With Prof Andrew Smith (University of Glamorgan), he was elected joint chair of the International Gothic Association for 2009-2013 at the biannual conference held at the University of Lancaster UK in July 2009. He is interested in supervising dissertations on all periods of the Gothic, particularly where these touch upon Bram Stoker, J. S. Le Fanu or Algernon Blackwood, continues to work upon the ecoGothic and Queer Gothic, and maintains an interest in nineteenth century medicine, pathology and criminal psychology. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society,a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.