Associate Professor

Edinburgh Napier University

Biography

I’m an Associate Professor in the Animal and Plant Science Research Group (School of Applied Sciences) at Edinburgh Napier University. I mostly study the evolution and genetics of sex, sociality and communication. I combine empirical work on insects such as Drosophila and social Hymenoptera (bees/ants/wasps) with theoretical models, ‘omics, meta-analysis, and text mining. I am also the Commissioning Editor for Journal of Evolutionary Biology. I’m a big fan of open and reproducible science, and so I often write detailed reports like this to help share my methods.

Interests
  • Evolution, selection, and adaptation
  • Sexual selection and sexual conflict
  • Social insects
  • Gene drives, both natural and synthetic
  • Biological signals, particularly queen pheromones
  • Science about science
Career
  • Associate Professor, 2022-present

    Edinburgh Napier University

  • Lecturer, 2021-2022

    Edinburgh Napier University

  • Senior Lecturer, 2016-2020

    University of Melbourne

  • DECRA fellow and postdoc, 2011-2016

    Australian National University

  • Marie Curie Fellow and postdoc, 2008-2011

    University of Copenhagen

  • BSc and PhD, 2000-2007

    University of Sheffield

Research topics

Queen pheromones

Queen pheromones

Research on the identity, mode of action, and evolution of social insect queen pheromones

Science about science

Science about science

Research about science itself: research practice, bias, reproducibility, and culture. Mostly text mining.

Sexual selection

Sexual selection

Population genetic consequences of sexual selection, honest signalling, sperm biology, etc.

Gene drives

Gene drives

Population genetics of natural and synthetic gene drives

Intralocus sexual conflict

Intralocus sexual conflict

The causes, consequences, and genetic basis of the maladaptation that arises when males and females share a genome.

Evolution in social insects

Evolution in social insects

Question-driven research on the evolution and genetics of ants and bees

The gender gap in science

The gender gap in science

Using text mining to help redress gender inequality in the STEM workforce.

Sperm

Sperm

Sperm competition, and evolution of sperm morphology

5 most recent publications

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