Menu Close
Professor of Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Newcastle University

I am Professor in Animal Behaviour and Cognition in the Centre for Behaviour and Evolution at Newcastle University. I first came to Newcastle in 1998 as a Sir James Knott Fellow, and I then held a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship before taking up a lectureship at the university. My main research interest is in animal coloration, and how the perceptual and cognitive processes of predators shape how their prey look. I also work in animal welfare, and am interested in how animal cognition and brains evolve.

I am currently the Director of Newcastle University Academic Track fellowship scheme, overseeing the recruitment and career development of around 100 research fellows. I am a strong advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the workplace, and have previously been the Director of EDI for my Faculty, Chair of NU Women (the university's network for women staff), and am currently leading the university's For Families project to make us a more family friendly university.

Experience

  • –present
    Professor of Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Newcastle University