Ash Silva is a British-Portuguese scientist with an enduring passion for the natural world and animal behaviour.

Ash Silva is in her third year of education at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford. She is 21 years old.

Currently, Ash is undertaking a research project for her Master's degree, which aims to understand the relationship between social contexts and rumble vocalisation characteristics in African elephants (Loxodonta africana). In 2025, Ash will visit Nanyuki, Kenya for six weeks to carry out fieldwork and collect data for this project.

In 2023, Ash designed and carried out independent research analysing the acoustic behaviour of Manx Shearwaters. This caused her to develop a deep appreciation for the breadth, ubiquity, and ecological importance of acoustic signalling, and she became fascinated by the ways in which variation in sounds could be measured and classified.

Ash also participated in a competitive four-week biodiversity surveying internship in 2023, which targeted birds, invertebrates, and terrestrial plants. She gained valuable logistical insight into rigorous and systematic data collection, in addition to learning novel analytical techniques in R and managing complex, extensive datasets.

She achieved a high upper-second class result in her most recent final examinations, all A*s in A-levels, and all 9s in GCSEs. She recieved two academic attainment awards in 2021 for achieving full marks in her A-level Biology examinations and her EPQ.

Ash is a competitive powerlifter and the president of the powerlifting society at Lady Margaret Hall. She is responsible for organizing training sessions, coordinating competitions, and fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for members to pursue their strength goals. Powerlifting revolutionised her relationship with her body and she hopes to share the sport's transformative power with others.

Ash is an estranged student, and served as the sole representative of estranged and care-leaver students within her college. Her experiences overcoming hardship throughout her youth have served as a powerful springboard from which she has developed a dedicated, enthusiastic, and flexible approach to her education and career.