Kirsty specializes in planktic foraminiferal micropalaeontology and geochemistry. The overall goal of her research is to unravel the complex interplay between life and climate ranging from the modern day back through millions of years. Much of her research to date has focused on constraining climatic and biotic (e.g., ecological and evolutionary) responses to short-lived environmental perturbations over the past 65 million years of Earth’s history. Focal events include the transient global warming event, the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) ~40 million years ago and other ‘hyperthermals’. The geochemistry of foraminiferal tests is one of the main means used to reconstruct both fossil foraminifera ecology and past environments. As such she is actively involved in evaluating the fidelity of key geochemical proxies (e.g., d¹¹B, d¹³C and d¹⁸O values) in fossil and modern foraminiferal carbonate with the view to improving confidence in our palaeoreconstructions.

Kirsty’s research interests at a glance are:

1) Biotic responses and sensitivity to environmental change in our past, present and future oceans

2) Cenozoic (particularly Eocene) environmental change

3) The fidelity of geochemical and biotic proxies for reconstructing past ecology and environments

2019- Associate Professor in Micropalaeontology, University of Birmingham

2017- Lecturer in Micropalaeontology, University of Birmingham

2016– Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow and Proleptic Lecturer in Micropalaeontology, University of Birmingham

2014-2016 – Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, University of Bristol

2011-2014 – NERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cardiff University

2008-2011 – NERC Research Associate, University of Southampton (Advisor: Prof. Heiko Pälike)

2009 – Ph.D, University of Southampton (Advisor: Prof. Paul Wilson)

2008 (June – August), WUN International Research Fellow, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego (Advisors: Prof. Dick Norris & Dr Philip Sexton)

2004 – MSci (First Class Hons), Royal Holloway, University of Londo