Team BIOSEC: where are they now?

I am still in the Department of Politics and International Relations, Sheffield University. Following the BIOSEC Project I (finally!) finished my book on security and conservation, which will be out with Yale University Press in April 2022. I am now really pleased to be working again with colleagues from BIOSEC as Principal Investigator on the ESRC funded Beastly Business Project; this project brings together political ecology and green criminology to examine illegal wildlife trade in European bears, eels and songbirds. You can read more about my research on my Sheffield University staff page.

I’m now working as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Geography at Durham University, where I joined the Leverhulme trust funded ‘Circulatory Entanglements’ project. This 3 year research project examines the intersections of marine governance, human health, ocean conservation and Blue Economy strategies, by following marine organisms and their biomaterials as they travel through different scientific, ecological, economic and epistemological pathways. I am conducting research for the shrimp-chitosan case study.

I am also delighted to be part of the Advisory board for the Beastly Business project.

You can read more about my current research and the Circulatory Entanglements project.

After my time on the BIOSEC Project, I worked as Programme Manager at The New Institute in Hamburg, Germany. Here I was responsible for the conceptualisation of a new thematic area on the role of behavioural change in socio-economic transformations. In June 2021, after having been awarded funding by the ESRC alongside some of my former BIOSEC team members, I rejoined the Department of Politics at the University of Sheffield to work as Postdoctoral Research Associate on the Beastly Business project.

I now research the political economy of green-collar crime in the illegal bird trade in Europe with the aim of strengthening current policy responses and enforcement approaches to the illegal wildlife trade. You can read more about my research on my University of Sheffield staff page and follow my work on Twitter.

I am now working as a Wildlife Trade Technical Specialist at the non-governmental conservation organisation Fauna & Flora International (FFI). As such, I contribute to conservation action focused on animal and plant species threatened by illegal or unsustainable trade.

I support teams based in South East Asia with the design, implementation and evaluation of projects aiming to prevent the illegal harvest of wildlife, disrupt its trade and reduce demand. I also facilitate the dissemination of the latest wildlife trade related knowledge and lessons learnt from past projects within the organisation. I continue to share my insights from my PhD research and current work on Twitter and ResearchGate.

After a wonderful year working at the BIOSEC Project as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow (August 2019-August 2020), I joined the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University. At Newcastle I have been researching delta sustainability in South and South-East Asia with the focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable delta livelihoods, coastal resilience and biodiversity and SDGs. My work is an integral part of the £15 million Living Deltas Research Hub funded by the UKRI which aims to address a development challenge: how to avoid the collapse of South and SE Asian deltas as functioning, highly productive social-ecological systems in the face of human development and projected adverse consequences of climate change.

In parallel with my work at Newcastle University, I continue to work as a senior advisor and consultant for a number of commissioned research projects by international NGOs (Oxfam, Transparency International), universities (University of Antwerp in Belgium, Indiana University in the US) and national NGOs in Vietnam. I also work alongside national civil society organisations to promote civility and expand civic space in Vietnam. You can read more about my work on my Newcastle University staff page.

After two years with the BIOSEC project as a postdoctoral research fellow I joined the Department of Geography at the University of Alabama. I am continuing to draft my book on illicit cactus and succulent trade, which I aim to complete in the summer of 2022.

I am currently teaching courses in political ecology, conservation politics, and world regional geography. I was recently awarded a pilot research grant from the BAND Foundation to extend my research on illegal trade in plants to carnivorous plant trade in the US Southeast focusing on demand for endangered pitcher plants and the venus flytrap. You can read more about my research on my University of Alabama staff page.

After four years managing the BIOSEC project, I joined the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health as their lead implementation officer for the University’s Student Lifecycle Programme (SLP).

This major project aims to enhance the student experience at the University of Sheffield through a programme of organisational change and the roll-out of a new student records management system. Whilst this has been very different from working in the Social Sciences and managing an external research grant, I’ve gained valuable insight into the other ‘side’ of University operations; namely, how Academic Services and learning and teaching are supported. I’ve also enjoyed tackling the complexities of delivering and communicating a major institutional project.

After a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding secondment into the BIOSEC team as the interim Project Manager, I went on maternity leave for a year. Returning to work in February 2021, I took on a new role as an Operations Manager, leading a small team to support a number of Research Institutes and Centres within the Faculty of Social Sciences. This fast paced role leads on financial and operational support, working collaboratively with Principal Investigators on over 50 research projects to enable high quality research. I am now preparing to go on maternity leave (again!) later this year.