Ruth Hamilton

My background is in biology; having completed an MSc in Biological Computation at the University of York, I then studied for a PhD in the Population Dynamics of Viral Infections. Following this I spent several years doing post-doctoral research in theoretical ecology with a particular interest in host-parasite interactions. After a short career break, I decided to retrain in the field of GIS at Sheffield Hallam University. The field allows me to utilise much of the technical expertise I developed as a biological scientist with a wide range of new questions and datasets. My career path has also included stints in the civil service and publishing adding skills in copy-editing, proofreading and Pivot tables to my existing skillset which includes expertise in R, qGIS, ArcGIS and a variety of programming languages. My primary research interests are in the geographic analysis of commuting patterns and labour markets, the use of social media and volunteered geographic information as a research tool, and methodological innovations in GIS.