Sarah Phillips

Research Scientist

My current projects look at how gut microbes contribute to maintaining health during pregnancy and early life; and also in healthy ageing.

I joined the Hall lab in March 2018 as a project scientist working on the BAMBI study which looked at characterising the microbiota of preterm infants, and looking at the effects of probiotics in restoring “normal” microbiota development over time in these infants.

Following this, I am now coordinating and managing two large, longitudinal human studies (the MOTION study and the PEARL study).

The PEARL study will investigate how gut microbes contribute to maintaining health during pregnancy and early life. We will look at How microbes change during pregnancy, how these microbes pass onto the infant, how various factors influence these microbial communities (e.g. diet and antibiotics), and how these microbes affect host processes (e.g. disease onset).

The MOTION study will investigate the role of the gut microbiome during normal healthy ageing in order to provide knowledge to develop strategies that will improve lifelong health and wellbeing.

I have a BSc in Biomedical Science and have previously worked in a range of public health and clinical microbiology laboratories. I have also a range of experience in project management and business support.

Sarah Phillips

Research Areas

  • Infection Resistance
  • Beneficial Host Responses