I have just completed a MScRes Biological Sciences here at Bangor University, and am now in the first year of my PhD at the University of Exeter. My masters research was focused on the genetic mechanisms underlying colouration in Dendrobates tinctorius, a species of poison dart frog, however I have a wide range of academic interests.

I graduated from Bangor with a first class degree in Zoology with Herpetology, which included a dissertation in which I started the research which I built upon in my masters, alongside my supervisor Aaron Comeault. I also studied a broad variety of modules covering topics from wetland ecosystems to animal behaviour.

Outside of my academic studies, I have been active within Undeb Bangor extensively, serving as Vice President for Education alongside my MScRes degree, and previously acting as chair of Bangor University LGBTQ+ Society, a Course Representative, a Peer Guide, and a network leader, as well as a committee member for various other societies and sports clubs, and sat on the now disbanded Student Council.

• BSc: Zoology with Herpetology
  2020–2023
• MSc: Biological Sciences
  2023–2026

My research has mostly been focused on animal colouration, though I also have a wide variety of research interests beyond this.

My PhD, at the University of Exeter, studies the mechanisms underlying colour change in Hippolyte varians, the chameleon prawn, from sensory ecology to genetics, and possibly extending to conservation applications.

My MScRes was focused on Dendrobates tinctorius, a species of poison frog native to the Guiana Shield, in particular relating to the role of differential gene expression in the evolution of intraspecific colour polymorphisms. I first began this research as part of my undergraduate dissertation, and continued it as my MScRes research project, as I felt that I only scratched the surface through my dissertation, and indeed, still feel there is a lot more to discover after my masters!

Alongside evolution and colouration, I have many other research interests, including conservation and animal behaviour, and was lucky enough to study a wide variety of modules during my undergraduate degree which sparked an interest in a broad diversity of research areas. I also do a lot of research into queer ecology and ecofeminism, and regularly give talks on these topics.