| CURRENT POSITION |
| 2022 – present | Senior Postdoctoral Researcher, Principal Investigator of the FWF-funded Project: “Small Wings, Loud Songs – Biomechanics and Biophysics of Sound Production in Crickets and Bush-Crickets” (Austrian Science Fund: P 35792-B). Neurons and Behaviour Lab, Institute of Biology |
PAST POSITIONS |
| 2022 – present | Lecturer, Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Austria |
| 2019 – 2021 | Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, Neurons and Behaviour Lab, Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Austria |
| 2018 – 2019 | Research collaborator, Bionanoscience, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, UK |
| 2018 – 2021 | Associate Lecturer, School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, UK |
| 2017 – 2018 | Postdoctoral research assistant, Cognitive Science Lab (Prof. John Culling), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK |
| 2014 – 2017 | Postdoctoral researcher, Biomechanics & Sensory Biology Lab (Prof. Fernando Montealegre-Z), School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, UK |
| 2012 – 2014 | A-level chemistry science technician, Redland Green School, Bristol, UK |
EDUCATION |
| 2007 – 2012 | PhD in Biology, Bionanoscience, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, UK. Thesis: “A Detailed Analysis of Bioacoustical Signals and Behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster Courtship.” (Supervisor: Prof. Daniel Robert) |
| 2006 – 2007 | PhD student (brain anatomy and neurobiology), Department of Anatomy with Radiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand |
| 2003 – 2005 | Diplom in Biology, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany. Thesis: “Analysis of The Bioacoustical Component of Aggressive and Courtship Behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster.” (A) (Supervisors: Prof. Ralf Heinrich, Prof. Norbert Elsner). Major subjects: Zoology (A), Microbiology (A), Physical Chemistry (A) |
FUNDING |
| 2022 – 2025 | FWF (Austrian Science Fund) Principal Investigator Project (€ 409 130): “Small Wings, Loud Songs – Biomechanics and Biophysics of Sound Production in Crickets and Bush-Crickets” (P 35792-B). |
| 2019 – 2021 | Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship (€ 174 167): “From Insect Wings to Miniature Loudspeakers - A Bionic Modelling Approach” (InWingSpeak, Grant ID 829208). |
| 2017 | Pump-Priming grant (£3000) from the School of Life Sciences, Lincoln, UK to establish a 3D image reconstruction workspace and incorporate 3D printed animal models into fieldwork and as a teaching device. |
| 2016 | Conference travelling grant (£1000) from the School of Life Sciences, Lincoln, UK to participate at the 7th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber, Edinburgh, UK. |
COMMISSIONS OF TRUST & PEER REVIEW |
| 2023 | Expert evaluator for Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships |
| 2023 – present | Associate editor for insect neurobiology in Frontiers in Insect Science |
| 2020 – 2023 | Review editor for insect neurobiology in Frontiers in Insect Science |
| 2016 | Evaluator for the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) responsive mode research grants. |
| Review activity | Peer reviewer for the following journals: PNAS, Current Biology, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, PLOS Computational Biology, Global Change Biology, Journal of Experimental Biology, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Frontiers in Insect Science, PeerJ, PLOS One, WIREs Cognitive Science, Bioacoustics, Journal of Insect Physiology, Journal of Insect Science, Science of Nature, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, ZooKeys, Boletin del Museo de Entomología de la Universidad del Valle. |
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT |
| 2022 – present | KinderUni and departmental Open Days, University of Graz, Austria – Organiser and demonstrator for various public engagement activities. “From thought to action”: Hands-on experiments on the function and control of muscles for primary and secondary school students. “The physics of waves”: Experiments on the nature of waves and their use in science for secondary school and A-Level students. |
| 2017 | Scientific Mentor at the EPQ Mentoring Fair, Bristol, UK – Mentoring of A-Level students in support of the Extended Project Qualification programme. |
| 2016 | European Researcher’s Night, Lincoln, UK – “Ears in the legs”: Hearing in insects and experiments on the function of cricket ears. |
| 2015 | Festival of Nature, Bristol, UK – “Bees, Flowers and Electrostatics”: Interactive demonstrations on electrostatic forces and electrostatics in plants and bees. |
| 2015 | Britannia Village Primary School, London, UK Hands-on science lesson on adaptation and evolution. |
| 2014 | BBSRC Great British Bioscience Festival, London, UK – “Electrostatic Interactions Between Bees and Flowers” |
| 2014 | Royal Society Summer Exhibition, London, UK – “Through the Insect Ear”: Sound production and hearing in living and fossilised bush crickets. |