About me

I am an early career academic in a teaching focused role, with research interest in equine genetics and genomics (particularly complex disease and performance traits), statistical modelling of equine health and performance data as well as wider veterinary medical data, and veterinary humanities.

I am the Programme Coordinator for the postgraduate Equine Science MSc programme at the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. I also teach on the Data-Driven Breeding and Geenetics MSc and the veterinary medicine programme. I sit on the PGT Teaching and Learning Committee, the R(D)SVS QAE Committee, and I review for the R(D)SVS Veterinary Ethical Review Committee.

I am the R(D)SVS representative to the British Society of Animal Science Early Career Council, the ECC rep on the BSAS Publications Committee, and I am part of the BSAS Undergraduate Thesis of the Year Award judging committee. I’m also on the Organising Committee for the 2025 BSAS Equine Conference.

Background

I completed my BA(Hons) in 2012 in Preclinical Veterinary Studies with Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge. I worked for the Scottish SPCA before establishing my own business as an equine thermographer. I continued this work alongside my Master’s in Equine Science from the University of Edinburgh (2017), where I completed my dissertation investigating infrared thermography as a diagnostic tool in equine myopathies.

In 2018 I graduated with a Master’s degree in Instrumental Analytical Science from the Robert Gordon University, where I undertook an Erasmus traineeship at the Universidade do Minho in Braga, Portugal, to complete my dissertation project investigating the role of antioxidant genes in a rapeseed pomace extract treatment for human neurodegenerative diseases in C. elegans models.

I then completed a PhD at the Royal Veterinary College investigating the genomic architecture of equine exertional rhabdomyolysis, supervised by Dr Androniki Psifidi, Professor Richard Piercy and Dr Emily Clark (Roslin Institute) and funded by the RVC’s Mellon Fund for Equine Research. I was the 2023 recipient of the McKeever Prize for the Graduating PhD Student with the Best Original Research Paper.

Outside of work, I enjoy horse riding and cycling, and am an active rugby referee.