Live Online CoursesRecorded CoursesPrevious CoursesConsultancyAboutContact

3

Online Courses in Applied Statistics, Genomics, Bioinformatics, Ecology and Social Sciences

Learn from leading experts, over 350 courses delivered since 2014 across 60 diverse subjects

About PR Stats

Founded in 2014, PR Stats is a leading provider of advanced, hands-on training for researchers and graduate students working in the life sciences and beyond. Initially focused on ecological statistics, our offerings have since grown to encompass a broad portfolio of applied courses across ecology, evolution and social sciences.

We collaborate with an international network of expert instructors to deliver practical, research-driven courses that blend theory with real-world data analysis. Our courses are designed to build core technical skills using primarily R and Python, as well as other softwares.
To date, PR stats has delivered over 300 courses in more than 60 subject areas, reaching thousands of researchers worldwide.

In addition to our scheduled live online courses, we offer:

Pre-recorded, on-demand courses for flexible learning

Bespoke in-house training tailored to research groups, NGOs, and academic institutions

Private tuition and consultancy for complex analyses and project support

Manuscript review services to help researchers strengthen their work pre-submission

Meet Our Team

Learn more about the team behind PR stat, bringing you high-quality statistical courses.

Dr. Oliver Hooker

Founder & Managing Partner

Oliver is a freshwater ecologist whose research focuses on ecological diversification, foraging specialisation, and phenotypic plasticity in cold-water fishes, particularly salmonids. His work explores how environmental and evolutionary forces shape morphological, ecological, and behavioural diversity across species and ecosystems. He has contributed to over a dozen peer-reviewed articles examining eco-morphological divergence, physiological trade-offs, and spatial resource partitioning in postglacial fish populations.

His research frequently involves field studies in northern and Arctic regions, combining stable isotope analysis, gene expression profiling, and ecological modelling to understand how species respond to climate variability and ecological constraints. Oliver’s studies often centre on Arctic charr, brown trout, and whitefish, investigating mechanisms of parallel evolution and adaptive divergence.

In addition to his academic research, Oliver is a Managing Director at PR Stats, where he helps design and deliver advanced training courses in ecological data analysis and R programming. His dual role in research and education supports the application of robust analytical techniques to real-world conservation and ecological challenges.

Education & Career
  • PhD in Ecology and Evolution (University of Glasgow)
  • Co-director at PR Statistics, specialising in ecological data analysis training
  • Lead researcher on Arctic charr, brown trout, and whitefish systems in postglacial lakes
Research Focus

Oliver’s work investigates adaptive divergence and parallel evolution in freshwater fishes. He uses stable isotope analysis, gene expression profiling, and ecological modelling to understand phenotypic plasticity and resource use across environmental gradients. His fieldwork is often conducted in Arctic and northern temperate ecosystems.

Current Projects
  • Phenotypic and behavioural responses of Arctic charr to extreme climatic events
  • Eco-morphological and genomic parallelism in Holarctic fish species
  • Resource polymorphism and eco-evolutionary dynamics in postglacial fishes
Professional Consultancy

Oliver provides ecological expertise to academic and applied research projects in conservation biology, climate adaptation, and freshwater biodiversity.

