I am a developmental psychologist with teaching responsibilities in developmental psychology and developmentalpsychopathology and  research interests in child and adolescent health and mental health.

My career in Edinburgh began as a post-doctoral research fellow examining psychological factors associated with child and adolescent injuries. In 1996, I took a two-year lectureship in Psychology, and from 1998 to 2012 I was lecturer/senior lecturer in psychology, in Moray House School of Education.

Since 2012 I have been senior lecturer in Clinical and Health Psychology. I coordinate Children, Adolescents and Animals Research (CAAR) and I am Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Developmental Psychology. I am Programme Director for the MSc Psychology of Mental Health (Conversion) and contribute developmental psychology teaching on a range of postgraduate programmes.

My research has focused on child and adolescent health and mental health.  I have investigated child and adolescent health concepts and psychoeducational interventions. I also have interests in developmental disabilities and am Associate Editor of Research in Developmental Disabilities. Over the last 10 years I have become particularly interested in children's interactions with animals and the impact these interactions can have on child development and animal welfare. I have explored child and adolescent attachment to pets, children's understandng of animal sentience, child and adolescent cruelty to animals, animal assisted interventions for children with autism and mental health difficulties, and evaluations of animal welfare education programmes. This work has led to collaborations with a range of academics and charities, including the Scottish SPCA.