Ms Kathryn Jeffery

Associate Professor

Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

Ms Kathryn Jeffery

About me

A postdoctoral researcher at the University of Stirling since 2006, I was based full-time in Gabon between 2004 and 2017. I obtained my PhD from Cardiff University in 2003 on the socio-genetics of the gorilla community in Lopé National Park, Gabon, adopting a forensic approach to genetically track wild apes following a period working for the Forensic Science Service in London. Following this I spent 6 years in Lopé National Park, first directing the Wildlife Conservation Society’s training centre (CEDAMM) and then the SEGC research station. Here I oversaw a multidisciplinary ecological research programme that supported park management objectives, and developed numerous training courses for Central African students and conservation staff. In 2010 I was named Scientific Advisor for the National Parks Agency in Gabon (ANPN), where I spent 7 years building a scientific division for the agency, providing technical and scientific support and advising on various government policies. As a member of the Tropical Ecology and Conservation Group, my research interests today are focussed on applied research that provides tangible solutions to conservation problems, ranging from vegetation dynamics at savannah-forest transition zones and the impacts of climate change on forest productivity, to fire management practices and ivory traceability. I am passionate about questions of good research governance, strengthening links at the science-policy interface, and integrating a better understanding of social factors into conservation programmes. I am currently based in Montpellier, France.