Much of my scientific career has been focused on investigating bacterial warfare.

My PhD and first Postdoctoral position, at the University of Dundee, were focused on the investigation of the molecular basis of the anti-bacterial activity of the Type VI Secretion System in Serratia marcescens.

After this, I completed a short postdoc in the lab of Dr Julien Bergeron, investigating the mechanism underpinning the assembly of the bacterial flagellum in Salmonella spp.

In 2020, I was awarded a Sir Henry Wellcome Fellowship, which allowed me to start my own line of research focused on the discovery and characterisation of novel anti-phage systems. This fellowship took place between Newcastle University, where I conducted the initial phase of my work, and the University of Surrey, where I completed the project in 2024.

During this time, my research contributions have led to several publications reporting the discovery of previously unidentified anti-phage systems with unique mechanism of actions in Pseudomonas and Serratia species.

My current research as Lecturer (and starting March 2025 as MRC Career Development fellow) at the School of Infection & Immunity will delve into understanding the fundamental mechanisms underpinning the evolutionary dynamics between bacteria and their anti-phage systems and phages.

Using physiologically-relevant models, I will also explore how these dynamics can potentially impact the rapidly evolving field of phage therapy.

Bacteriophages (phages) outnumber bacteria in the environment, creating selective pressure that has driven bacteria to develop a wide array of anti-viral strategies, while phages, in turn, evolve counter-measures.

In recent years, approximately 200 new anti-phage systems have been discovered in bacterial genomes. Understanding this evolutionary arms race is uncovering exciting new areas of biology, including unexpected links between phage defence mechanisms and the innate immune systems of animals and plants.

My research combines comparative genomics, genetics, biochemistry, single-cell microscopy, and structural biology to identify novel loci involved in phage defence and elucidate the mechanistic details of these defence pathways.

This includes investigating how interactions with phages trigger these systems and the downstream responses that confer immunity. I am particularly focused on anti-phage systems in Serratia marcescens (and other species), Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

A key aspect of our work is to build more physiologically relevant contexts to better understand the role of these systems in vivo, incorporating appropriate environmental cues during phage predation, as well as their evolutionary dynamics with phages. This research has the potential to significantly impact the rapidly developing field of phage therapy.

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Prior publications

Grants and Awards listed are those received whilst working with the University of Glasgow.

• Phage Journeys: Unraveling Prophage and Antiphage systems Mobilisation in P. aeruginosa for Enhanced Phage Therapy Efficacy
  Medical Research Council
  2025 - 2030