I am an evolutionary biologist and behavioural ecologist. My research investigates the evolutionary causes and consequences of adaptive social behaviours, with a focus on parental care. Using a combination of behavioural and molecular assays in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides I investigate how adaptive social behaviour influences evolution: by providing a mechanism for non-genetic inheritance, by constructing the environment in which further social interactions play out, and by influencing trait loss and trait evolvability. My research also looks at how an understanding of evolutionary and behavioural theory can inform practical conservation work.

I have extensive media experience, including working as a freelance journalist, presenter and newsreader for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and as an online presenter for the Festival of Nature. I am passionate about science communication and outreach. I have won national awards for my nature documentary making and blog writing, and regularly volunteer at the Museum of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, presenting public events, speaking on panels, and leading science sessions for school groups.