My PhD research looks at the impact of pesticide loading on the aquatic community, specifically aiming to identify pesticide synergies which increase toxicicty and in turn have harmful impacts on aquatic populations, using mussels as a model organism. Prior to my PhD I completed two research projects as part of an MRes at UCL, the first of these modelled the risk to human populations of contracting Plasmodium knowlesi malaria, accross different land uses in South-East Asia. The second was a co-infection experiment identifying potential synergies between two amphibian pathogens, chytrid fungus and ranavirus, when both present in Majorcan midwife toads. This project further developed my skills in DNA extraction and qPCR analysis that I had gained from previous voluntary work with the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society London; here I assayed amphibian skin swabs and tissues for the presence of chytrid fungus. I also have a previous experience in animal husbandry, working as an animal technician at the European Xenopus Recourse Centre (EXRC) at the University of Portsmouth.