Personal Statement
I studied for both my BSc in Geography and my MSc in Archaeology at the University of Liverpool before completing my PhD in Geography at the University of Sheffield. I joined the School of Geography at the University of Nottingham in January 1998, starting as a lecturer and becoming a full Professor in 2012.

In January 2017 I joined the University of Liverpool as APVC for Research and Impact in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and remained in this role until December 2022 when I took on the role of APVC for the Research Environment and Postgraduate Research. I was appointed as Dean of the School of Histories, Languages and Cultures, starting October 2025.

I have held various external roles roles including Honorary Secretary for Research and Higher Education for the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers, 2008-2014). I was a Steering Committee member of the Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) UK Climate Resilience programme and I also sit on the Steering Committee for the Royal Academy of Engineers Green Futures Fellowships.

I was a full panel member and also an Interdisciplinary Research Advisor for UoA 14 (Geography and Environmental Studies) in REF 2021 and I have been appointed as a full panel member to UoA 14 for REF 2029.

I am a member of the Leverhulme Trust Advisory Panel (starting 2023) and regularly participate in funding panels and moderating boards for AHRC, ESRC, NERC and UKRI and I have been appointed to the AHRC Advisory Board (starting 2026).

I was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in 2023.

Research Overview
My research focuses on environmental humanities, climatic and environmental history, and specifically human responses to unusual or extreme weather events, conceptualisations of climate and climate variability in historical perspective and the links between climate, disease and the healthiness of place. My work has focused on colonial Mexico and nineteenth century Africa, for which I was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize. More recently I have led or co-led a range of funded projects related to climate history, the cultural spaces of climate and the production of climate knowledge in the UK, and the impacts of and responses to extreme weather events in historical perspective. Additional research interests include work on elemental heritage and the links between place, memory and local identity, and I am currently working on changing conceptualisations of the ‘home’ during the pandemic as part of a COVID-19 AHRC-funded award.