I am an evolutionary biologist; I love fieldwork and combining ecology, molecular and genomic techniques to understand how organisms evolve, with a focus on birds and insects.

I research the population ecology and invasion biology of social wasps. We are developing long-term, highly-targeted genetic biocontrol options such as gene silencing or gene drives for management of these invasive pests.

I am also studying the pathosphere of monarch butterflies. We know very little of the diseases and parasites affecting monarch butterflies in Aotearoa and how these pathogens influence butterfly population dynamics.