Science & Monitoring

Katherine joined BCT in 2012. As Head of Science and Monitoring she oversees the strategic development of the National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP) and BCT's scientific work. Prior to this, Katherine led the Partnership for Biodiversity in Planning, a partnership of 17 organisations representing the planning and conservation sectors that are working together to improve the consideration of biodiversity in the planning process. She is an experienced bat surveyor, having helped found the Norfolk Barbastelle Study Group, and worked with bats in many countries including in Cambodia, where she was part of a team that identified two species of bat not previously recorded in the country. Her PhD at the University of East Anglia used NBMP data to model that habitat associations of UK bats at a variety of spatial scales, demonstrating the importance of small woodland patches and hedgerow trees for bats.

Email Kathryn: kboughey@bats.org.uk

Lia works as Research Manager at BCT, overseeing the development of the BCT Sound Classification System (SCS) and managing BCT’s work in key research areas, such as sound analysis and ecoacoustics. She also manages research collaborations with academic partners, including co-supervision of PhD students. Lia initially joined BCT in 2022 as maternity cover for Head of Science and Monitoring. She also worked as joint Head of Conservation Projects within the Conservation Team for two years 2022-2024. Before joining BCT, Lia worked on a diverse range of projects as part of her academic career, which included a post-doc at the University of the West of England, a research masters at the University of Bristol (also supervised by Kate Barlow at BCT), and a PhD also at Bristol, evaluating bat deterrence methods and the development of a thermal bat tracking system.

Email Lia: lgilmour@bats.org.uk

Agata is the Research Scientist specialising in ecoacoustics and is working on innovative new bat population survey techniques using passive acoustic monitoring and AI. She joined the BCT in February 2024 after a 3-year postdoc in Poland, where she studied bird community bioacoustics in boreal, temperate and tropical forests. She completed her PhD at the University of Bristol where she investigated how acoustic methods can be used for monitoring sympatric crocodile species in Southeast Asia and West Africa. The broad theme of her research is to apply novel bioacoustic techniques to answer important questions across animal ecology, behaviour and conservation.

Email Agata: astaniewicz@bats.org.uk

Santiago joined the BCT in February 2025 as a Research Scientist to design and develop EchoHub, an open-source library of bat sounds.

Santiago's PhD research at UCL focused on developing AI tools for acoustic biodiversity monitoring, particularly for bats.

His passion for acoustic biodiversity monitoring and its potential for large-scale application developed during his time at the Mexican Commission for Biodiversity prior to the PhD.

He is committed to democratising access to acoustic monitoring techniques, primarily through the development of open-source tools and related research.

Email Santiago: sbalvanera@bats.org.uk

Jack joined the Science Team at BCT in 2023 as a Research Scientist working on the Bat Migration and Offshore Wind Project. He now works on a variety of research areas at BCT, including bats in the urban environment, bats and waterways and the National Barbastelle and Bechstein’s Survey. Jack has recently finished his PhD at the University of the West of England where he studied the impacts of temporary habitat fragmentation on bats, including investigating the effectiveness of mitigation measures designed to maintain landscape connectivity for bats. In addition to academic research, Jack has worked as a consultant ecologist for many years and of course, specialised in bat ecology.

Email Jack: jhooker@bats.org.uk

Madeline got interested in bats as a teenager walking around churchyards with a detector listening out for pipistrelles. She then went off to university and worked on chalk grassland ecology and started to get interested in the biodiversity and climate crises. After doing her biodiversity and conservation Masters she worked on climate change policy and then went on to study political debates around land ownership and access. She has worked in various mental health charities as a frontline advocate, trainer, and data analyst, and has a strong interest in social justice (particularly data justice!).

Madeline joined BCT in 2023 as the Science Projects Assistant to help out with the passive acoustic monitoring on the BBats and Forest Projects, handling equipment and the acoustic data from processing to classification.

Other than bats, Madeline loves rock climbing, reading weird poetry, and being active in her local community.

Email Madeline: mdavis@bats.org.uk

Alfie Gleeson is a Science Projects Officer at the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT). At BCT he supports a variety of science projects by handling and managing data from large scale passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) projects including: the National Forestry Index, the Special Area of Conservation Barbastelle project, and the Forest Rewilding project. He assists in the development of new projects, such as the airborne DNA project, as well as research support for existing ones, such as equipment testing for the PAM projects. He also communicates with stakeholders across projects to help ensure their smooth and timely delivery. Alfie recently completed his PhD on the evolution of great apes at University College London, where he combined the latest genetic and morphological methods to explore the relationship between complex anatomical structures and the diversity and evolution of genes underpinning those structures.

Email Alfie: agleeson@bats.org.uk

Philip joined BCT in 2003 and has been involved in the voluntary conservation sector since 1998. He developed an interest in bats in 2001 through volunteering at one of London's best bat sites, the WWT London Wetland Centre, where he assists with regular bat surveys and leads bat walks and wildlife walks. He is the Chair of London Bat Group and also a member of Dorset Bat Group and spends a lot of his spare time leading or assisting with surveys of London's open spaces. Philip finds this very rewarding as, although London's bat habitat is somewhat fragmented, the region certainly has its fair share of interesting species. He also leads the Richmond Bat Species Action Plan steering group which works to protect and enhance habitat and improve public engagement in this important borough for bats.

Email Philip: pbriggs@bats.org.uk

Parvathy is currently working as the National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP) Survey Officer. She joined BCT in September 2020 as the NBMP Survey Coordinator, after completed her PhD, as a commonwealth Scholar, at Gareth Jones' Lab at University of Bristol. Hailing from Kerala in India, she completed both her BSc and MSc at College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University. In the latter degree, she specialised in wildlife studies. Parvathy is a biodiversity scientist with a passion for conservation biology and for communicating science to the public. Trained in India and the UK, she enjoys working in both Europe and Asia, combining the strengths of the two scientific cultures. She is committed to using science to promote and facilitate conservation and to using outreach and communication to explain the importance of biodiversity conservation/ environmental protection to a new generation in Europe, Asia and worldwide.

Email Parvathy: pvenugopal@bats.org.uk

Lucy grew up in Somerset, where spending time outdoors was a big part of her childhood. Her interest in the natural world led her to pursue a degree in Earth Sciences at university, where she studied topics such as climate science and the evolution of life on Earth. This deepened her appreciation for all forms of life and heightened her concern about the impact of human activities on the environment and wildlife.

A lifelong animal lover, Lucy has been inspired by nature documentaries and continues to attend wildlife-related events and volunteer with conservation organisations. She is particularly passionate about citizen science and the opportunities it provides for everyone—not just experts—to contribute to conservation efforts. Her love of bats led her to participate in the NBMP, where she learned about different bat species and heard their calls for the first time.

Lucy joined BCT in February 2025 as the NBMP Surveys and Training Support Officer. In this role, she organises NBMP training workshops, which help participants develop the skills and confidence to take part in NBMP surveys, while also supporting the overall running of the programme.

Email Lucy: lking@bats.org.uk

After volunteering on BCT’s helpline in 2020, and then as a Seasonal Bat Advisor in 2023, Sophia now works as the BBatS Project Officer. Still in its early years, she is developing this large-scale passive acoustic monitoring project. Sophia is also interested in finding ways to make connecting with nature more accessible for people, so that everyone can experience the benefits.

In her spare time Sophia volunteers for several conservation charities, including as a trustee for the London Bat Group and joining in various bat surveys.

Email Sophia: : sdavies@bats.org.uk