Meet The Team

I’m interested in the behaviour, ecology and conservation of pollinators. Much of my research has focused on the impact of anthropogenic stressors (pesticides, habitat loss, etc) on bumblebee and solitary bee health. I am also interested in animal cognition and specifically about how bees learn and respond to an ever changing environment. 

I am a PhD student in the Bee Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation Lab at the University of Bristol. I graduated with an MSci in Biological Sciences in 2023 and I have just completed my MRes, where I investigated electrostatic signalling in plant-pollinator interactions. My current research focuses on the impact of anthropogenic stressors, such as pollutants and climate change, on bumblebee health, colony development, learning and memory. I am also collaborating with The Bumblebee Conservation Trust as a CASE partner for my PhD. 

​I am mostly interested in how the environment influences the behaviour of ecologically relevant species and how these changes interact with the brain. I completed my MSci in Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen in 2024, where I studied how deformed wing virus affects cognition of honeybees and investigated mushroom body GABA as a potential mechanism. My current research focuses on heat stress and climate change in general, and I am investigating changes in bumblebee behaviour and physiology.

​I am interested in the effects of anthropogenic stressors on the behaviour of animals. Previously my research has focussed on fish, investigating the impacts of elevated temperatures on development and responses to disturbance, and more recently, as part of my Masters by Research at the University of Bristol, whether environmental caffeine pollution alters social behaviour. I have been a (novice) beekeeper for the last 5 years, developing a passion for pollinators, so am excited to transition to this new study system in this PhD. My research will predominantly investigate the effects of common pesticide mixtures on bumblebee behaviour and immunity, seeking to determine if changes occur at the molecular level. 

​I am interested in the ecology and conservation of pollinators, with a particular focus on how threats such as pesticides and climate change affect pollinators. I hold a Master’s degree in Ecosystem Science and Management from the Sokoine University of Agriculture, where my thesis examined the composition of bee fodder plants along environmental and elevational gradients. I also hold a Bachelor’s degree in Bee Science from the University of Dar es Salaam, where my undergraduate research explored the role of bees in watermelon production, highlighting their critical contribution to crop yields. I am currently a PhD student at the University of Bristol. My PhD research investigates the effects of pesticide exposure on bee pollinators in Tanzania, integrating field ecology, analytical chemistry, and toxicology to better understand and mitigate threats to pollinator health.

​I completed a major in Biology and a minor in Ecology at the Universidad del Rosario in Colombia. Driven by my interest in behavioural and cognitive ecology in insects, I was awarded an internship at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute where I led a project to understand how interactions of Megalopta genalis (a facultatively social sweat bee) relate to substrate vibrations. For my PhD, I'll study how flower constancy in bees is influenced by temperature and floral distribution, and how low diet diversity affects bee learning, communication, and gene expression. My rotation project at Bee Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation lab focus on how extreme climate events can impair bumblebee behaviour.

I am a recent BSc Zoology graduate from Bristol where I completed my undergraduate research project with Harry, focusing on the impact of elevated temperatures on bumblebee worker cognition- specifically short-term memory. I am now joining the lab as a Masters by Research student interested in continuing this research to other castes of bumblebees such as hibernating queens.

​I graduated from Oxford University with a BA in Biological Sciences in 2020 and completed an MSc in Science Communication and Public Engagement at the University of Edinburgh in 2021. After a three-year break working in healthcare communications, I’m excited to be studying bumblebees – I’m particularly interested in understanding how we can mitigate the effects of agriculture on pollinators. My research is looking at the impact of nutrition and hunger gaps on bumblebee queens and their ability to initiate colonies.