Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

Comparative Psychology | Conservation Biology | Behavioural Ecology

I am a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow and

Principal Investigator of the Miller Cognition & Conservation Group

at the University of Exeter, Cornwall. See News Page for latest updates.

My internationally recognised research programme includes lead roles in three overarching research areas encompassing multiple long-term projects, collaborations and associated funding opportunities: 

1) Animal Cognition and Behaviour, 2) Big-Team Open Science

(The ManyBirds Project Co-Founder with 120+ collaborators; CONNECT Partnership Co-Investigator; The ManyManys collaborator),

3) Conservation and Welfare 

(Red-billed Chough Project; Bali Myna Project). 

See Research and Background Page

In the Miller Cognition & Conservation Group (CCG), we use evolutionary, developmental and comparative approaches to test causes and consequences of individual and species variation in cognition and behaviour, primarily in birds and children. For example, we investigate when and why are individuals and/or species "fixed" or "flexible" in their behaviour. Our research has broad fundamental and applied implications for animal conservation and welfare, as well as enhancing scientific approaches and outcomes through Big-Team Open Science, including inclusion of under-represented people. I advocate Open Science practices in my research and the CCG, including pre-registering (from Nov 2018), publishing data-sets with our papers and pre-printing our research. 

See CCG Members and Supervisees Page for more info. 

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I have extensive knowledge & skills in university-level research & teaching: research with 49 peer-reviewed publications, h-index of 24, i10-index of 36 and 1700+ citations, and international Comparative Cognition Society Early Career Award; major funding acquisition as PI with an 8-year £1.75 million Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship and a 5-year £1.25 million European Research Council Starting Grant; national and international collaborations;

teaching at three UK universities in Biology, Psychology & Zoology, with a PG Cert in Learning & Teaching qualification and Fellowship of Advance Higher Education; academic supervision & mentoring;

project management & administration. 

See Professional Career Page and Publications Page for more info.