Exploring the formation of the first galaxies with VISTA and JWST.

My research aims to understand how and when the first galaxies formed in the universe and to understand their properties and evolution. Much progress has been made in the last decade in understanding the growth of early galaxies out to higher and higher redshift. However, many open questions remain. My research primarily will make use of the PRIMER survery - 10 band near and mid infrared imaging - with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect and characterise the formation and evolution of the first galaxies. I am also using a combination of wide ground based imaging in the optical and near-infrared to explore the evolution of the bright end of the UV luminosity function.