About
I completed both my BSc (Hons) in Zoology and MRes in Advanced Biological Sciences (Evolution and Behavioural Biology) at the University of Liverpool before starting my PhD with Professor Greg Hurst within the Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences in 2017.
My PhD project investigated the factors affecting the strength of protective symbiosis in an insect model system. More specifically, I worked on a protective bacterium (Spiroplasma), which confers protection against parasitoid wasps, in the fruit fly, Drosophila. During my PhD I also spent 3 months in Japan as a JSPS Summer Fellow at the Western Region Agricultural Research Center in Fukuyama working on Spiroplasma in flightless ladybirds, which are commonly used as a biological control agent.
Following my PhD, I remained in the lab group of Greg Hurst as a post-doctoral research associate continuing work on the interactions between Spiroplasma, Drosophila and parasitoid wasps before joining the School of Biosciences in 2024.
When I’m not working, you will usually find me running, cycling, or walking the mountains of Wales with my springer spaniel, Douglas!