Thomas Connell
Snakebite Envenomation
Thomas Connell is a PhD researcher at the University of Melbourne’s School of Population and Global Health and a member of the Melbourne Biodiversity Institute’s Nature Academy. His research sits at the intersection of health, narrative, and human–environment relations. Inspired by a personal experience of snakebite envenomation following an unexpected encounter on an inner-city Melbourne beach, his work explores how emotionally significant wildlife encounters shape people’s relationships with nature and influence attitudes toward conservation and coexistence with dangerous species.
Thesis
Neurotoxic Memories: Meaning-Making, Trauma, and Coexistence after Snakebite Envenomation
This project investigates how people experience and interpret encounters with venomous snakes in Australia. While snakebite is typically framed as a biomedical emergency, the research examines it as an emotionally significant event that can disrupt relationships with place, nature, and wildlife. Drawing on narrative inquiry alongside ecological knowledge and attention to the affective dimensions of experience, the project explores how people make meaning from snakebite and how these experiences shape attitudes toward conservation and coexistence with venomous species. The research aims to contribute new perspectives on human–wildlife relations and the role of emotional experience in shaping biodiversity futures.