I am an evolutionary microbiologist and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow.

I set up my group at Queen's University Belfast in April 2024, as a tenure-track group leader (Vice-Chancellor's Illuminate Fellow), before being awarded a Future Leaders Fellowship. Prior to Queen's, I was a Prize Fellow at Magdalen College (University of Oxford), affiliated with the Biology Department, and before that a postdoctoral researcher in the MacLean lab (Biology Department, University of Oxford).  I have held a fellowship at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute of Advanced Study), and you can read more about my fellowship project here. Outside of science, I enjoy judo, boxing, and trying to learn german. 

I joined the lab in October 2024 as a PhD student, where I am currently investigating interactions between antibiotic resistant bacteria and microbiome species. I previously studied at the University of Glasgow, completing my BSc (Hons) in Microbiology in 2019 and MRes in Biomedical Sciences in 2020.

After finishing my master's, I spent a number of years working in Covid-19 qPCR laboratories. I began working in the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab as a Lab Scientist and qPCR Analyst, later I moved onto a Senior Scientist role UKHSA Rosalind Franklin lab in England where I managed a team of 12 scientists, and finally I moved into a Senior Trainer role - leading a team of 6 in training, assessing, and auditing of lab-based staff.

Outside of work and study, I enjoy acting, running and hiking as hobbies. I also enjoy contributing to EDI and education-related projects - previously I developed an undergraduate EDI course as an Athena SWAN Intern and currently I volunteer as a Homework Club tutor, tutoring children who live in areas of academic underachievement.

I joined the lab in October 2024 as a PhD student, on a studentship funded by the Department of the Economy.

During my PhD, I will be researching how interactions in the microbiome shape the evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens. I aim to understand how antibiotic resistance evolves in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other bacteria within the lung microbiome through experimental and bioinformatic approaches.

I hold an MSci Degree in Biochemistry from the University of East Anglia. As part of my Master’s research project, I investigated the cross resistance between tellurite, antibiotics and hydrogen peroxide in Salmonella Typhimurium. During my degree, I spent a year studying at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where I developed a strong interest and passion for Microbiology.

Outside the lab, I enjoy hiking, swimming and traveling.

I joined the lab in October 2024 as an MSci student, working on antibiotic resistance evolution and inter- and intra-specific competition in Staphylococcus epidermidis. 

I am a PhD student investigating antimicrobial resistance in agricultural soil across Northern Ireland. My key interests are in antimicrobial resistance genes and mobile genetic elements. I joined the lab in October 2025. 

Previously, I worked as a bioinformatician at the Wellcome Sanger Institute for 4 years. During my time at the Sanger, I developed research software to characterise genetic variation in Streptococcus pneumoniae and Plasmodium falciparum. Outside of work, I enjoy playing snooker and travelling.

I joined the Wheatley Lab in October 2025 on a studentship funded by OneZoo. The OneZoo mission is to tackle zoonotic threats through integrated environmental prevention and control strategies, fostering a One Health perspective that recognises the interconnectedness of pathogens, humans, animals, and their environments.

My PhD project focuses on mapping the spread of zoonotic bacterial pathogens and their mobile genetic elements (MGEs) as drivers of infection. Using soil samples collected from farmland across Northern Ireland, I aim to characterise how environmental and geographical factors influence the prevalence of zoonotic bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. I will also investigate how MGEs, including plasmids, circulate between environmental and healthcare-associated settings, linking microbial communities across agricultural and clinical settings. This work combines metagenomic sequencing, bioinformatics, and environmental data integration to better understand the soil’s role as a reservoir and transmission interface for zoonotic pathogens.

Before beginning my PhD, I completed an MSci in Biological Sciences here at Queen’s University Belfast, where my dissertation investigated mobile genetic elements as vectors for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Klebsiella pneumoniae using machine learning and comparative genomics. This experience developed my interests in genomic epidemiology, microbial evolution, and the computational approaches used to track pathogen adaptation.

Outside of research, I enjoy exercising, travelling, and exploring new music.