About me

I’m an evolutionary biologist and taxonomist specializing in freshwater entomology, with 18 years of experience studying African and European terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates. As Principal Curator at the Natural History Museum, I oversee 4 million invertebrate specimens in one of the world’s most significant natural history collections, including specimens with provenance spanning over 350 years.

My research integrates cutting-edge DNA-based methods including whole genome sequencing, DNA barcoding and metabarcoding, with traditional morphological approaches and machine learning to accelerate biodiversity discovery and habitat quality monitoring. I work with both modern and historical voucher specimens, as well as bulk and environmental DNA samples, bridging the gap between museum collections and contemporary conservation needs.

Currently, I serve as co-investigator and Executive Board member for Biodiversity Genomics Europe (BGE), a €20 million initiative representing the world’s largest museum collections genomics project. I lead BGE’s €2 million DNA sequencing work package, which encompasses genome skimming of 33,000 museum samples, barcoding of 12,000 fresh specimens, and metabarcoding of 5,000 bulk and environmental DNA samples. As coordinator of the UK Barcode of Life project (UKBOL), I’m building a comprehensive DNA reference library from voucher specimens. I also contribute to the Darwin Tree of Life project as part of the arthropod working group, generating reference-quality genomes for all 75,000 UK species, and serve on the steering group of the UKDNA working group, developing national standards for DNA-based biodiversity monitoring.

My research has resulted in over 80 peer-reviewed publications with more than 2,000 citations. I’ve shared this work at over 40 international conferences and conducted fieldwork across six continents, collaborating with researchers in Brazil, South Africa, Malawi, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, China, India, Chile, and the USA. Beyond research, I’m passionate about training the next generation of taxonomists, leading identification workshops for experts, emerging professionals, and students, while also contributing to citizen science initiatives like the Riverfly Partnership.

Want to make your own GitHub academic site?

More info about configuring Academic Pages can be found in the guide, the growing wiki, and you can always ask a question on GitHub. The guides for the Minimal Mistakes theme (which this theme was forked from) might also be helpful.