Dr Joseph Millard

Interdisciplinary computational ecologist and data scientist. I have a broad interest in biodiversity modelling, ecological economics, ecosystem service risk projection (particularly crop pollination), digital metrics for monitoring human-nature interactions, evidence synthesis, the application and ethics of AI in research, and future thinking for biodiversity change prediction and solutions. My current role is as Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Agroecology Research Group, focusing on the potential future role of ensemble biodiversity models and autonomous spatial finance in solving at least some dimensions of the problems emergent from rapid biodiversity change.

Prior to my current role I led the development of the Species Awareness Index and the meta-analytic platform Dynameta; designed ensemble threat-response models for predicting global insect biodiversity change; built automated data-handling systems for CITES data; and was a contributing author on a No. 10 Cabinet Briefing on the reintroduction of behavioural interventions for COVID-19.

Biography

Academic History

2024 – present: Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, University of Cambridge

2024: Visiting Researcher, University of Cambridge

2022 – 2024: Postdoctoral Researcher, Natural History Museum (London)

2021 – 2022: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Oxford (Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science)

2017 – 2021: PhD Computational Ecology, University College London

2016 – 2017: Programme Assistant, UNEP WCMC

2015 – 2016: Publishing Assistant, Nature Publishing Group

2014 – 2015: MSc Biodiversity and Conservation, University of Leeds

2011 – 2014: BSc Zoology, University of Leeds

Publications

Key publications:

Millard, J., Outhwaite, C.L., Kinnersley, R., Freeman, R., Gregory, R.D., Adedoja, O., Gavini, S., Kioko, E., Kuhlmann, M., Ollerton, J. and Ren, Z.X., 2021. Global effects of land-use intensity on local pollinator biodiversity. Nature Communications, 12(1), p.2902.

Millard, J., Outhwaite, C.L., Ceaușu, S., Carvalheiro, L.G., da Silva e Silva, F.D., Dicks, L.V., Ollerton, J. and Newbold, T., 2023. Key tropical crops at risk from pollinator loss due to climate change and land use. Science Advances, 9(41), p.eadh0756.

Cooke, R., Outhwaite, C. L., Bladon, A. J., Millard, J., Rodger, J. G., Dong, Z., Dyer, E. E., Edney, S., Murphy, J. F., Dicks, L. V., Hui, C., Jones, J. I., Newbold, T., Purvis, A., Roy, H. E., Woodcock, B. A. and Isaac, N. J. (2025). Integrating multiple evidence streams to understand insect biodiversity change. Science. 388(45)

Millard, J., Skinner, G., Bladon, A. J., Cooke, R., Outhwaite, C. L., Rodger, J. G., Barnes, L. A., Isip, J., Keum, J., Raw, C., Wenban-Smith, E., Dicks, L. V., Hui, C., Jones, J. I., Woodcock, B., Isaac, N. J., Purvis, A. (2025). A multi-threat meta-analytic database for understanding insect biodiversity change. Diversity and Distributions

Millard, J., Freeman, R. and Newbold, T., 2020. Text‐analysis reveals taxonomic and geographic disparities in animal pollination literature. Ecography, 43(1), pp.44-59.

Johnson, T.F., Cornford, R., Dove, S., Freeman, R. and Millard, J., 2023. Achieving a real‐time online monitoring system for conservation culturomics. Conservation Biology, 37(4), p.e14096.

Millard, J., Gregory, R.D., Jones, K.E. and Freeman, R., 2021. The species awareness index as a conservation culturomics metric for public biodiversity awareness. Conservation Biology, 35(2), pp.472-482.

Millard, J., Christie, A.P., Dicks, L.V., Isip, J.E., Johnson, T.F., Skinner, G. and Spake, R., 2024. ChatGPT is likely reducing opportunity for support, friendship and learned kindness in research. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 15(10), pp.1764-1766.

Skinner, G., Cooke, R., Keum, J., Purvis, A., Raw, C., Woodcock, B.A. and Millard, J., 2023. Dynameta: A dynamic platform for ecological meta-analyses in R Shiny. SoftwareX, 23, p.101439.

Other publications:

Scheepens, D., Millard, J., Farrell, M. and Newbold, T., 2024. Large language models help facilitate the automated synthesis of information on potential pest controllers. Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

Williams, J.J., Newbold, T., Millard, J., Groner, V.P. and Pearson, R.G., 2024. Important crop pollinators respond less negatively to anthropogenic land use than other animals. Ecology and Evolution, 14(11), p.e70486.

Johnson, T.F., Simmons, B.I., Millard, J., Strydom, T., Danet, A., Sweeny, A.R. and Evans, L.C., 2024. Pressure to publish introduces large‐language model risks. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 15(10), pp.1771-1773.

Cornford, R., Millard, J., González‐Suárez, M., Freeman, R. and Johnson, T.F., 2022. Automated synthesis of biodiversity knowledge requires better tools and standardised research output. Ecography, 2022(3), p.e06068.

Verissimo, D.G., Johnson, T.F., Millard, J., and Roll, U., 2023. Adopt digital tools to monitor social dimensions of the global biodiversity framework. Conservation Letters, 17(1).

Newbold, T., Adams, G.L., Albaladejo Robles, G., Boakes, E.H., Braga Ferreira, G., Chapman, A.S., Etard, A., Gibb, R., Millard, J., Outhwaite, C.L. and Williams, J.J., 2019. Climate and land-use change homogenise terrestrial biodiversity, with consequences for ecosystem functioning and human well-being. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences, 3(2), pp.207-219.

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