I have over a decade of experience working with marine animals and strandings, mainly as Director of the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. My main interest lies in the veterinary pathology and epidemiology of disease in marine mammals and in how we can best use these data to address applied questions about marine ecosystem health. I am a member of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) working group of Marine Mammal Ecology, an invited expert to the ASCOBANS (Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas) Advisory Committee, and a member of the International Whaling Commission Strandings Initiative Expert Panel.

These are challenging times for our planet, and healthy oceans are unquestionably essential to our future viability. Unfortunately, marine environments are often harder to monitor, police and protect than their terrestrial counterparts and therefore more susceptible to harm. Investigation into causes of marine animal strandings offers a window into the threats and pressures impacting individuals, populations and ecosystems. My Fellowship proposes to look at how we can learn from strandings networks around the globe in order to improve the information we have about these vital environments and the species they support.