Last day to apply! 📣 Come and join my lab in Liverpool @livevobiomech.bsky.social for a PhD on the skulls of giant mammals! Full funding for 4 years (UK Home rates) 🐘🦌🦘🐂🐪🦏 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Had a lovely time at #AnatSocSummer25.

I really hope that computer updates are included in my workload allocation model… 😣

Got to perform stand up at the @royalsociety.org last night! What an amazing venue, and I got to catch up with my lovely former colleagues @katedoingscience.bsky.social and @sanahannan.bsky.social - Lancaster clearly makes very funny scientists! Huge thanks to @drstevex.bsky.social for inviting me.

A potential career change…

Lab afternoon trialling a @brukercorporation.bsky.social Bravo handheld Raman spectrometer. My ‘I ❤️ Raman’ t-shirt is getting lots of wear lately! #Ramanspectroscopy #IvoryIdentification

No secret, I’m a massive #eurovision fan. Best song this year wasn’t an entry but the remix of Baby Lasagna and Käärijä #eurodab. Not going to admit how many times I’ve had it on repeat! 🫣

This walking stick with skull pommel and emerald eyes once belonged to Charles Darwin. Yep, you read that right! I bet you didn't know Darwin was such a badass. It's now on display at the Wellcome Collection in London, and I think you'll agree it's pretty amazing. #MementoMoriMonday

I’m joining the hilarious Steve Cross and a bunch of other funny scientists for stand-up comedy at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition! 🗓️ Tuesday 1st July 2025 🎟️ FREE – select the Lates (18+ only) option 👉https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/summer-science-exhibition/

Looking forward to learning about Atomic Force Microscopy today! @brukercorporation.bsky.social @renishaw.bsky.social

Attended a really interesting lecture on graduate outcomes for autistic students given by @jmvincent.bsky.social. Lots to think about in supporting our graduates going forwards. Also always lovely to see a Lancaster logo on a presentation!

New (last author for me!) paper published in Scientific Reports!!! Huge congratulations to current PhD student Agil who did the work for this alongside his MSc - a very talented data scientist! @drjemmakerns.bsky.social l doi.org/10.1038/s415...

I'm on a hunt for freelance work. Lots of free time in my diary and looking to fill it up with projects. Use me for: Training Facilitation Consultancy Comedy Hosting events Photos, videos & podcasts (photo by @ianbowkett.bsky.social the UK's best theatre photographer) drstevecross.com

Booked to attend #AnatSocSummer25! Who else is going? #anatomy

Papers are like buses, one published yesterday and one accepted today! I really need to get round to writing up my PhD papers now.

The turkey tendon paper is out! @jghardylab.bsky.social @drjemmakerns.bsky.social @adatomy.bsky.social 🦃 🦃 🦃 doi.org/10.1002/open...

Bumped into an old school friend today. It had to be right after swimming with the kids, & I’d forgotten to pack a hairbrush. On the plus side, the boys were cleaner than usual. She’s lovely and doubt she cares, but just once I’d like to give the air of someone vaguely presentable!

Nitin Sekar says mammoth “de-extinction” is bad for conservation. He’s the former lead for elephant conservation at WWF India and member of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission arstechnica.com/science/2025...

I thought it looked cold, so I went in—and yes, it was indeed cold. 🥶

As the teaching year comes to a close (but exam period is looming!), my students have been so kind and thoughtful. Flowers, chocolates, and four teaching award nominations — with some truly lovely words included. Feeling very grateful! 🥰

Great to see the Guardian highlighting amazing trailblazing women scientists www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Sign of the day…

Exciting stuff - I’m being filmed about my research on ivory identification here at Bristol School of Anatomy @UoBrisAnatomy 🐘 🦣 🔬

Today’s run lay somewhere between a tough mudder and bog snorkelling. Def no PB BUT I was very happy to finish in position 111 on my 111th #parkrun 🏃‍♀️ ☔️

Waiting for #parkrun to start. It is soggy and cold here in Bristol today! I’ll enjoy my run when I’m finished…

Who was the tourist from Morecambe at Blaise Castle Estate #parkrun this am? I didn’t see who you were, but chances are I know you (Lancaster/Morecambe is a small place). 🏃‍♀️ 😊

I've been trying to get my head around these attempts to erase women from history (see also: covering up photos at the cryptography museum). It's not about equity in future hiring or funding decisions. It's an implication that women can only be successful though DEI initiatives, not merit. Grim.

