SRUC lecturer in quantitative science with interests in the application of statistics & maths within biological sciences

Specific research interests in

* measuring antimicrobial resistance;

* measuring antimicrobial usage;

* the eradication of BVD;

* provision of online quantitative tools in epidemiology

2020 - Present      Honorary Researcher for NHS Highland

Ongoing:              Private tutor in Advanced Higher or Higher Maths.

2015-2016            Part-time Research Fellow at Edinburgh University researching the epidemiology of cardio-vascular risk calculators.

2006-2008            Research scientist (ecological modelling) in biodiversity and production sustainability, Scottish Crop Research Institute. Lecturer on the Open University’s Mathematical Modelling summer school.

1999-2006            Research scientist (bio-mathematician) in Epidemiology Research Unit, Scottish Agricultural College. Research interests: mathematical modelling disease within decision support for agriculture, describing and measuring antibiotic resistance quantitatively.

2004 - 2009           Mathematical modelling lecturer on the Open University Summer School “Mathematical Models and Methods”

1995-1999            Awarded NERC PhD on study of the effects of herbicide spray drift on native flora, studied at University of Liverpool with Rob Marrs and Martin Mortimer. The thesis was entitled “The effect of herbicide on a semi-natural community and monocultures of different densities”. The areas of work covered included intraspecific plant competition and its interaction with plant responses to herbicide.

1994                      European Pollen Database on a European Union funded research project with Prof. B. Huntley, Palaeoecology Unit, University of Durham. Responsibility for the database, liaise with other teams with data and help research Holocene vegetation dynamics and distributions using database.

1993                      Yukon Field Assistant for Palaeogeography Scientist, University of Alaska. Plant ID, maintaining equipment, surveying sites and taking lake samples for pollen analysis.

• 2022+ Scottish Government's Strategic Research Programme (on measuring antimicrobial resistance)
• 2021: SEFARI Response Fund to run workshops on measuring AMUsage in Scotland’s livestock (£8k)
• 2010-present: Statistical consultancy and teaching to NHS Highland (£6k p.a.)
• 2021 Collaboration with University of Highlands and Islands on diabetes patients and ambulance travel times in Scotland and Northern Ireland (<£10k)
• 2020: Collaboration with UHI on psychological measures in NHS Highland staff during the Covid pandemic of 2020+ (<£5k)
• 2019-2021 Sustrans Design study into rural connectivity (£70k)
• 2018-2019 Sustrans Paths for All, Feasibility study into rural connectivity (£10k)
• University Innovation Fund 2016/17: Creation of an online epidemiological resource centre (£5k)
• 2016-17 REF (research excellence framework) funding 2016/17: Maximising the predictive power of different measures of antimicrobial resistance for clinical outcomes using clinical mastitis in dairy cattle as an exemplar . (£100k)
• 2014-2016 Knowledge Transfer Funding: Maths in the real world – presentations to Scottish Secondary Schools (£10k)
• 2015/16 University Innovation Fund: Creation and provision of a 2 day course on epidemiological concepts for vets in practice (£5k)

* Module leader for the SRUC MRes in Epidemiology and Zoonoses

* Course leader teaching "Confidence Intervals & Hypothesis Testing" to NHS staff

* Manager of outreach project making maths accessible & relevant to secondary school pupils