Research Interests:

Bacteria are incredibly successful organisms and are ubiquitous on Earth. Bacteria are also essential for our own survival; the bacteria living in our bodies (the human microbiota) influence our health and nutrition; bacteria also promote the growth of plants and animals that we rely on for food; and bacteria provide us with the vast majority of drugs we use to treat infectious diseases and cancer. Only a relatively small number of bacterial species actually pose a threat to human health. Research in my laboratory is broadly aimed at understanding how bacteria interact with each other and with plants and animals to form complex microbial communities (known as microbiomes) in these higher organisms. We are investigating the influence that these microbiomes have on the health, reproduction and evolution of their host plants and animals. We are also attempting to isolate and identify new antimicrobials from the antibiotic-producing bacteria that live in symbiosis with fungus growing ants:

Research projects in my lab: Analysing the mutualism between fungus growing ants and actinomycete bacteria (funded by UEA, MRC and NERC) Analysis of nitric oxide signalling in Streptomyces species (funded by BBSRC and UEA) Translocation and biosynthesis of cell surface lipoproteins in Gram-positive bacteria (funded by BBSRC and NERC) Engineering Gram-positive bacteria for biotechnology (funded by BBSRC) Analysis of an essential M. tuberculosis signalling pathway in Streptomyces species (funded by the Royal Society and UEA) We are grateful to the University of East Anglia, BBSRC, NERC, MRC and The Royal Society for financial support.