I gained my first degree in Zoology at Edinburgh University and then a D.Phil at the University of Sussex. I took up a lectureship in Forensic Science at Strathclyde University in Glasgow where I worked until February of 2010. During this time I gained my Registration as a Forensic Practitioner in the areas of body fluids, blood pattern analysis and DNA typing.
I took up the Chair in Forensic Science supported by the Ministry of Justice, South Australia, with the role of developing new technologies in the field of DNA typing.
I have published over 90 publications in international peer reviewed journals. In addition I  and am co-author of the text 'An Introduction to Forensic Genetics' and editor  of book 'Forensic Science in Wildlife Investigations'. I am an Associate Editor  of Forensic Science International Genetics and on the editorial board of the journal Investigative Genetics.

I was appointed as the inaugural South Australia Justice Chair in Forensic Science with the remit of developing new technologies in DNA typing. My research can be summed up as getting more from less at a crime scene. In particular I am interested in developing more sensitive methods of human DNA typing and also understanding more about the transfer of biological material at crime scenes. My other area of research is in the use of non-human DNA to assist with forensic science investigations and in particular in wildlife forensic science.