BIO
I was born and raised on a sheep, beef, and deer farm in Northern Southland, which fostered a lifelong interest in farming and animal science. After earning a BSc in Zoology from the University of Otago, I began my career in conservation before transitioning to animal health and disease research at AgResearch Invermay, where I have worked for over 20 years. In 2012, I completed a master’s degree in Agricultural Science at Lincoln University. I am currently undertaking a part-time PhD at Lincoln University, investigating behavioural syndromes in farmed red deer. My research involves fitting deer with wearable technology to monitor their grazing behaviour across two contrasting farming environments. The animals are tracked over four key physiological periods across two years to assess the consistency and stability of behavioural expression. This work aims to understand how individual deer interact with their environment and explore the potential for using behavioural syndromes as a selection tool to build more suitable herds—improving landscape utilisation and reducing environmental impacts.
