About
I am a microbiologist and microbiome scientists. My background includes microbial ecology, molecular biology, environmental and clinical microbiology. I started my research career by studying the microbial communities in contaminated groundwater in Prof Mike Larkin's lab (PhD, Queen's University Belfast, 2014). I then switched to clinical microbiology by joining Prof Sheila Patrick's lab (Queen's University Belfast) for my first postdoc. During this time, I collaborated on a randomised controlled trial (RCT) for the evaluation of disinfection methods during surgery. In 2015 I moved to Liverpool and joined Prof Chris Probert's lab and working with him ever since. I am currently researching the gut microbiome of patients with intestinal diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. I also had the opportunity to be involved in metabolomics projects by studying the volatile organic profiles of patients with various conditions.
I am passionate about public engagement and making science accessible to all. I took part at Meet the scientist (spring 2022) creating with a colleague an activity on poo, gastrointestinal health, gut microbiota and metabolomics. I was also selected as a speaker for the 2022 edition of Pint of Science, the largest science festival in the world, where I talked about microorganisms and gut microbiota, their role in our health, how the community changes during IBD and how the western diet negatively influences it.