Rate My Professor Tim Edwards

Edwards' research centres on learning processes, motivating operations, stimulus control, and their application to socially significant behaviours, particularly animal olfactory detection. As a key member of the Scent Detection Research Group, he leads efforts to train pet dogs using positive reinforcement for detecting lung cancer from breath samples, invasive fish like koi carp, threatened species, and understanding odour segregation in mixtures. His work develops automated scent-detection apparatus and evaluates technologies for medical diagnostics, conservation, and biosecurity, often in collaboration with experts in chemistry, biology, and medicine. Notable publications include 'Animal olfactory detection of human diseases: Guidelines and systematic review' (2017, Journal of Veterinary Behavior, with C. M. Browne et al., cited 107 times), 'Motivating operations and stimulus control' (2019, Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, with A. D. Lotfizadeh and A. Poling, cited 65 times), 'Automated canine scent-detection apparatus: technical description and training outcomes' (2019, Chemical Senses, cited 38 times), 'Motivating Operations in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management: Review and Discussion of Relevant Articles' (2014, with A. D. Lotfizadeh and A. Poling, cited 34 times), 'Evaluation of giant African pouched rats for detection of pulmonary tuberculosis' (2015, PLoS One, cited 33 times), and 'Reproducibility of African giant pouched rats detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis' (2017, BMC Infectious Diseases, cited 27 times). These contributions have advanced guidelines for animal-assisted detection, improved training protocols, and demonstrated practical impacts in global health challenges like tuberculosis screening and cancer detection.