmouth.

Research interests

My research considers the evolution of social skills and intelligence in mammals, particularly elephants. Over time, this has grown into a wider interest in the conservation and management of savannah elephant populations, so try to use my knowledge of animal behaviour and cognition to contribute to and enable sustainable, fair and effective conservation practices. 

Teaching responsibilities

I'm the coordinator for The Science of Psychology module, the first module of the online MSc Psychology (conversion) degree. I also supervise undergraduate research project degrees, and lecture on the first year (L4) Perspectives in Psychology and Animal Behaviour modules.