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'm interested in the impacts of environmental change and agricultural practices on pollinator ecology. My research is focused on how pesticide exposure and varying nutritional availability can affect the ability of bumblebee queens to initiate colonies.

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.