• 2026 - Present: University Fellow in Inclusive Teaching, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
• 2025 - 2026: Lecturer, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
• 2024 - 2025: Bioinformatician, NHM, London, UK
• 2016 - 2024: Postdoctoral Researcher, Earlham Institute, Norwich, UK
• 2015 - 2016: Lecturer, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
• 2011 - 2015: PhD, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
• 2010 - 2011: MRes Entomology, Imperial College London, UK
• 2006 - 2009: BSc (Hons) Zoology, University of Sheffield, UK

Will is an evolutionary biologist with interests spanning evolutionary genomics, biodiversity, bioinformatics, and inclusive higher education. He completed his PhD at UEA, supervised by Prof Tracey Chapman, studying the behavioural and transcriptomic consequences of environmental adaptation in the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata). He subsequently worked in a teaching role at UEA, where he developed a strong interest in teaching evolutionary biology, biodiversity, and quantitative skills.

In 2016, Will joined The Earlham Institute, Norwich, working in Dr Wilfried Haerty’s Evolutionary Genomics group. During eight years at Earlham, he developed broad expertise in bioinformatics, comparative genomics, genome assembly, and population genomics. His research included developing comparative approaches to study the functional non-coding genome and methods for transferring regulatory annotations from model to non-model species.

From 2021, Will led and contributed to a range of genome assembly and population genomics projects focused on European bee populations. This work included the design and deployment of large-scale sequencing studies in UK bumblebees and the identification of genomic signatures of population history, range expansion, and decline. He continues to collaborate on bumblebee population genomics, including work with the Natural History Museum, London, using both contemporary and historical museum specimens to understand changes in UK populations through time.

Will returned to UEA as a Lecturer in Biodiversity and Statistics, teaching biodiversity, evolutionary biology, statistics, and bioinformatics. Alongside his teaching and research, he developed a growing programme of work around neuroinclusive education, reasonable adjustments, and the hidden expectations embedded within academic practice.

In 2026, Will was awarded a U-FIT Fellowship at UEA. His U-FIT project examines how reasonable adjustments, competence standards, and curriculum design shape the experiences and progression of disabled and neurodivergent students in Biological Sciences. The project aims to distinguish genuine requirements of academic competence from unnecessary barriers created by unclear expectations or inherited academic conventions, and to develop practical approaches for more transparent and inclusive teaching and assessment.

Will was appointed as an Honorary Research Fellow of UEA in 2025.

• Landscape and Population Genomics – Will uses genomic data from insect populations to understand how population history, landscape structure, environmental change, and selection shape genetic diversity. His work particularly focuses on UK insect populations and how genomic approaches can help interpret contemporary patterns of biodiversity and decline.
• Museum Genomics – Will’s research is strongly motivated by the work of natural historians and the biological collections they have generated. These collections are foundational to our understanding of how UK biodiversity has changed through time, but also represent an important and still underused genomic resource. Will is particularly interested in combining historical and contemporary DNA to reconstruct changes in insect populations.
• Comparative Genomics – Working in the era of biodiversity genomics, Will has contributed to both the Darwin Tree of Life and ERGA reference genome initiatives. He uses the rapidly growing genomic resources generated by these large-scale projects to investigate genome evolution, adaptation, and the evolutionary origins of biological function across diverse species.
• The Functional Non-Coding Genome – Will is interested in adaptive evolution within the functional non-coding genome and its relationship with gene regulation. He has worked with comparative and multi-omic datasets to investigate the evolution of regulatory elements, regulatory networks, and their rewiring during adaptive processes.
• Inclusive Higher Education and Neuroinclusion – Will researches how the structures and expectations of higher education can create barriers for disabled and neurodivergent students. Through his U-FIT Fellowship, he is particularly interested in reasonable adjustments, competence standards, curriculum design, and the distinction between genuine requirements of academic competence and inherited conventions about how that competence should be demonstrated.

Will has taught across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in biodiversity, evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, statistics, data science, and bioinformatics. His teaching has included Diversity of Life (Level 4), Behavioural Ecology (Level 5), Statistics for Biologists (Level 7), and Data Science and Bioinformatics (Level 7).

He has experience supervising undergraduate, MRes, and PhD research projects spanning bioinformatics, evolutionary genomics, ecology, and conservation. He particularly enjoys working with students who want to develop quantitative and computational approaches to biological questions and wider challenges in ecology and conservation.

Alongside subject-specific teaching, Will has a strong interest in inclusive and neuroinclusive education. His current U-FIT work explores how curriculum design, assessment, reasonable adjustments, and the communication of academic expectations can support more equitable participation and progression in higher education.

IDEA in STEM

Will is a neurodivergent researcher with a strong interest in inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility within STEM. His work focuses particularly on neuroinclusion, the accessibility of research and teaching environments, and how institutional structures and academic practices can be redesigned to reduce unnecessary barriers.

Will is a founding member of the UEA BIO Neurodiversity Community, a staff and PGR group that provides peer support and creates opportunities to learn about neurodivergent experiences in research, teaching, and academic working environments. He has contributed to activities exploring neuroinclusive practice, hidden expectations within research culture, and practical approaches to making academic environments more accessible.

Previously, at the Earlham Institute, Will served as Accessibility Champion on the Institute’s DEI committee. In this role, he initiated and led activities including a practical review of physical accessibility across the Institute and the development of a network supporting neurodivergent staff.

Will is always happy to support colleagues and students who want to learn more about neurodiversity and accessibility in STEM and is happy to receive questions about neurodivergent experiences.