I am a deep-sea ecologist in the Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems group (OBE) at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). I aim to understand variation in benthic assemblages over a variety of spatial and temporal scales and determine the effects of anthropogenic impacts. I work to enhance ocean observation through European observatories and by accessing offshore industry data. This has taken me on research cruises to the Porcupine Abyssal Plain in the Atlantic and Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone in the Pacific. I have also worked on industry offshore vessels and oil rigs in the North Sea, Norwegian Basin, Faroe-Shetland Channel, North Atlantic west of Ireland, the Mediterranean off Egypt and Libya, and the western Indian Ocean off Tanzania. I am interested in ocean observations and work on this through the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water Column Observatory (EMSO). Sustained long-term observations are important to address environmental changes. In 2018 I was appointed the UK advisor on the EMSO Assembly of Members to guide the development of the EMSO ERIC. I use my role in the SERPENT Project to explore the deep ocean around exploration hydrocarbon drilling sites. I use ROVs to collect samples, video and photographic data which are valuable in describing the environment in unexplored areas of the deep ocean. I am interested in how environmental changes affect ecosystems. SERPENT enables me to assess the anthropogenic impacts of deep-water exploration drilling on the benthic fauna. Of particular importance is understanding the recovery of these sites over time. I am also interested in understanding the distribution of animals in the deep sea. This may be at fine scale such as how seabed features or food inputs influence the faunal assemblages, or on a larger scale like changes in megabenthic assemblages with depth.