I am the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship in the School of Languages. In this role, my aim is to develop and foster a supportive and inclusive research and scholarship environment for my colleagues in the School. I first started working here at XJTLU when I joined the English Language Centre as a Language Lecturer in EAP in August 2018. However, let me tell you a bit about my journey to get here.I began my academic career as a Classicist specializing in Roman history and Latin language and literature. My particular research interests focus on the role of persuasion in politics, especially in the period of the civil wars following the assassination of Caesar. This was the topic of my PhD thesis which I completed at the University of St Andrews in the UK.Following my PhD, I spent a couple of years teaching Roman history and Latin in Canada (at Thorneloe University) and Ireland (NUI Maynooth).My interests in the use of language, as well as a desire to travel and experience different cultures, led me to make the transition to English language teaching. I completed a CELTA in Toronto in 2013 and then, a few months later, found myself in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.After 5 interesting years teaching English at Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, I decided it was time to see and experience another part of the world and came here to XJTLU.My previous role was Academic Lead for PGR Support, which is an area of the ELC that was re-launched in March 2019 with the creation of the PG Unit (now PG Division). Since then, our PGR Support services have been transformed, and XJTLU’s PhD students are now able to access a level and variety of support services that are on a par with, or even better, than what they would have at the University of Liverpool. The ELCs PGR Support services include a Get PhD Ready orientation course for all new PhD students, a Critical Thinking, Critical Reading course, a Thesis Writing course, IPAP Prep consultations for Year 1 PhD students, one-to-one writing consultations, a mock viva service, and one-week intensive Writing for Publication boot camps. Although I am no longer the Academic Lead for PGR Support, my teaching allocation is still within the ELCs PGR Support Team and I am passionate about supporting our PhD students and helping them to get the most out of their PhD journey.

Roman history, particularly the political history of the late Roman republic

Latin oratory, particularly Cicero

Topography of the ancient city of Rome

Language Lecturer in EAP, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University, 2018 - Present

Assistant Professor, Prince Sultan University, 2013 - 2018

English Language Instructor, L’Estrie Language School, 2013

Contract Instructor, Carleton University, 2012

Assistant Lecturer, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 2011 - 2012

Assistant Professor, Thorneloe University, 2010 - 2011

Part-time Tutor and Lecturer, University of St Andrews, 2007 - 2010