Dr Kimberley Simpson

School of Biosciences

Early Career Research Fellow

Image of Dr. Kimberley Simpson conducting fieldwork.
Profile picture of Image of Dr. Kimberley Simpson conducting fieldwork.
k.j.simpson@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 0034

Full contact details

Dr Kimberley Simpson
School of Biosciences
Alfred Denny Building
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
Profile

2024 - Present: Fellow in Nature-Based Climate Solutions, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield
2021 - Present: Research Associate (Honorary Appointment), Botany Department, Rhodes University, South Africa
2019 - 2024: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Sheffield
Project: ‘How do global change and functional traits influence savanna woody plant encroachment? (Jan 2020 - July 2024)
Project: 'Does physiological innovation change the fundamental relationships between growth and survival?’ (April 2019 - Jan 2020)
2017 - 2019: Associate Lecturer, Biology Dept., University of York, UK
2017: University Teacher, Dept. Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK
2013 - 2018: PhD, Dept. Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK (supervised by Colin Osborne and Gavin Thomas)

Research interests

I am an ecologist interested in the causes and consequences of plant trait diversity, particularly those relating to fire. Plant traits are the axis around which fire-prone ecosystems turn, by governing both the fire regime and vegetation responses to it, in a tight co-evolutionary process with Earth-system-scale consequences. However, this feedback is increasingly transformed by substantial human-driven changes to fire regimes and plant communities worldwide. My goal is to develop a global understanding of plant-fire relationships in the Anthropocene, in order to evaluate the impacts of environmental change and design effective mitigation measures.

Teaching activities

I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy with extensive teaching experience having taught on 18 undergraduate and postgraduate modules.

Professional activities and memberships

- Associate Editor for Journal of Ecology and Fire Ecology
- Honorary Research Associate at the Botany Department, Rhodes University, South Africa