About me
I am a Postdoctoral Scholar within Sagan Friant’s RISK lab at Pennsylvania State University, primarily working on the SCAPES project. I am also a Fellow-in-Residence with the Verena Consortium working with Stephanie Seifert on a study investigating the ecological and molecular drivers of cross-species transmission of arenaviruses and hantaviruses.
I completed my PhD at the University of London in early 2024. My doctoral research was based across the Centre for Emerging, Endemic and Exotic diseases (CEEED) at the Royal Veterinary College, the Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research (CBER) at University College London, and the Department of Clinical Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, funded through a BBSRC PhD studentship with the LIDo DTP.
My research interests fit within the fields of Planetary Health and One Health, with a particular focus on how anthropogenic change affects the risk of zoonotic disease emergence. I use whole-systems approaches to understand the interaction between human and biological factors on these risks. I currently live in Stockholm, Sweden.
Doctoral Research
My PhD research was mainly carried out in Sierra Leone, West Africa, using Lassa fever, Monkeypox, and Ebola as model disease systems. I adopt interdisciplinary approaches using methods from clinical medicine, epidemiology, mathematical modelling, and systems biology. I am a member of the PANDORA-ID-net consortium and work closely with collaborators on the One Health theme. My fieldwork is conducted with colleagues based at Njala University in Sierra Leone. With this work, I aim to develop dynamic models of disease risk and translate these into policy implementations to promote the health and wellbeing of human communities in low-resource settings.
I am a proponent of Open Science; where possible, pre-specified research questions and study protocols are posted to the Open Science Framework. I strive to make all code used for my analyses available in reproducible files hosted on my GitHub page. All data are hosted on open data repositories (e.g., GBIF, PHAROS) and are linked to the projects on this website.
Public Health & Clinical Experience
Prior to leaving the UK, I practiced as a clinician with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and in the emergency department at University College London Hospital. My CV (PDF) contains a full list of my clinical work.
Alongside my clinical work during the COVID-19 pandemic, I contributed to LSHTM’s Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases to understand the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2. More recently, I worked with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in the Outbreak Surveillance Team during the emergence of the Omicron variant, where I developed an automated approach to monitor real-time cases to inform the initial public health response. I was also involved in the UK Monkeypox outbreak, investigating transmission parameters from contact tracing data.
I am currently out of clinical practice while I improve my Swedish language proficiency to transfer my medical qualifications.
Education
The University of London | London, UK PhD in Epidemiology of Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases | 2019 - 2024
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | London, UK MSc in Tropical Medicine and International Health | 2018 - 2019
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | London, UK DTM&H, Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene | 2018
King’s College London, GKT School of Medical Education | London, UK MBBS in Medicine and Surgery | 2012 - 2016
University of Leeds | Leeds, UK MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation | 2010 - 2011
University of Leeds | Leeds, UK BSc in Natural Sciences w/ Industrial Placement | 2006 - 2010