Maddie is from England and started studying for a BS in Biology at the University of St. Andrews in 2009. Interested in aquatic research, she volunteered at the Scottish Oceans Institute, and, in 2012, was successful in applying for a semester exchange program with James Cook University in Australia, where she also helped out at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. Her newfound interest in coral reef ecology led to the change to a BS in Marine Biology and to her volunteering on biodiversity projects with Operation Wallacea in Honduras. Maddie’s dissertation was focused on the behaviour of an invasive freshwater fish. ​

After graduating in 2013, Maddie received a course scholarship at Bermuda Institute of Oceanographic Sciences. This was followed by a research internship in Dr. Andrea Manica’s Evolutionary Ecology group at the University of Cambridge, helping investigate the communication between co-operative hunting partners, the coral trout and green moray eel. 

She is now a Masters student in Dr. Berumen’s Reef Ecology Lab at KAUST, where she is studying population genetics of sea anemones and looking into their Symbiodnium associations. Aside from her studies, Maddie enjoys music, horse riding, target shooting, and visiting beautiful places!