I originally studied for a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Reading between 2001 and 2004. After graduating, I decided that I wanted to specialise in Mathematics and stayed on at Reading gaining an MSc in `The Numerical Solution of Differential Equations’ in 2005 and a PhD in Applied Mathematics in 2009. My thesis was entitled ‘On topographical wave scattering in stratified fluids’ and was supervised by Dr. Peter Chamberlain. After finally completing my studies, I obtained a post in the Automotive Engineering department at Cranfield University as a Research Fellow working on the ENCYCLOPAEDIC project. This project was a collaborative effort between Loughborough, Sheffield and Cranfield universities as well as various industrial partners including Aston Martin, Capricorn and BP Castrol to reduce friction losses and enhance the fuel efficiency of current internal combustion engines. I was appointed to the post of Lecturer in Mathematics at Oxford Brookes University in March 2013 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in September 2015.

I am primarily research active in the areas of Mathematical Biology and Solid/ Contact Mechanics. I am currently interested in developing new models of the blood glucose regulatory system during different activities. Diabetes is an increasingly prevalent disease in modern society as more and more people are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which is primarily caused by sedentary and unhealthy lifestyles. People suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus are encouraged to partake in regular exercise in an effort to help improve insulin sensitivity and promote wellbeing. However, it is very important to ensure that diabetic patients do not experience hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) during or after exercise. Mathematical modelling of the blood glucose regulatory system during physical exertion can provide insight into how blood sugar levels of people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes behaves and help determine effective strategies for avoiding potential problems. My interest in solid/ contact mechanics began after I finished my PhD. After completing my studies at the University of Reading, I obtained a post as a Research Fellow in the Automotive Engineering department at Cranfield University working on the ENCYCLOPAEDIC project. This project represented a multi-disciplinary collaboration between Loughborough, Sheffield and Cranfield Universities as well as various industrial partners including Aston Martin, BP Castrol and Ricardo. I was the only mathematician employed to work on this project and my role was to model the contact problem of a layered elastic material being indented by another object (e.g. a rigid stamp) as this idealisation replicates the contact between piston rings and cylinder liner within an engine. The layered materials considered represented a protective coating applied to a base material, e.g. Diamond like Carbon (DLC) applied to steel. During the course of this work, I worked closely with my colleagues in engineering to derive new models that provide analytical approximations to the stresses and deformations induced within layered elastic materials under pressure and have published journal papers that provide new results and insight into this problem. I am currently working with colleagues in the department of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at Oxford Brookes University on modelling adhesively bonded joints as this problem also involves mathematical modelling of heterogeneous, layered materials