Originally from Stoke-on-Trent, I received a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology from Queen Mary University of London and a PhD in Plant Science from Imperial College London. I am currently an Ad Astra Fellow and Assistant Professor in the

 

School of Biology and Environmental Science at University College Dublin (UCD).

My lab uses multiomic approaches to reveal cross-kingdom interactions between diverse organisms, including: plant species, fungi, arthropods, mammals (GIT, skin, vagina, breast milk, diverse cancer environments), and bacteria (biofilm formation, intra/extracellular biotrophic, pathogenic).

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In addition to more controlled environments, the lab explores meta-omic complexity in the real world, such as aquatic (sea water and municipal wastewater), soil (organic and inorganic anthropogenic contamination), urban, built and space environments (radiation and microgravity stressors and spaceflight pathologies).

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Our research addresses urgent challenges in environmental sustainability, agricultural systems and human health, informed by real-world biological systems. Our work also contributes to the biological understanding needed to support life in space and other extreme environments.