In early 2008 I was diagnosed as autistic (specifically Asperger’s syndrome). At the time I was in the second year of a part time masters in History and Philosophy of Science at Leeds University. Upon finishing the masters I started researching autism and formulating a PhD proposal. Having a masters in History and Philosophy of Science and having just being diagnosed as autistic made me ideally placed to apply for a PhD in History of Autism and Philosophy of Psychiatry.

I am interested in advocacy for both autism and psychiatric issues more generally, having both personally experienced and known many others who have experienced extreme levels of intolerance. Additionally, psychiatric issues can cause immense problems to quality of life and functioning; society should care for such people where appropriate. Though I have had some immensely bad experience from psychiatric professionals I have also had some extremely positive experiences and have very much overall benefited from our current medical and welfare institutions when in times of need.

Outside my academic interests, I love reading fiction, especially fiction which explore the inner parts of the psyche (Dostoevsky, Conrad, Roth, Ballard). Used to have a great interest in 1960s to 1975 science fiction (Ursula Le Guin, Philip K Dick, J.G. Ballard, Kurt Vonnegut, etc). I am a purple-white belt in Shotokan karate. I have very diverse musical tastes, including  techno, ambient, classical, post-rock, post-metal, drum & bass and psytrance. My bandcamp gives an indication of what I am currently listening to: https://bandcamp.com/Samsonov. 

I am a vegan, primarily for ethical reasons. Becoming vegan is, in my experience, relatively easy and I think there are strong ethical grounds for doing so. PETA are a good source of advice on becoming vegan.

I only buy fair-trade clothes. If you have excess money then I think there are strong ethical grounds for ensuring that people who make our clothes are paid a sufficient level that they can have a decent life.

I have tried multiple times to go plastic free but failed. Any advice here would be most welcome.

I am a member of the Labour party, you can join here:

I make monthly donates to four charities:

There are many different charities you could donate to. If you do not already do so and if you are not facing poverty then it might be worthwhile considering if you should donate to one of them.