Since graduating from university with a degree in Microbiology, I have worked in a variety of laboratories, both academic and industry focussed. I have developed a wide range of skills including: bacteriology, molecular biology, cell culture and confocal microscopy.
I began my academic career at the Wellcome Sanger Institute working on phenotyping induced human pluripotent stem cells and primary-derived intestinal organoids as a model for inflammatory bowel dieseae. At the University of Cambridge I was involved in several projects including clinical sample processing and analysis, high-throughput confocal microscopy and designing experiments to investigate host-pathogen interactions.
Since joining LSTM in 2021, I have been working to establish a new microbiology laboratory and developing protocols for the Tracking Antimicrobial Resistance Across Care Settings (TRACS) -Liverpool project. This project will track the transmission of extended-spectrum beta lactamase and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E/CPE) in hospitals and care homes in Liverpool. We will do this by recruiting care homes and hospital patients and collecting stool and associated environmental samples over a period of months. By testing these samples for ESBL-E/CPE organisms and using gene sequencing techniques to track bacteria we hope to identify where transmission of resistant bacteria is happening. We then aim to combine this information with routine data on antibiotic usage and patterns of care and will work with the hospital flow teams and participating care homes to co-design and pilot interventions to block transmission and, ultimately, reduce the number of drug-resistant infections.