UCL FACULTY OF LIFE SCIENCES

My decision to study Zoology at UCL was driven by my dream of becoming a naturalist. I had the privilege of getting to know George Adamson and some of his lions in Kenya, where I spent time as a child.

My interest in evolution and molecular biology was sparked by my time at UCL, and I went on to do my PhD at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. My passion for field biology coupled with my new expertise in molecular genetics landed me with a job as a conservation geneticist at the Institute of Zoology, Regent's Park. There, I studied many endangered species such as wolves, South American foxes and simian jackals. From there I studied African and South American birds in Copenhagen, a job which permitted some truly exciting field trips. I then became a lecturer in New Zealand where I turned my attention to marine invertebrates; again this research allowed me to visit some wonderful regions of our planet.

In 2002, I founded CREA, an organisation dedicated to the education and research on the natural environment, especially in Panama where I am now based. We work mainly in a privately owned field station bordering a large forested region controlled and governed by the Kuna Amerindian people. We hold field courses in tropical biology for undergraduates, and environmental education workshops for schoolchildren and farmers. See: http://www.crea-panama.org or email me at: michael@crea-panama.org

Present position: adjunct Senior Lecturer, Otago University, New Zealand

Founder and co-director of Conservation through Research Education and Action (CREA).

1984-1987: BSc (Zoology) UCL

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