Profile

I am interested in the complex interactions that govern collective behaviour, ecology, and self-organisation within social insects. My research centres upon the intersection between fundamental investigations of colony functioning, and applied work in ecology and epidemiology. I utilise ants, honey bees, and bumble bees as models to assess trends of ecological and organisational concern, with a focus on the role of interindividual heterogeneity.

Currently, I am involved in projects examining the principle factors leading to honey bee colony losses, the dynamics of parasite-pathogen interactions in determining colony health, the effect of mosquito control compounds upon bumble bee colonies, and the potential for invasive Asian hornets to impact native pollinator populations.

The central aim of my research is to utilise an understanding of the basic rules underpinning complex systems, in order to advance applied research, while informing mechanistic work at a variety of scales. I use social insect colonies as models, as they provide powerful and fascinating tools with which to investigate applied and fundamental questions in biology.