The Brains and Bones Project

It’s almost hard to believe, but it’s coming up on ten years since the beginning of my PhD program—and five since my degree was officially conferred.

And it has been a busy ten years to say the least. After passing my viva voce via Zoom during COVID-19 lockdowns, I had the privilege of lecturing for Sutton Trust and Supported Progression, which help first generation students from underserved communities apply for (and thrive in) university. I was promoted to Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Durham University, bringing their evolutionary anthropology modules to a digital platform. I even worked extensively in student support as the Assistant Principal of Ustinov College, before receiving an ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to pursue my work in ethical forensics.

And all of that was wonderful.

But the news that nobody expected (especially me) is that I’ve made the move to Australia!

As many of you will notice from this revamped website, this move has meant many changes in my personal and professional lives. But some things haven’t changed, my love of teaching and my love of anthropology. So, I do hope you’ll follow along on this new journey—one where I bring evolutionary anthropology to classrooms across Victoria.

The Brains and Bones Project was born through the ESRC Festival of Social Science. With the support of an impact grant, I was able to bring research from our department on embodiment to audiences of all ages through something called embodied teaching. This approach allowed us to demonstrate millions of years of evolutionary history through the evidence in our own bodies today. I’ll write more on this project and its premise soon. And in the coming months, you can expect to see teaching resources, educational content, fun facts, and more!

But for now, I wish you all a happy, healthy holiday season and 2026. May this coming year be everything you hope and wish it to be.