Experience

Education

  • Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy University of Bristol 2021)
  • PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology Thesis title: Cooperative Dynamics among Hunter-Gatherers: Experimental Tests of Adaptive Hypotheses. UCL (supervised by Dr Andrea Migliano and Prof Ruth Mace; 2013 - 2017).
  • MSc Human Evolution and Behaviour Distinction UCL (2011 - 2012)
  • BSc (Hons) Psychology First University of Plymouth (2008 - 2011)

Employment

  • Senior Research Associate in Health and Religious/Spiritual Beliefs and Behaviours University of Bristol (September 2021 - present)
  • Visiting lecturer in Public Health Plymouth Marjon University (October 2023 - present)
  • Senior Research Associate in Epidemiology University of Bristol (March 2020 - April 2022)
  • ALSPAC Data Pipeline Manager University of Bristol (January 2020 - September 2021)
  • Research Associate in Epidemiology University of Bristol (October 2019 - March 2020)
  • Data Preparation Assistant at ALSPAC University of Bristol (August 2016 - December 2019)
  • Post-Graduate Teaching Assistant in Anthropology UCL (September 2013 - April 2016)

Teaching

  • Co-developed and co-lead the Stata Unit for MSc Epidemiology programme at University of Bristol (current)
  • Developed and lead the ‘Epidemiology and Statistics for Public Health’ module as a visiting lecturer at Plymouth Marjon University (Sept 2023 - Jan 2024)
  • Personal academic tutor for MSc Epidemiology students at University of Bristol (current)
  • Co-lead the ‘Introduction to Stata’ Bristol Medical School short courses, and tutor on the ‘Advanced Stata’, ‘Multiple Imputation for Missing Data’ and ‘Advanced Missing Data’ short courses (current)
  • Seminar leader for ‘Human Behavioural Ecology’ module at UCL (former)
  • Lab assistant for ‘Introduction for Biological Anthropology’ module at UCL (former)

Supervision

  • Line managing Research Associate on current grant
  • Supervised Master’s student dissertation projects
  • Collaborating on projects with research interns

Select Media Outputs

Accessible Summaries

Print Media

Radio

Recent Conference Presentations and Invited Talks

  • August 2023 - International Association for the Psychology of Religion conference - University of Gronginen: Talk entitled ‘The contribution of longitudinal cohort studies to understanding causal relations between religion and health: An example using ALSPAC’.
  • April 2023 - European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association conference – UCL: Talk entitled ‘Sensitivity analyses to explore causal assumptions from observational data: An example assessing whether religiosity promotes cooperation in UK parents’.
  • April 2020 – Guest lecturer – University of Bristol: Talk entitled ‘Cooperation among Agta hunter-gatherers: kinship, reciprocity and storytelling’ to undergraduate anthropology and archaeology students (online lecture).
  • Repeated 2019-present – Guest lecturer – University of Cambridge: Talks entitled ‘Cooperation and the evolution of hunter-gatherer storytelling’ and ‘The ontogeny of cooperation: when and why children help others’ to undergraduate anthropology and archaeology students.
  • November 2018 – Invited speaker at ‘Bristol Anthropology and Archaeology Research Seminar’ – University of Bristol: Talk entitled ‘Cooperation and the evolution of hunter-gatherer storytelling’.
  • July 2018 – Invited speaker at ‘Evolutionary Demography’ seminar – London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine: Talk entitled ‘Cooperative breeding, kin selection, and the evolution of human childhood’.
  • April 2018 – European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association conference – University of Pécs: Talk entitled ‘O Brother, where art thou? Investment in siblings for inclusive fitness benefits, not father absence, predicts earlier menarche’.
  • July/August 2016 – International Society for Behavioral Ecology conference – University of Exeter: Talk entitled ‘The ontogeny of cooperation and partner choice among Agta hunter-gatherers’.
  • April 2016 – European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association conference – London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine: Talk entitled ‘Variation in camp stability predicts patterns of hunter-gatherer cooperation’.
  • September 2015 – Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies – University of Vienna: Talk entitled ‘Variation in food-sharing practices among Agta hunter-gatherers’.

Peer reviewer

  • Numerous journals, including: American Journal of Human Biology, Biology Letters, Evolution and Human Behavior, Human Nature, Evolutionary Human Sciences, Scientitif Reports, BMJ Open and Preventative Medicine.
  • I am also a reviewer of ALSPAC papers, to ensure that ALSPAC publishing guidelines are met.
  • I have also reviewed academic books and grant proposals
  • External Examiner for an MPhil viva

Funding and awards

  • October 2023: Co-PI on Jean Golding Institute Staff Seed Corn Funding project “Synthetic Health Data for Research Support - an exemplar from a birth cohort” (awarded £4,518)
  • June 2019: BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) Research Gold Award for a project I was involved in entitled ‘Using rangers to deliver a zoo-based behaviour change campaign on sustainable palm oil’ in collaboration with Bristol Zoo Gardens.
  • April 2018: Awarded £500 departmental grant by University of Bristol to attend the ‘European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association’ conference at the University of Pécs, Hungary.
  • January 2013: Fully-funded PhD position on the Leverhulme Trust-funded ‘Hunter-Gatherer Resilience Project’.
  • June 2011: British Psychological Society award for best overall degree mark (BSc Psychology).
  • June 2010 & 2011: Awarded a position on the Dean’s list of academic excellence for both the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years at the University of Plymouth.