People
Centre Director & Principal Investigator
Professor Jonathan Birch
Jonathan Birch is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the inaugural Director of the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience. He serves as Principal Investigator for our research programme and provides strategic leadership, shaping the research agenda and centre activities.
Email: J.Birch2@lse.ac.uk
Shared mailbox: Philosophy.Sentience@lse.ac.uk
Team
Our team bring specialist expertise across key priority areas. We work towards a shared goal of using the growing science of animal minds to inform better policy and improve the ways in which animals are cared for. We are committed to making real‑world impact through world‑class research, policy engagement, and collaboration with organisations, industry professionals and wider public audiences.
Jackie McAndrew
Centre Manager
Priority area: Impact and Administration
Email: J.A.McAndrew@lse.ac.uk
Shared mailbox: Philosophy.Sentience@lse.ac.uk
Dr Feiyang Wang
Research Officer
Priority area: Changing Attitudes and Behaviours
Email: F.Wang14@lse.ac.uk
Dr Frédéric Basso
Associate Professor of Economic Psychology
Priority areas: Changing Attitudes and Behaviours, Advisory Board
Email: F.Basso@lse.ac.uk
Kristina Kiminiūtė
Research Assistant ("Pre-Doc")
Priority areas: Changing Attitudes and Behaviours, Animals and AI
Email: K.Kiminiute@lse.ac.uk
Current:
- Eva Read, working on the Invertebrate Sentience priority area. PhD in Foundations of Animal Sentience (ASENT) project.
- Matilda Gibbons, working on the Invertebrate Sentience priority area.
- Olivia Railton: supporting Animals and AI priority area, via the Future Impact Group (FIG) fellowship.
- Isabella Logothetis: Occasional Research Assistant, supporting the Changing Behaviours and Attitudes priority area.
- Ella Rouja: Occasional Research Assistant, LSE-NYU Seed Fund project.
- Misbah Fathima: Occasional Research Assistant, LSE-NYU Seed Fund project.
- Rebecca Dreier: supporting schemes linked with Science for Animal Welfare.
Past:
- Spencer Jury: Occasional Research Assistant, supporting the Animals and AI priority area (summer 2025).
Network
The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience is based in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
We build on earlier research led by our Director and Principal Investigator through the project Foundations of Animal Sentience (ASENT), funded by the European Research Council and based in the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Sciences.
We launched in Autumn 2025, with the generous support of the Jeremy Coller Foundation.
We are supported by an Advisory Board comprising of leading experts across related disciplines and institutions.
