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Biography

I am a Reader in Philosophy in the School of Divinity, History, Philosophy and History of Art, which I joined in 2009. In 2016, I was a Visiting Professor for the Philosophy of the Life Sciences at Utrecht University. Before coming to Aberdeen, I was a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, and a Teaching Associate at the University of Bristol. I received my MA and PhD from King’s College London and, prior to that, studied biology in Germany.

Internal Memberships

Undergraduate Programme Coordinator

Research Overview

Philosophy of Science, especially the History and Philosophy of Biology

My research focuses on genetic causation, the nature of purportedly informational or representational phenomena, and the role of diagrams in mechanistic modelling. Much of my work addresses these issues in the context of molecular biology and animal behaviour studies. The overall goal of my work is a better understanding of biology as it is actually practiced, its fundamental concepts, its ontological commitments, its tools and methods. Some of my work employs historical research to address the philosophical issues at stake.

Funding and Grants

Several funding organisations have supported my research, including the British Academy, the Wellcome Trust, and the Carnegie Trust.