I am interested in the experience of districts close to cities, as cities grow. My research studies three at the urban edge of London between 1895 and 1927. Normally such districts are viewed from the perspective of the city centre, not from their own position as urban outsiders. To truly understand the growth of cities and conurbations, we need to understand the places cities expand into, and how urban cultures and practices alter the lives and environments of semi-urban or rural communities.

I am a former BBC Radio Science Correspondent and once spent two weeks working alongside world-leading ecologists at the Toolik Lake Polar Research Station in the Alaskan Arctic. I have watched permafrost thaw and Arctic ice melt.

I have also worked as a media communications advisor for the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and am passionate about effective science & academic communication - especially on environmental or medical issues - where overly technical, or ineffective language stops the message getting through.