Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

Comparative Psychology | Conservation Behaviour |

Child Development | Behavioural Ecology 

I am currently a Principal Investigator (PI) & Senior Lecturer in Biology at the School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University,

and a Visiting Researcher at the Department of Psychology,

University of Cambridge, with extensive knowledge & skills in: research (37 publications; h-index: 18; citations: 1024) primarily with birds and children; university-level teaching in biology, psychology & zoology; academic supervision & mentoring, funding acquisition, collaborations, lab management & administration, with expertise in animal behaviour, cognition, welfare & conservation.

 

I am PI and/or have lead roles in three main research areas: 1) Animal cognition and behaviour, 2) Big-Team Open Science, including Co-Founder of the "ManyBirds" Project (www.themanybirds.com)  and 3)  Applications for animal conservation and welfare. I use comparative, ecological and developmental approaches to investigate the evolution of cognition, primarily in birds and humans (children and adults).

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In my previous Leverhulme Trust funded Research Associate role, in Dr Lucy Cheke's CAMB Lab at Cambridge University, we tested the effects of COVID-19 on cognition in adults and children, using online experiments. In my two previous European Research Council funded Research Associate roles, in Prof Nicky Clayton's CCL Lab at Cambridge University, I tested cognition in humans and corvids (crow family), with a particular focus on self-control, behavioural flexibility, social learning and causal reasoning. Key aspects of my Vienna Science and Technology funded PhD in Cognitive Biology, in Prof Thomas Bugnyar's Corvid Lab at Vienna University, involved highlighting the critical role of individual differences, social context and development on cognition in wild and captive crows and ravens.

 

Alongside my research, since 2016, I am responsible for teaching (lectures, practicals, assessments/exams in Psychology, Biology and Zoology University courses) and supervision/ mentoring of university students/ Junior Researchers, as well as lab management and administration. I advocate Open Science practices, including publishing all data-sets associated with my papers, and (from Nov 2018) I pre-register my studies.