I study how species interactions affect community dynamics, particularly in the context of climate change. My main research project uses data science techniques such as machine learning to build new tools for quantifying the competitive interactions among tree species. I am also investigating how the availability of mycorrhizal fungi may influence the responses of coniferous trees to climate change.
I completed an undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Bristol in the UK. I then took part in the Erasmus Mundus Master Programme in Evolutionary Biology, resulting in two masters degrees from Uppsala University in Sweden and University of Montpellier in France. My masters research included lab experiments of hermaphroditic snail mating, field experiments of pollinator-mediated reproductive isolation in plants, and a literature review of methods to estimate effective population size. I then worked as a research assistant at UC Santa Barbara, conducting statistical analyses on the responses of ecological communities in East Africa to the experimental exclusion of large mammals.