About me
My academic career started at UCR (then Roosevelt Academy), as part of only the second cohort of students. After graduating in 2008, with a thesis on European lobster dispersal, I joined the Kea Parrot Lab in Vienna, Austria, first as an on-site student assistant, and then as part of a field study in New Zealand. Through this work I was able to secure a funded PhD position on wild kea behaviour at the University of Auckland. In 2013, I rejoined the Viennese Kea Lab, first as lab manager, and since 2016 as head of lab. Until my departure in June 2025, I oversaw all research on the cognition and behaviour of this enigmatic species. During this time, I also found my passion for teaching and was habilitated in comparative cognition. When the opportunity to return to UCR as a lecturer arose, I did not hesitate.