Staff Profile

I'm currently a Postdoctoral research associate in Jessica Martin's lab at the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Newcastle University working on a BBSRC funded project entitled "Breathless Birds: Does air hunger impact the welfare of poultry at slaughter?"

My research focus includes the utilisation and development of behavioural, physiological and neurophysiological methods to understand more about animal welfare and affective states.

My main research interests involve the integration of behavioural, physiological, neurophysiological and statistical modelling to investigate animal welfare issues. Specific areas of interest include pain, animal affect and the development of novel methods to assess welfare and affective state.

Project topics I have worked on include: animal welfare, laboratory rodents, pigs, rabbits, rodent handling refinements, humane killing, euthanasia, stress, anxiety and depression, pain, analgesia, play behaviour and social network analysis. 

• Articles

  • Clarkson J, Leach MC, McKeegan DEF, Martin JE. The perspectives of UK personnel towards current killing practices for laboratory rodents. Scientific Reports 2023, 13, 4808.
  • Clarkson JM, Martin JE, Sparrey J, Leach MC, McKeegan DEF. Striving for humane deaths for laboratory mice: hypobaric hypoxia provides a potential alternative to carbon dioxide exposure. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2023, 290(1997), 20222446.
  • Clarkson JM, Paraskevopoulou A, Martin JE. A decade on: Where is the UK poultry industry for emergency on-farm killing?. Poultry Science 2023, 102(5), 102604.
  • Miller AL, Clarkson J, Quigley C, Neville V, Krall C, Geijer-Simson A, Flecknell PA, Leach MC. Evaluating pain and analgesia effectiveness following routine castration in rabbits using behaviour and facial expressions. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2022, 9, 782486.
  • Clarkson JM, McKeegan DEF, Sparrey J, Marchesi F, Leach MC, Martin JE. Determining candidate hypobaric hypoxia profiles for humane killing of laboratory mice. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2022, 9, 834478.
  • Martin JE, Baxter EM, Clarkson JM, Farish M, Clutton RE, Greenhalgh SN, Gregson R, McKeegan DEF. Characterizing candidate decompression rates for hypobaric hypoxic stunning of pigs. Part 1: Reflexive behavior and physiological responses. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2022, 9, 1027878.
  • Clarkson JM, Baxter EM, Martin JE. Who Plays With Whom: Farrowing Environment Influences Isolation of Foster Piglets in Play. Frontiers in Animal Science 2021, 2, 724080.
  • Clarkson JM, Leach MC, Flecknell PA, Rowe C. Negative mood affects the expression of negative but not positive emotions in mice. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2020, 287(1933), 1636.
  • Clarkson JM, Dwyer DM, Flecknell PA, Leach MC, Rowe C. Handling method alters the hedonic value of reward in laboratory mice. Scientific Reports 2018, 8(1), 2448.

• Review

  • Clarkson JM, Martin JE, McKeegan DEF. A review of methods used to kill laboratory rodents: issues and opportunities. Laboratory Animals 2022, 56(5), 419-436.