At the V&A for the final ‘meeting the challenges of the ivory act’ meeting. Lots of chatter about the four new banned species, and a chance to present my work on Raman spectroscopy and use of DNN for classification. #ivoryidentification 🐘 🦣 🦛 🐋

Lovely morning for Blaise Estate #parkrun! Really enjoyed my run. 🏃‍♀️

Some good news out of the UK recently - an expansion of their Ivory Act to cover four more CITES listed species. @counteringcrime.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/ar...

Levelled up our toastie making capabilities… #parenting

NY resolution is to get to 150 parkruns by 2026. 42 to go. Seems achievable- but #parkrun keeps cancelling on me! Obs grateful to organisers for keeping us safe, but turned up to tourist Somerville Pavillion on Sat to learn of last min cancellation. I wanted to run the curly wurly! 🏃‍♀️ 🧊

😵

Eponyms in anatomy are an unnecessary cognitive burden - but the ones in the biliary system (Sphincter of Oddi, spiral valve of Heister, ampulla of Vater and the triangle of Calot) do all sound like locations in Lord of the Rings!

Is it the weekend yet?!

Before Christmas, the very funny Steve Cross invited me on The Worlds Only Science podcast. In less than an hour I discuss semen, elephant tusks and offend all physiologists. Listen here: https://buff.ly/3PGNTr5

I begrudgingly took the boys to see #SonicTheHedgehog3 - and it was excellent. Jim Carey needs an award of some description for how much he made my boys giggle!

Joined in the Uni of Bristol #parkrun at Ashton Court today - my favourite parkrun in Bristol so far! Loved the there-and-back route, such pretty views and everyone was very, very friendly! #dfyb

Had such a lovely (and frosty) trip up to Lancaster at the weekend. Typical of my luck that #parkrun was cancelled, but given there was an actual man on ice skates on the pond at Williamson park it was probably the right call!

In early 2020, a pandemic was spreading. The UK’s PM went on a 10 day half-term holiday during which he was uncontactable and the government went into panic mode, focusing, as Hancock related to the COVID enquiry, on buying enough body bags. 1/8

Because this webpage that was made about my research is too pretty not to regularly share - laser technology to stem the international flow of illegal ivory https://buff.ly/4j6KPSs

16.2 million* of these views were from my household by my 4-yr-old who is obsessed with the gnomes. #parenting #wallaceandgromit *true statistic

Starting back at work with a paper accepted pending minor revisions - very happy with the journal that’s accepted this one! #RamanSpectroscopy #TransferLearning #IvoryIdentification

Fighting the Sunday-post-Christmas-back-to-school-and-work blues at #WaketheTiger. There are loads more exhibits since we last visited!

It’s officially snowing here in Bristol! One very happy 8 year old who rushed out to make snowballs at half nine at night. Hope it stays overnight so the littlest can see it when he wakes! ❄️ ⛄️ #snow

A beautiful frosty Blaise Castle #parkrun this morning! Ice makes everything look magical. ❄️ #dfyb

Clearly everyone’s New Year’s resolution is to read more books. Laudable this may be, now everything *I* want to read on Libby from Bristol or Lancaster Unis is on hold or only available as an audiobook (which I don’t want). Hmph. #reading #bookworm

10/10 for the Christmas decorations at Bristol Museum. Even Doris the pliosaur has made an effort! #BristolMuseum #DorisThePliosaur

Starting off 2025 with Pomphrey Hill #parkrun. A bit cold and soggy out there this morning! #dfyb

Very foggy and chilly tourist #parkrun at Braunstone this am. Good excuse to escape the family. @parkrunuk.bsky.social #dfyb