After a First-Class degree and PhD from the University of Cambridge, I moved to the Zoology Department at Westfield College, London, where I was based during my Fellowship. I then moved to Cambridge, to the departments of Applied Biology and then Zoology. I took early retirement in 1999 and moved to Cornwall, continuing to study natural history.

My Fellowship explored the environmental toxicity of a molluscicide used in west Africa against the snails that carry bilharzia. The resulting publication highlighted some unexpected risks, which could be eliminated by modification of the application procedure. The Fellowship gave me a wonderful opportunity to undertake limnological research in a tropical environment and stimulated me to undertake other tropical research projects subsequently.