I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Finance and member of the Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) at Essex Business School (UK). I am also an affiliated researcher at the Centre for Responsible Banking & Finance (CRBF) and Honorary Senior Lecturer at University of St Andrews (Scotland). Previously, I held visiting teaching/research positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, University of Alicante, University of Illinois, Florida State University and the Institute of European Finance (Bangor University).

My academic career combines both teaching and research in economics, banking and finance. As an Accredited Researcher with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have access to secure datasets through the ONS Secure Research Service for policy-relevant research projects.  My research portfolio spans payments economics, consumer and household finance, banking, SME finance, microfinance and financial inclusion, and entrepreneurial finance and fintech. Recent work examines technology adoption by SMEs, digital equity and government support schemes, contactless payment ownership and financial literacy, and access to finance for social enterprises, addressing key policy challenges around financial inclusion, technological transformation of financial services, and support for underserved businesses and communities. My research has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Corporate Finance, British Journal of Management, Regional Studies, Journal of Banking & Finance, European Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Services Research, among others.