2012 - Personal Chair Department of Biology, University of York 2010 -2012 Reader Department of Biology, University of York 2006 - 2007 Marie Curie More Senior Research Fellow University of Potsdam 2000 - 2010 Senior Lecturer Department of Biology, University of York 1993 - 2000 Lecturer Department of Biology, University of York 1990 - 1993 Post-doc University of Leeds 1990 PhD University of Leeds 1989 - 1990 Post-doc Imperial College, Silwood Park 1986 BSc University of Leeds

My research group is approaching the study of dispersal in a variety of ways: from practical field ecology trapping or tracking insects and plants, to purely theoretical approaches. My research has focussed on the evolution of dispersal strategies. Generally, dispersal is favoured when kin competition is strong and habitat is widely distributed, and selected against when suitable habitat is highly aggregated in space, although intelligent organisms, able to detect suitable habitat will be more dispersive. I have been applying models of dispersal evolution to questions of range expansions and invasions including the spread of human diseases. Models demonstrate that dispersal increases at range margins providing climate has made habitat suitable beyond the range, but that range expansion is slowed by an Allee effect. Further expansion of my research considers ageing in relation to dispersal, showing how suicide genes can arise, and the effect of inter-specific interactions.