I am a marine biologist with expertise in parasitology, evolutionary ecology, molecular ecology, and fisheries science. I have work experience as an academic, fisheries consultant and government scientist.
I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada and completed my BSc in Zoology at McGill University. I fell in love with parasites sitting through my Parasitology course during 2nd year. I decided to pursue a MSc in Parasitology at the Institute of Parasitology (McGill University), where my attraction for parasites grew. I completed a PhD at the University of New Brunswick (Canada) under the supervision of Prof Gary Saunders and the late Mick Burt, studying the determinants of host specificity in skate parasites in the northern Atlantic Ocean. During the latter stages of my studies, I had the opportunity to join a research cruise in the Falkland Islands and visit these beautiful islands.
Following my PhD, I moved to New Zealand and completed four years of postdoctoral work at the University of Otago (2007 to 2011) in the lab of Prof Robert Poulin investigating the drivers of parasite diversity and host specificity in sharks and skates and worked as a Senior Teaching Fellow for the Ecology Degree Programme at the University of Otago (2011 to 2016).
Wanting to explore the applied side of ecology, I accepted a position with the Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Department as a Fisheries Scientist – Biology (2016 to 2020) before working as a Fisheries Consultant for SAERI Falklands Ltd (2020 to 2021). Since July of 2021, I am Associate Professor in Marine Biology at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iceland. Also, I am an Associate Editor with Marine and Freshwater Research since 2015 and the Journal of Helminthology since 2022.