Teaching & Skills
  • Delivers courses in ecological modelling, R programming, and multivariate methods
  • Specialist in stable isotope ecology, freshwater food webs, and trait-based analysis
  • Strong advocate for reproducibility, applied statistics, and cross-disciplinary training
List of publications
Hooker, O. E., Adams, C. E. & Chavarie, L. (2023)
  • Title: Arctic charr phenotypic responses to abrupt generational scale temperature change: an insight into how cold‑water fish could respond to extreme climatic events
  • Journal: Environmental Biology of Fishes, 106, 909–922
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10641-022-01363-0
Jacobs, A., Carruthers, M., Yurchenko, A., Gordeeva, N. V., Alekseyev, S. S., Hooker, O., Leong, J. S., Minkley, D. R., Rondeau, E. B., Koop, B. F., Adams, C. E. & Elmer, K. R. (2020)
  • Title: Parallelism in eco-morphology and gene expression despite variable evolutionary and genomic backgrounds in a Holarctic fish
  • Journal: PLOS Genetics
  • Published: April 17, 2020
  • DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008658
  • Pages: (Not numbered in e‐pub)
Jacobs, A., Carruthers, M., Yurchenko, A., Gordeeva, N. V., Alekseyev, S. S., Hooker, O., Leong, J. S., Minkley, D. R., Rondeau, E. B., Koop, B. F., Adams, C. E. & Elmer, K. R. (2019)
  • Title: Convergence in form and function overcomes non‑parallel evolutionary histories in a Holarctic fish
  • DOI: 10.1101/265272 (preprint)
  • Journal: (Preprint)
Skúlason, S., Parsons, K. J., Svanbäck, R., Räsänen, K., Ferguson, M. M., Adams, C. E., Amundsen, P.‑A., Bartels, P., Bean, C. W., Boughman, J. W., Englund, G., Guðbrandsson, J., Hooker, O. E., Hudson, A. G., Kahilainen, K. K., Knudsen, R., Kristjánsson, B. K., Leblanc, C. A‑L., Jónsson, Z., Öhlund, G., Smith, C. & Snorrason, S. S. (2019)
Hughes, M. R., Hooker, O. E., Van Leeuwen, T., Kettle‑White, A., Thorne, A., Prodöhl, P., & Adams, C. E. (2018)
  • Title: Alternative routes to piscivory: Contrasting growth trajectories in brown trout (Salmo trutta) ecotypes exhibiting contrasting life history strategies
  • Journal: Ecology of Freshwater Fish
  • Pages: (Not available)
  • DOI: 10.1111/eff.12421
Piggot, C. V. H., Verspoor, E., Greer, R., Hooker, O. E., Newton, J. & Adams, C. E. (2018)
  • Title: Phenotypic and resource use partitioning amongst sympatric lacustrine brown trout, Salmo trutta
  • Journal: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
  • Pages: (Not available)
  • DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly03
Recknagel, H., Hooker, O. E., Adams, C. E. & Elmer, K. R. (2017)
  • Title: Ecosystem size predicts eco-morphological variability in a postglacial diversification
  • Journal: Ecology and Evolution
  • Pages: (Not available)
  • DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3013
Hooker, O. E., Van Leeuwen, T. E. & Adams, C. E. (2017)
  • Title: Physiological costs of prey switching reinforce foraging specialisation
  • Journal: Journal of Animal Ecology, 86, 605–614
  • DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12632
Adams, C. E., Bean, C. W., Dodd, J. A., Down, A., Etheridge, E. C., Gowans, A. R. D., Hooker, O. E., Knudsen, R., Lyle, A. A., Winfield, I. J. & Præbel, K. (2016)
  • Title: Inter- and intra-population phenotypic and genotypic structuring in the European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, a rare freshwater fish in Scotland
  • Journal: Journal of Fish Biology, 88(2), 580–594
  • DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12855
Hooker, O. E., Barry, J., Van Leeuwen, T., Lyle, A., Newton, J., Cunningham, P. & Adams, C. E. (2016)
  • Title: Morphological, ecological and behavioural differentiation of sympatric profundal and pelagic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in Loch Dughaill, Scotland
  • Journal: Hydrobiologia, 783(1), 209–221
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10750-015-2599-0
Van Leeuwen, T., Hooker, O. E., Metcalfe, N. & Adams, C. E. (2015)
  • Title: Differences in diet-induced flexibility in morphology and growth in a partially migratory species
  • Journal: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
  • Pages: (Not available)
  • DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-2015-0300
Hooker, O. E., Maitland, P. S., Bean, C. W. & Adams, C. E. (2015)
  • Title: Effectiveness of Local Biodiversity Action Plans to Identify Locally Rare and Endangered Fish in Scotland
  • Journal: Scottish Geographical Journal, 1–11
  • DOI: 10.1080/14702541.2015.1077267
Barry, J., Newton, M., Dodd, J. A., Hooker, O. E., Boylan, P., Lucas, M. C. & Adams, C. E. (2015)
  • Title: Foraging specialisms influence space use and movement patterns of the European eel Anguilla anguilla
  • Journal: Hydrobiologia, 1–16
  • DOI: 10.1007/s10750-015-2466-z
Show more

