PhD Researcher, University of Exeter

I started my academic career as a research assistant working on animal camouflage. Now I am a PhD researcher investigating the social transmission of diseases in free-roaming dogs. My broad experiences have involved mostly fieldwork in Africa (South Africa, Zambia, Chad and Ethiopia) and the use of techniques from image analysis, animal tracking and network theory.

My current research specifically aims to increase our understanding of free-ranging dog ecology in relation to disease transmission. I am particularly interested in the spatial and temporal variations in movement and contact patterns. My PhD focuses on diseases that require direct contact, such as rabies, and the impacts that behavioural variations have on transmission processes. In addition, I am working on the Guinea worm eradication program to help better understand how dogs become infected with this environmentally transmitted parasite. I hope to provide a greater insight into disease epidemics and how they should be managed.