Colin completed his BSc degree in Zoology at NUI Galway in 2020, followed by an MSc in Conservation Behaviour at ATU Galway City in 2021. He has spent time researching species such as red squirrel and Eurasian lynx. This helped develop interests in topics such as habitat connectivity, species reintroductions and ecological restoration.

In September 2021, he joined the Marine and Freshwater Research Centre in Galway as a Cullen Scholar. His current research is part of a 4-year PhD project, funded by the Marine Institute. The project is supervised by Dr Heather Lally, Dr Conor Graham of ATU Galway City and Dr Elvira de Eyto of the Marine Institute.

His research focus is on biodiversity, conservation and habitat restoration in Wild Nephin National Park. Specifically, the research aims to collect baseline data on the vegetation and bird species of the Nephin Forest area within the National Park, prior to restoration actions. While also exploring the potential benefits these actions may have for ecosystem services and habitat connectivity in the landscape.