I investigate how cells tackle the challenges of undergoing cell division in complex, in vivo environments. In particular, I am interested in how cell division is incorporated into developing tissues/organs without damaging tissue integrity or function. In the pursuit of these questions, I utilise several developmental systems, including zebrafish blood vessel development and Drosophila morphogenesis. These systems are highly amenable to live imaging and allow the dynamic process of cell division to be studied at high temporal and spatial resolution.

I carried out my undergraduate studies at the University of Edinburgh where I first discovered the power of using developmental systems to ask fundamental cell biology questions.

After a Masters degree in Forensic Science I moved to the Gurdon Institute (University of Cambridge) to work with Prof Daniel St Johnston. During my PhD I explored how several Drosophila epithelial tissues are formed and how they maintain their structure and function. I was particulary interested in the roles of cell polarity and division.

I then moved to the Herbert lab (University of Manchester), where I became a Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Wellcome Fellow. In doing so I switched model systems and began working with zebrafish. I focused on how cell divisions are incorporated into the highly dynamic process of blood vessel formation.

In 2022 I became an independent Wellcome Trust ISSF fellow, my work continues to focus on how cells tackle the challenges of undergoing cell division in complex, in vivo environments.