I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol specialising in molecular evolution and comparative genomics. I have a molecular-biology background and use computational tools and comparative genomics to understand how molecular systems evolve. I particularly enjoy projects that combine multiple approaches (and perspectives) to clarify long-standing questions in evolution.

Recently, my work has centred on the origins of complex life, developing phylogenomic frameworks to understand when and how the key features of modern eukaryotes emerged. Alongside this, I have contributed to comparative studies of Trichomonas and Trypanosoma, including evidence for hybridisation in T. brucei and the use of mitochondrial DNA to resolve trypanosome relationships and evolutionary patterns.

I consider myself strongly multidisciplinary by nature, and my secondments to other disciplines within the university have been among my most enjoyable research experiences (would recommend, if only for the chance to play with new equipment). Much of my present work involves building computational pipelines, analysing large datasets, and developing phylogenetic and comparative methods that can be reused by others.

I am continuing to develop comparative-genomic approaches to understand the evolution of major eukaryotic groups (including the origin of animals), genome architecture, and key molecular innovations across eukaryotes (including the evolution of vision). I’m especially interested in questions where large datasets and careful evolutionary reasoning can reveal something new about how life evolves.

More as a point of contact:

• I also enjoy supporting students who are exploring bioinformatics for the first time (it can be a bit daunting).
• I am committed to open, transparent science, I think this is particularly important for some of my areas of interest (neglected tropical disease).
• I am not above doing a bit of art for my science or if I can be inspired (there are one or two bits around the dept., but I feel our department could do with a few more), and I like to trade on this in outreach events, where there is something complicated to be communicated.