About me

I am a behavioural biologist with broad research interests at the nexus of animal behavioural, anthropological and microbial ecologies. I am interested in what factors might influence group-living and sociality in primates and other gregarious animals, how group-living animals adapt to their changing, anthropogenically impacted environments, and why behaviour is fundamentally key to animal health and fitness. My research draws on theoretical principles, field and laboratory techniques, and data analytical approaches, from across a range of interdisciplinary sciences including animal behaviour, evolutionary anthropology, microbial ecology and epidemiology, and coupled human-natural systems. To these ends I have largely studied nonhuman primates, specifically multiple species of macaques (Macaca spp.) across South and East Asia. I have also recently commenced collaborative research on wild meerkats (Suricatta suricata) at the Kalahari Research Centre (KRC: https://kalahariresearchcentre.org/ ) in South Africa. 

The significance of my research is two-fold: gaining insights into the evolutionary ecology of human sociality, and using 'conservation behaviour' to inform strategies aimed at mitigating the behavioural and health-related costs of human-wildlife interactions.

Download my CV here