I received my PhD in sedimentary geochemistry (isotope stratigraphy across the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary) in 1997 from the ETH in Zurich, after which I carried out postdoctoral research in France (municipal waste glass for recycling) and Canada (Sr, C, O and S isotope evolution of seawater). I held positions as lecturer and senior lecturer in geochemistry at James Cook University in Australia where my students and I worked primarily on sediment transport from catchment to the Great Barrier Reef. Since coming to UCL in 2008, I have started to revisit my interests in the ancient Earth, and have held visiting fellowships in Germany (2006-2008) and China (2012-2016) as part of this work. My most recent research focusses on the Proterozoic geology of China, both North and South cratons, and how the chemical composition of sedimentary rocks there can shed light on the global carbon cycle during the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic transition.