People

The Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity brings together researchers from disciplines and departments across the University of York's three faculties and from partner organisations in the UK, Canada and Scotland.

Through collaborative, interdisciplinary working, our researchers aim to develop an improved understanding of biodiversity gains, as well as losses, and inform and influence how society responds to these changes.

LCAB Network Map

Take a look at our network map to see the connections between our researchers and the wider community of supervisors and mentors, spread across different departments and faculties. (Each node represents an individual; colours indicate different disciplines and departments, shapes are roles/organisations.)

LCAB network map (PDF , 359kb)

Contact us

Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity

lcab-enquiries@york.ac.uk
Twitter

Directorate	The Directorate lead on Centre development to ensure we meet our aims of delivering interdisciplinary, novel research into Anthropocene biodiversity.
	Professor Chris Thomas - Director - I am interested in understanding biological and human processes that give rise to species being successful, the ways people exploit them, and the ways successful species exploit humans.
	Professor Kate Pickett - Associate Director - My research focuses on the impact of socioeconomic inequality on the health and wellbeing of people, communities and the environment.
	Professor Mark Jenner - Associate Director - I am committed to interdisciplinary work which relates archival research to theoretical concerns and current work within anthropology, literary studies and social theory.
Operations team
	Dr Sally Howlett - Centre Manager
	Hannah Cooke - Centre Administrative Officer
	Helen Wood - Centre Administrative Officer
Fellows
	Dr Jonathan Cane - My current research extends my existing interdisciplinary work on urban ecology, critical plant studies and queer theory to investigate tree-human relationships in the Anthropocene.
	Dr Christopher Lyon - I am an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist, my research explores multi-century human-environmental futures on Earth and ways to plan for those futures now. I currently supervise Andrew Gibson.
	Dr Inês Martins - I am interested in understanding and quantifying how different levels of biological diversity are changing across space and time and its potential environmental and socio-economic drivers.
Postdoctoral Research Associates
	Dr Jamie Carr - My current research seeks to identify the policy and governance processes that are most conducive to achieving both biodiversity and climate change targets simultaneously.
	Dr Tadhg Carroll - I investigate biodiversity change in Anthropocene environments, with the aim of understanding why some places are gaining species, while others are losing them.
	Dr Charles Cunningham - My research is examining the current extent of UK treescapes, how their connectivity has changed over time and the consequences for woodland biodiversity.
	Dr Brennen Fagan - My research aims to understand the sensitivity of food webs to translocations so that artificial food webs can be engineered safely and reliably.
	Dr Jack Hatfield - My research background is in community and landscape ecology, investigating how species communities are altered by land-use change.
	Dr Tabitha Kabora - My research explores human and environment interactions within the Holocene and Anthropocene with a focus on biodiversity, sustainability and large-scale landscape modifications.
	Dr Harrie Neal - The overarching arm of my research project explores the ways in which non-native species have been historically characterised and constructed.
	Dr Hanna Pettersson - My aim is to understand the drivers of vulnerability and adaptation among the communities that are the most impacted by the presence of “problematic” wildlife such as large carnivores.
	Dr Peter Sands - My research project examines the mythologies of the future produced by biotechnological approaches to extinction and biodiversity loss.
	Dr Sarah Scriven - My research is testing the impacts of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification standards, and whether RSPO standards are achieving the aim of improving the sustainability of palm oil production.
PhD Students
	Lauren Barnes - My research focuses on the ecological and societal benefits and costs of rewilding. Specifically, the biodiversity gains realised by different rewilding implementation approaches and how different groups of stakeholders feel connected to wilder landscapes.
	Chantal Berry - My research focuses upon acoustic ecology, or the sounds and rhythms of human-nature relationships between c.1500-c.1800.
	Molly Brown - My research focuses upon understanding the complex drivers of demand for illegal wildlife trade products, in particular ivory.
	Shuyu Deng - I am interested in the effect of human land-use transformations on species richness and compositional change in different parts of the world.
	Marco Franzoi - My research explores the impacts on marine biodiversity of consumption through a supply-chain perspective, as well as the policies and political economies that drive and change these pressures.
	Andrew Gibson - My work aims to explore an information-based perspective on ecosystems, in which different types of information behaviour are seen to give rise to different types of ecosystem.
	Jonathan Gordon - My PhD research will use a range of biological and archaeological datasets to examine past human impact on biodiversity over the Anthropocene.
	Kian Hayles-Cotton - My research project focuses on understanding what affects interactions between plants, insects and birds in British woodlands and how management can be tailored to increase the complexity and strength of the interaction networks.
	Tiffany Ki - My PhD focuses on understanding the long-term responses of Sulawesi (Indonesia) butterflies to climate change and rainforest loss.
	Charlie Le Marquand - My PhD research investigates whether woodland, or woodland type, impacts the nest success of waders in the UK.
	Hien Luong - I’m researching nature based financing because I want to find out if we can better fund conservation and make a significant difference in wild biodiversity numbers.
	Louisa Mamalis - During my PhD research I will explore the theme of landscape level change and its impacts on biodiversity.
	Helen Mylne - My research focuses on the social networks of male African Elephants.
	Katie Noble - My research adopts a holistic and highly interdisciplinary approach to analysing the environmental and sociocultural dimensions of cultured meat, incorporating data, methods, and ideas from a range of academic disciplines in both the natural and social sciences.
	Nikki Paterson - My research explores human-nature relationships in the Anthropocene, by looking at the impact of the biodiversity of an ecosystem on the wellbeing of the humans experiencing it.
