Rachel’s research investigates insect sensory processing and the impacts of environmental stressors on the brains and behaviour of pollinators.
She uses neuroethological approaches to understand how insects use sensory data for foraging and navigation. Her research also examines how stressors like pesticides impact insects’ ability to perceive and respond to environmental changes.
Currently, Rachel is developing AI-driven tools to diagnose sublethal toxicity in pollinators like bees. Additionally, she leads a project that employs large language models to conduct systematic reviews of the literature on pesticide risks to bees, with the goal of building a scalable pipeline that can be applied across disciplines.
Ultimately, Rachel’s research aims to assess the risks posed by environmental change to key insect species and to explore strategies for mitigating these threats.