Richard Hooker

Managing Partner

Richard oversees operations, partnerships, and instructor facilitation at PR Stats, helping to expand the company’s course offerings and global reach. With a background in strategic management and organisational development, he focuses on streamlining internal systems, supporting business growth, and ensuring smooth day-to-day operations. Richard plays a central role in shaping the direction of PR Stats, ensuring the platform remains responsive to the needs of researchers and educators across the life sciences.
Show more

Dr. Niamh Mimnagh

Lead Instructor

Niamh is a statistician working at the interface of ecology, epidemiology, and data science. Her research focuses on applying and developing statistical and machine learning methods to address real-world challenges such as estimating species population sizes from count and trace data, and predicting livestock disease re-emergence using sparse or imbalanced datasets. She works with a wide array of statistical approaches, including Bayesian hierarchical models, N-mixture models, anomaly detection algorithms, and spatial analysis techniques.

Niamh earned her PhD in Statistics, with a focus on multispecies abundance modelling, and holds a first-class MSc in Data Science. Alongside her research, she is actively engaged in science communication and education, running a popular blog on applied statistics for non-specialists, and regularly delivering workshops and guest lectures on topics such as GLMs and machine learning with imbalanced data.

Education & Career
  • PhD in Statistics (Multispecies Abundance Modelling)
  • MSc in Data Science (First Class Honours)
  • Instructor, consultant, and science communicator in statistical ecology and epidemiology
Research Focus

Niamh’s work centres on extracting meaningful insights from complex ecological and epidemiological data. She is particularly interested in population estimation techniques and predictive modelling for conservation and disease management, using advanced statistical tools and reproducible workflows.

Current Projects
  • Development of Bayesian and ML approaches for estimating species abundance from imperfect data
  • Modelling livestock disease risk using spatial and temporal predictors
  • Creating accessible educational materials for teaching applied statistics in R
Professional Consultancy

Niamh provides expert statistical support to academic and applied research projects, with a focus on ecological monitoring, conservation planning, and disease modelling. She also advises on study design and data workflows for interdisciplinary teams.

Teaching & Skills
  • Teaches topics including GLMs, Bayesian statistics, machine learning for imbalanced data, and spatial statistics in R
  • Advocates for reproducibility, open science, and accessible statistical training
  • Experienced in communicating complex methods to broad audiences
Links
Show more

Our Approach

Here’s how we deliver effective learning at PRstats:

1. Research-Driven Course Design

Each PR Stats course is crafted in collaboration with leading researchers working at the forefront of their fields. We prioritise rigorous, real-world applications of statistical and computational methods, ensuring that content reflects current trends and challenges in ecology, evolution, genomics, and more. Our instructors bring deep domain expertise, making every course directly relevant to active research.

2. Hands-On Learning

At PR Stats, we believe learning is most effective when it’s applied. All our courses combine expert-led lectures with practical coding sessions using real datasets. Whether in R or Python, participants develop the confidence to apply tools and techniques in reproducible workflows. This hands-on approach ensures learners can immediately implement what they’ve learned in their own work.

3. Broad & Evolving Focus

PR Stats offers a wide and ever-expanding range of courses—from classic statistical modelling and phylogenetics to emerging fields like spatial omics and deep learning. We regularly introduce new topics and tools in response to the evolving needs of life science researchers, ensuring our course catalogue stays fresh, relevant, and impactful.

4. Flexible Learning Options

PR Stats courses are designed to fit around the schedules of busy researchers, graduate students, and professionals. All training is delivered live online with recordings available for review, and courses are structured in flexible time blocks. This accessibility allows learners to upskill without needing to pause their research or careers.

5. Researcher Support Services

We go beyond course delivery. PR Stats provides pre-course preparation guides, assistance with software installation, and post-course resources. Participants gain access to community support channels and direct contact with instructors. Our commitment is to make learning smooth, supportive, and impactful—before, during, and after every course.

6. Global Impact Since 2014

Since 2014, PR Stats has supported thousands of researchers in over 50 countries. Our courses are trusted by PhD students, postdocs, academic staff, and industry professionals alike. With a decade-long track record of high-quality, practical training, PR Stats continues to help life scientists worldwide build meaningful, modern analytical skills.

Get in touch

We’d love to hear from you. Please fill out this form.