Expeditions & Fieldwork

Outside the lab, I spend as much time as I can in the field. I am a member of The Explorers Club and have taken part in expeditions ranging from simulated Mars missions in the Utah desert to biodiversity surveys in Madagascar and fieldwork in Croatia.

Me at The Explorer Club.

Utah · Mars Desert Research Station

Crew biologist on three consecutive missions

Over three consecutive years, I served as crew biologist on analogue Mars missions at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in the Utah desert. These campaigns combine field ecology, astrobiology, logistic, and the psychology of living in isolated, confined environments.

As crew biologist, I helped design and carry out biological experiments that used the Martian analogue landscape as a testbed. Work included surveys of animal and plant life in extreme conditions, and field sampling under EVA (extravehicular activity) constraints.

Fieldwork at the Mars Desert Research Station — Me collecting Black fly larvae from a creek near the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.

Croatia · Summer 2020

Fieldwork: tortoises, bats, and butterflies

In the summer of 2020 I joined a field team in Croatia, helping with biodiversity monitoring and census work along near the Krka National Park. The main focus was on local tortoise populations, but we also conducted surveys of bats and butterflies across different habitats.

Madagascar · Mariarano Forest, 2018

Research assistant in the dry forests of northern Madagascar

In 2018 I worked as a research assistant in the Mariarano Forest in northern Madagascar, a dry tropical forest rich in endemic species. The expedition focused on biodiversity surveys and species-specific monitoring across multiple taxa, from reptiles and amphibians to birds and small mammals.

My work included helping with live-trapping, mark–recapture studies, nocturnal transects, and habitat characterisation.

Fieldwork in the Mariarano Forest, Madagascar — Me crossing a river while carrying my equipment.