I am currently a Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Otago in the Department of Anatomy. I'm a geneticist by training, but like to style myself as an evolutionary ecologist with a particular interest in exploring the various ways in which organisms respond to a changing environment. Currently, I am working on a project that leverages whole genome sequencing data to uncover the evolutionary processes contributing to increased susceptibility of Pacific communities to hyperuricaemia and other metabolic diseases.

I did my MSc in quantitative genetics, studying the plastic responses of red squirrels to a dynamic environment and exploring the heritability of those responses. During my PhD research, I studied the birds of New Zealand, past and present, and the ways they coped with the astonishing impacts of the Ice Age glaciations of ~2.5 mya. Using ancient DNA, whole genome data, and mathematical models, I took  an in-depth look at the influence climate change has had on the evolution, persistence, and extinction of the birds of Aotearoa.

I also have a keen interest in doing right by local communities and promoting decolonised science. I believe in fair and equitable access to scientific resources, in the ability of communities to decide which scientific questions are relevant to their needs, and in the necessity of kindness and respect in science. 

Grail