Short Biography
I originally trained as a zoologist at the University of Leeds, and did my PhD in mammalian behavioural ecology at University College London, studying a small antelope species in Zimbabwe. I then worked at the Institute of Zoology in London, and the University of Newcastle. This work included phylogenetic analyses of horn evolution (paper in Behaviour) and carnivore diet (paper in Nature), but principally aimed to understand how odour communicates adaptive information between competitors and mates (papers in e.g. Behavioral Ecology, Nature Genetics), especially in laboratory and harvest mice. For the past 15 years or so, I have worked exclusively on humans, based in Newcastle, Liverpool and (since 2010) the University of Stirling.
Current Research
My research has been funded by UK Research Councils (ESRC, BBSRC), research charities (the Royal Society, the British Academy, the Wellcome Trust, the Leverhulme Trust) and industrial partners (Unilever R&D, Boots UK Ltd). I held a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship between 2013 and 2014.
I am currently working on the following projects:
Between 2024 and 2032, I am leading the project Olfactory communication in the first weeks of life: from chemical mechanisms to improving breastfeeding outcomes, funded by a £3.5M Wellcome Trust Discovery Award. You can read more about it here.
Between 2025 and 2030, I hold a MAESTRO project grant (PLN 4.53M, ~£913K), working with Piotr Sorokowski, Grażyna Jasieńska, and Paweł Boski on HLA-associated mate choice in five populations across the world.
Between 2025 and 2028, I hold a Human Frontiers Science Program grant (US$1.2M) with Jonathan Williams (Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany) and Lindsay Kalan (McMaster University, Canada) to investigate the chemical and microbial mechanisms involved in human odour signals of fear.
Since 2021, I am also an Assistant Professor at the University of Wroclaw, where I lead the interdisciplinary Being Human Incubator of Scientific Excellence (PLN 4.5M, ~£906K, 2021-2025).
I originally trained as a zoologist at the University of Leeds, and did my PhD in mammalian behavioural ecology at University College London, studying a small antelope species in Zimbabwe. I then worked at the Institute of Zoology in London, and the University of Newcastle. This work included phylogenetic analyses of horn evolution (paper in Behaviour) and carnivore diet (paper in Nature), but principally aimed to understand how odour communicates adaptive information between competitors and mates (papers in e.g. Behavioral Ecology, Nature Genetics), especially in laboratory and harvest mice. For the past 15 years or so, I have worked exclusively on humans, based in Newcastle, Liverpool and (since 2010) the University of Stirling.
Current Research
My research has been funded by UK Research Councils (ESRC, BBSRC), research charities (the Royal Society, the British Academy, the Wellcome Trust, the Leverhulme Trust) and industrial partners (Unilever R&D, Boots UK Ltd). I held a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship between 2013 and 2014.
I am currently working on the following projects:
Between 2024 and 2032, I am leading the project Olfactory communication in the first weeks of life: from chemical mechanisms to improving breastfeeding outcomes, funded by a £3.5M Wellcome Trust Discovery Award. You can read more about it here.
Between 2025 and 2030, I hold a MAESTRO project grant (PLN 4.53M, ~£913K), working with Piotr Sorokowski, Grażyna Jasieńska, and Paweł Boski on HLA-associated mate choice in five populations across the world.
Between 2025 and 2028, I hold a Human Frontiers Science Program grant (US$1.2M) with Jonathan Williams (Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany) and Lindsay Kalan (McMaster University, Canada) to investigate the chemical and microbial mechanisms involved in human odour signals of fear.
Since 2021, I am also an Assistant Professor at the University of Wroclaw, where I lead the interdisciplinary Being Human Incubator of Scientific Excellence (PLN 4.5M, ~£906K, 2021-2025).
