EXPERIENCE
2017 - 2022
Researcher, Brains on Board,
Queen Mary, University of London
Working in Professor Lars Chittka's world-renowned lab, I led a programme of research for Brains on Board, a major interdisciplinary research project.
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We aim to design autonomous flying robots with navigational and learning abilities inspired by those of honeybees.
2014 - 2017
Postdoctoral research fellow, Queen Mary, University of London
I investigated how bees acquire and use information about the world for large-scale navigation, tracking their movements using harmonic radar technology and developing new methods for analysing their behaviour.
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I also managed a major engineering project, developing a new generation of radars.
2012 - 2014
Post-doctoral research associate,
University of Sussex
I used high-speed camera systems to investigate how ants learn complex routes. I used Matlab to develop new tools to process and analyse large datasets of animal movements.
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I also wrote and presented lectures on neuroscience and animal behaviour for undergraduate classes.
2011 - 2012
Postdoctoral research assistant,
Deakin University, Australia
Although the role of wildfire in ecological systems has become an important field of study in recent decades, almost nothing is understood about the immediate effects of fire on wild animal behaviour. I set up a novel research project investigating the impact of bush fires on bird movements.
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I also lectured to undergraduate classes.
2011
Postdoctoral research assistant,
Deakin University, Australia
I was commissioned by the Australian Government to carry out an investigation into the role of pest bird species in spreading seed beyond the containment zones of GM crop trials. This project led to a presentation and the submission of an official report to the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.
With just six months of funding, I learned how to design experiments, collect and analyse data and deliver results on a short timescale.
2005
Field assistant,
University of Bristol
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I worked as a field assistant on a research project in South Australia, investigating the breeding success of Blue-cheeked rosella parrots. This involved monitoring egg-laying, tracking the growth of chicks, behavioural observations and assisting with ringing and taking blood samples from adult parrots.
EDUCATION
2006 - 2011
PhD in sensory ecology,
Cardiff University
I was awarded a PhD in sensory ecology and physiology for my studies into the role of stress on the brain development and mate preferences of birds.
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I won a fully funded Targeted Priority Studentship by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and my doctoral research produced four papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and oral presentations at two international conferences.
2002 - 2005
BSc (1st class) in Zoology, University of Bristol
I undertook an undergraduate project in human psychology, investigating how mood and emotions influence judgement, which was subsequently published in a respected scientific journal.
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My undergraduate studies in animal behaviour, psychology and physiology inspired a lifelong interest in cognition and how our brains process information.
1994 - 2001
Secondary education,
The Skinners School,
I was awarded four A-levels in 2001: Biology (A), Mathematics (B), Chemistry (B), General studies (B).
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I achieved nine GCSEs in 1999: three A*s, five As, and one B.