Research Group
Research Overview
I design and analyse ecological and epidemiological models to find new solutions for improving plant health and for developing international pest management strategies, taking a mathematical, statistical, and, more recently, an economic approach. My research focuses on the interactions between insect, pathogen, and plant, in relation to the dynamics of crop epidemics and management. A particular focus has been on viral plant pathogens with destructive impacts on human livelihoods such as whitefly-borne cassava mosaic and brown streak viruses. I also work as part of an interdisciplinary team who undertake field work in East Africa, including colleagues at the University of Cambridge (Virology & Molecular Plant Pathology) and applied experimental biologists located at BecA ILRI, Nairobi.
Previous Positions
- 2015 – present, Research Associate, Department of Plant Sciences, Cambridge, UK
- 2010-2011, Research placement, Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BIOSS), Edinburgh, UK
Qualifications
- 2015 PhD, Department of Mathematics, Heriot-Watt University
- 2010 MRes, Mathematics in the Living Environment, University of York
- 2005 BSc, Mathematical Sciences, DCU, Republic of Ireland
Key Publications
What is pathogen-mediated insect superabundance? (2020), Journal of the Royal Society Interface
All Publications
Websites
Epidemiology and Modelling Group