Research overview
I’m a social-ecological systems researcher with interdisciplinary training in earth systems and aquatic ecology (BSc 2008-12), water science, policy and management (MSc 2015-16), and systems thinking applied to water-related health risks (DPhil 2017-21). My current research aims to support policy for better water quality risk management that advances health equity and ecosystem integrity.
With water demand and pollution risks compounding as climate change intensifies the water cycle, contaminated waters pose severe risks for people and ecosystems globally. One in four people lack sustained access to safe water and strong inequalities persist, including through systemic exclusions in higher-income countries. Contaminated water is also driving biodiversity decline, with a quarter of critically endangered species living in freshwater habitats. Yet, there is insufficient policy attention to water quality challenges, even in instruments that focus explicitly on drinking water services, biodiversity restoration, energy sector transformation, climate change adaptation, etc.
To manage the compound risks of water insecurity, there is a pressing need for analysis that reconciles models of ideal water management decision-making with actual decision-making. My research cuts across academic disciplines (and quantitative and qualitative methods) so that I can explore the systemic links between water quality data and multi-sectoral decision-making. With systems thinking and collaboration central in my approach, I have three key intersecting research themes:
Innovation for water quality risk assessment
This research progresses understandings of water quality risk assessment and treatment approaches, with a view to both technical and institutional effectiveness. From collaborations with the British Geological Survey and the Kenya Medical Research Institute I have published work on the effectiveness of tryptophan-like fluorescence and Escherichia coli as microbial water quality indicators. Linking data to decision-making and proactive planning, I co-authored a framework for monitoring the safety of water services and a synthesis of prospects for advancing ambient water quality monitoring through citizen science (article under review).
Reducing inequalities in water quality risk
This research responds to the sustainable development commitment to ‘leave no one behind’ and the imperative of all research to follow ethical principles. I have published on the importance of understanding poverty threatscapes and gender norms when including water quality risk reporting in development efforts. Building on this work, I am leading a study of water safety perception and practice as part of a mixed-methods research programme on intrahousehold decision-making and water (in)security in urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh. Beyond my own research, I am one of the academic leads on research ethics teaching at Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment. Alongside Dr Ariell Ahearn and Dr Catherine Grasham, I co-lead a research ethics workshop for all MSc and first-year DPhil students, for which I focus on public and stakeholder engagement, publication ethics, and data sharing ethics.
Advisory roles
Alongside my main research activities, I am currently providing advisory support to:
Uptime Global on results-based funding for safe water services
Segura Advanced Water Testing Ltd on development of electrochemical water quality test methods for rapid measurement of E. coli and heavy-metals
The Aquaya Institute on water quality data sharing for their WaterTRACS project