I am a Leverhulme funded PDRA in the lab of Prof. Tom Ellis working to establish engineered approaches to analyse holobiont systems. 

Specifically, work explores developing synthetic biology tools to rationally decode or rewire holobiont systems - the assembly of both a host and its associated microbiota. My current work explores the development of novel genetic toolkits to engineer holobiont microbiota members which have an intimate symbiotic relationship with their host -  for example the honeybee symbiont, Snodgrassella alvi. Current projects involving S. alvi aim to explore manipulation of S. alvi genetics in the context of a holobiont to decipher the role of various metabolic pathways in S. alvi and understanding the resulting effect on its host Apis mellifera (european honeybee) , and finally developing genetic tools such as biosensors to detect and record environmental pollutants within the honeybee gut microbiome.

By understanding the principles of how hosts and microbiota assemble to give rise to functional holobionts, I aim to use these principles to synthetically engineer customised interactions to ultimately give rise to new holobiont assemblies with desired properties- a field which I term de novo holobiont design.