I am a lecturer in STEM who focuses on human dimensions of environments/wildlife. I am a passionate educator, having worked in higher education for seven years, teaching across a variety of disciplines (including psychology, health, and business) and supervising both Honours and HDR students. I am also a Superstar of STEM (25/26 cohort).
I hold a PhD in Psychology and my research work is mainly within the area of conservation psychology, where I investigate biophilia (connection to nature) and biophobia (fear / dislike of nature and animal species). Much of my research seeks to understand peoples' fear of sharks and the role the media plays in this. Having worked in industry roles in market research and behavioural science, I bring a deep ... Read more
About me
I am a lecturer in STEM who focuses on human dimensions of environments/wildlife. I am a passionate educator, having worked in higher education for seven years, teaching across a variety of disciplines (including psychology, health, and business) and supervising both Honours and HDR students. I am also a Superstar of STEM (25/26 cohort).
I hold a PhD in Psychology and my research work is mainly within the area of conservation psychology, where I investigate biophilia (connection to nature) and biophobia (fear / dislike of nature and animal species). Much of my research seeks to understand peoples' fear of sharks and the role the media plays in this. Having worked in industry roles in market research and behavioural science, I bring a deep understanding of human behaviour to all my research projects.
About me
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 27/10/2024 |
Protecting a Predator , https://iview.abc.net.au/show/sharks-protecting-a-predator |
| 22/03/2024 |
Surfing Fearlessly: The Uncharted Waters of Shark Perception Among Surfers, https://www.sharkguardian.org/post/surfing-fearlessly-the-uncharted-waters-of-shark-perception-among-surfers |
| 18/03/2024 |
Academics identify “The Jaws Effect” in world-first UniSA study, https://educationdaily.au/general/academics-jaws-effect-unisa-study-9051/ |
| 04/11/2022 |
Pacific Long Boarder Article- Surfers share their waves with sharks but most are not afraid, here's why, https://www.pacificlongboarder.com/news/Surfers-share-their-waves-with-sharks-but-most-are-not-afraid-Heres-why/ |
| 01/11/2022 |
ABC RN Radio interview- What are the risks you accept to do for the things you love?, https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/what-are-the-risks-you-accept-to-do-the-things-you-love/101604306 |
| 01/11/2022 |
Article in EveningReport.NZ, Surfers share their waves with sharks, but fear not, https://eveningreport.nz/2022/11/01/surfers-share-their-waves-with-sharks-but-fear-not-193395/ |
| 01/11/2022 |
The Conversation, Surfers share their waves with sharks, but fear not, https://theconversation.com/surfers-share-their-waves-with-sharks-but-fear-not-193395 |
| 01/08/2021 |
The Daily Jaws YouTube Interview, What is 'The Jaws Effect'?, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt1pJqBr8Pc |
About me
Doctor of Philosophy University of South Australia
Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) University of South Australia
Research
Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.
Ocean beach ecology and threats: a stakeholder perspective, CLLMM: Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Research Centre (Goyder Inst), 31/03/2025 - 31/03/2026
Research
Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ORCID, ResearcherID or Scopus
Open access indicates that an output is open access.
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2025 |
Open access
|
| 2024 |
Open access
|
| 2024 |
2
2
|
| 2024 |
Open access
1
1
|
| 2023 |
1
62
|
| 2023 |
Open access
1
3
|
| 2023 |
Open access
8
7
1
|
| 2023 |
Open access
7
4
|
| 2022 |
4
2
169
|
| 2022 |
10
9
312
|
| 2022 |
Open access
23
24
2
|
| 2022 |
|
| 2022 |
Open access
|
| 2021 |
Open access
21
18
35
|
| 2021 |
Open access
73
|
| 2021 |
Open access
8
4
76
|
| 2021 |
Open access
3
3
1
|
| 2019 |
Open access
23
22
9
|
| 2019 |
Open access
6
5
4
|
Commitee Member for the AMSA-SA branch and Member of the Centre for Marine Sociology (https://marinesocioecology.org/)
External engagement & recognition
| Organisation | Country |
|---|---|
| CSIRO Australia (Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research organisation) | AUSTRALIA |
| El Porto Shark | UNITED STATES |
| University of Adelaide | AUSTRALIA |
| University of South Australia | AUSTRALIA |
External engagement & recognition
| Engagement/recognition | Year |
|---|---|
Science meets ParliamentScience & Technology Australia |
2025 |
Superstar of STEMAustralia Science & Technology |
2025 |
Teaching & student supervision
Teaching & student supervision
Supervisions from 2010 shown
| Thesis title | Student status |
|---|---|
| 692 - Intervention for Sustainable Transboundary Fishing along the Indonesia-Australia Border | Current |
| Blue Biophilia & Biophobia; Understanding people's connection to the ocean and ocean creatures | Current |
| Human Dimensions of Shark Conservation: application of psychological principles | Current |
| The relationship between humans and the more-than-human world: creative writing, psychology, and healing in the Anthropocene | Current |
| Stepping off the trend-mill: applying conservation psychology to understand and promote sustainable fashion behaviour | Completed |
