I’m Dr Emma Lisa Bell, and I started Common Thread because I care about understanding where we come from, properly.

I’m half Scottish and half Polish, and like many people, I grew up with bits of information, stories passed down, and gaps that never quite made sense. The more I looked into it, the more I realised how much can be lost or misunderstood when things are taken at face value.

My background is in science, and that has shaped how I approach this work. I am used to working with evidence, questioning assumptions, and taking the time to get things right. I bring that same mindset to family history. I do not make connections just because they seem to fit. If something is included, it is because it stands up.

My PhD in biology also helps me interpret the DNA side of ancestry in a careful and meaningful way, alongside historical records.

But this is not just about research. It is about people. The aim is to understand the lives behind the records, and how those lives connect to your own. For many people, that brings a clearer sense of who they are and how they got here.

That is what Common Thread is about.