I obtained my BSc in Microbiology at Aberystwyth University in 2023. There I was introduced to bioinformatics, analysing the genome of a cyanobacterium. I then completed my MRes in Microbial Genomics at the University of Birmingham in 2024. In my MRes I investigated the relative abundance of AMR genes and phage dynamics within gut microbiome samples of ICU patients. Through that project, I learned how to work with gut microbiota, including phages, in the lab and how to analyse metagenomic samples using bioinformatic tools on an HPC.

I started my PhD project with the Hall Lab in 2025, where I investigate the effects of pathogenic and beneficial microbiota on the infant microbiome. I work mostly with bioinformatics where I analyse the general state of the microbiome and the microbiota within, sometimes focusing on specific microbes and their roles. I also investigate the differences in genomic and functional variations between infant populations. The bioinformatics work that is done at the start of my PhD may be used in the set-up of in vitro models to test conclusions drawn from the bioinformatic analysis.