I am a research scientist working to address global challenges centred on how humans interact with the environment.
My research focuses on how we achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) equitably, in scenarios where one SDG is prioritised at the expense of another. Such trade-offs can lead to conflicts and damaging outcomes for people and biodiversity, risking our ability to develop sustainably.
I use hydropower dam development as a model system to understand complex trade-offs and human decision-making surrounding SDGs in The Beacon Project, my UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.
To generate the evidence we need to bring about positive change in sustainable development processes, my research integrates different disciplines – biological, environmental, political and social sciences, the arts and humanities, remote sensing – and quantitative and qualitative methods and data.
I am based at the University of Stirling (Scotland, UK) and am Chair of the British Ecological Society Scottish Policy Group, working to foster links between scientists, policy-makers, practitioners and the public.