Research interests
My research area is animal behaviour and welfare. More specifically, I am interested in how rewards can be used to improve the welfare of laboratory animals.
It is believed that an animal’s long-term emotional (affective) state is shaped by the cumulative experience of both negative experiences and positive rewarding events. Using laboratory mice as a model species, the aim of my PhD project is to establish the long- and short-term impacts of reward schedules on animal emotional states, and compare the effectiveness of different types of rewards (social and nutritional). I will assess whether these rewards can help reduce stress reactivity and increase resilience to future negative events, and increase both physical and emotional wellbeing.
Education and career
BSc(Hons), Wildlife Biology, Manchester Metropolitan University (2014 – 2017)
MRes, Biological Sciences (Wildlife Behaviour and Conservation), University of Chester (2017 – 2018)
Research Assistant, COMSTAR Lab, University of Newcastle (2019-2020)
PhD, BBSRC NLD DTP studentship, Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group, University of Liverpool (2020-2024). Supervisors: Prof Jane Hurst, Prof Candy Rowe (University of Newcastle) & Dr Matthew Leach (University of Newcastle).
Publications
Bateson, M., & Nolan, R. (2022). A Refined Method for Studying Foraging Behaviour and Body Mass in Group-Housed European Starlings. Animals, 12(9), 1159.
Nolan, R., Welsh, A., Geary, M., Hartley, M., Dempsey, A., Mono, J. C., Osei, D., & Stanley, C. R. (2019). Camera Traps Confirm the Presence of the White-naped Mangabey Cercocebus lunulatus in Cape Three Points Forest Reserve, Western Ghana. Primate Conservation, 33, 5.
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