	Alex Payne - My PhD project focuses on how past human interactions have influenced shifts in both diversity and distribution, particularly using Rhododendron.
	Joshua Sammy - For my PhD, I am investigating the ways in which insect distributions in the UK have changed, and whether and how this has been influenced by human land use.
	Megan Tarrant - My PhD research focuses on rights-based approaches to conservation, and the role of environmental knowledge in environmental justice.
	Theo Tomking - My research focuses on the role of indigenous knowledge in developments in agricultural science and ecological thinking in Britain and its colonies in the 20th century.
	Joris Wiethase - My research aims at analysing the patterns and impacts of a changing environment, with a focus on East African grasslands.
Supervisors and mentors - along with the Directorate a range of other academics from across disciplines form our staff and student supervision teams
	Professor Colin Beale - I work on a wide range of ecological problems from population dynamics and distributions to fire ecology in the African savannah. Mentor to Tabitha Kabora, supervisor to Molly Brown.
	Professor Neil Carter - I am interested in all aspects of environmental politics and policy, with a particular interest in climate policy and politics. Supervisor to Megan Tarrant.
	Dr Sabine Clarke - My research considers the relationship between scientific research and visions of economic and social development in the British colonies after 1940. Supervisor to Theo Tomking.
	Professor Peter Coventry - I work across all elements of applied health services research, using evidence synthesis, qualitative methods and trials with a focus on evaluating complex interventions for people with mental health problems and long term conditions. Supervisor to Nikki Paterson.
	Dr Simon Croft - I work predominantly on the modelling of supply chains of agri-goods and food, linking activities to impacts and risks at the point of origin.
	Professor Kanchon Dasmahapatra - I apply genetic and genomic data to understand interesting evolutionary questions, in particular the causes of speciation. Supervisor to Alex Payne.
	Professor Maria Dornelas - My research focuses on quantifying biodiversity and understanding the processes that shape it. Mentor to Tadhg Carroll.
	Dr Alison Dyke - I work on nature-society relations, particularly focused on interactions between humans and trees, biosecurity, plant health and wild harvest. Supervisor to Katie Noble.
	Professor Calvin Dytham - My research focuses on the evolution of dispersal strategies and the community-level consequences and the implications of environmental change. Supervisor to Theo Tomking.
	Professor Jon Finch - Understanding the cultural landscape of the 18th and 19th centuries is fundamental to my work, including the politics of landscape through its use and manipulation.
	Dr Jon Green - I work to trace the impacts of consumption on biodiversity, via often-complex chains of trade in agricultural commodities. Supervisor to Katie Noble.
	Professor Tony Heron - My current research focuses on ideas of resilience in global food systems; the political economy of agricultural reform in the UK in the context of Brexit; the governance of global value chains; private standards in the Brazilian soybean sector; and food security in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Supervisor to Marco Franzoi.
	Professor Jane Hill - I study the impacts of climate change and habitat loss on species to understand their responses to environmental change. Mentor to Tabitha Kabora.
	Dr Luisa Huaccho Huatuco - My expertise in manufacturing systems' complexity, contextualises my current research interests including sustainable supply chains. Supervisor to Katie Noble.
	Dr Teresa Kittler - My research focuses on artistic practices from 1945 to present day, with a special interest in Italian post-war art, primarily on issues related to art and the environment and feminism. Supervisor to Nikki Paterson.
	Dr Simon Mair - My research interests include the post-growth and degrowth economics, post-capitalism, and alternative economies. Supervisor to Andrew Gibson.
	Professor Nicky Milner - My research mainly focuses on the Mesolithic period; palaeodiet and consumption practices are among my interests, along with settlement, mobility and the analysis of seasonality information. Supervisor to Jonathan Gordon.
	Professor Jon Pitchford - I use mathematical models and apply methods from dynamical systems and stochastic processes together with computer simulations to study challenging biodiversity problems. Mentor to Brennen Fagan.
	Dr Amanda Rees - My research areas include the sociology of human/animal relation, field science, the public presentation of scientific knowledge and the representation of science in fiction. Supervisor to Chantal Berry.
	Professor Helen Smith - My current research includes tracing the liveliness of matter and making the case for literature as a means of engaging with and assaying the world around us.
	Professor Susan Stepney - A major strand of my research is computational simulation of complex systems, in particular, biological systems. Mentor to Brennen Fagan.
	Professor Lindsay Stringer - My research is conceptually anchored in areas including global environmental governance, political ecology and socio-ecological systems science. Supervisor to Megan Tarrant.
	Dr Daryl Stump - My research interests focus on the development of agricultural landscapes, with a particular emphasis on sustainability and on the use of historical perceptions within development and conservation narratives. Mentor to Tabitha Kabora.
	Professor Jacco Thijssen - My main research interests are in mathematical models of dynamic decision making in general, and investment under uncertainty (real options) in particular. Supervisor to Hien Luong.
	Dr Julia Touza - My research explores environmental problems driven by economic factors, and evaluates the strategic behaviour of natural resource users/managers in a temporal-spatial context. Supervisor to Hien Luong.
	Professor Mark Velle nd - My research focuses on plant population and community responses to environmental change. Mentor to Tadhg Carroll.
	Professor Victoria Wells - I am interested in the role the environment plays in consumers’ behaviour whether it is how the environment affects consumer choices or how consumers’ behaviour affects the physical environment. Supervisor to Molly Brown.
	Dr Chris West - My current research focuses on the role of commodity trade and supply chains in driving environmental change, where I have a particular interest in effects on biodiversity and tropical deforestation. Supervisor to Marco Franzoi.
	Professor Michael White - I work chiefly on the interwar avant-gardes. Supervisor to Jonathan Cane.
	Professor Piran White - I lead the University of York’s involvement in the Australian-based Co-operative Research Centre on Invasive Animals. Supervisor to Nikki Paterson.

The External Advisory Group will provide annual, independent feedback and advice, from a wide range of perspectives, on research activity.

‌Professor Deborah Smith (Chair)

Biology, University of York

Contact us

Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity

lcab-enquiries@york.ac.uk
Twitter

	Jake Anderson Biology
	Dr Sarah Bezan University College Cork
	Robby Binsar Butarbutar Biology
	Sophie Brandon Biology
	Professor Robert Costanza Institute for Global Prosperity
	Professor Helen Cowie History
	Professor Andy Dougill Environment and Geography
	Dr Daniel Franks Computer Science
	Dr Richard Friend Environment and Geography
	Professor Jean Grugel Politics
	Professor Jeff Jia Management
	Professor Jon Mee English and Related Literature
	Professor Ida Kubiszewski Institute for Global Prosperity
	Dr Cade McCall Psychology
	Dr David Orton Archaeology
	Dr Rachel Pateman Stockholm Environment Institute
	Dr Phil Platts Environment and Geography
	Dr Darren Reed Sociology
	Dr Chris Renwick History
	Professor Indrajit Roy Politics
	Dr Katherine Selby Environment and Geography
	Dr Freya Sierhuis English and Related Literature
	Dr Michael Stratigos University of Aberdeen
	Dr Peter Sutoris Education
	Dr Kevin Walsh Archaeology
	Dr Lizzie Wandrag Biology
	Dr Caroline Ward Visiting associate
	Professor Chris West Stockholm Environment Institute
	Professor Sarah West Stockholm Environment Institute
	Professor Piran White Environment and Geography
	Dr Jamie Wood Mathematics