Research
We use a range of microfluidic devices to expose surface-attached bacteria to precisely defined chemical and physical stimuli. We use high-resolution microscopy to image bacteria as they respond to these stimuli, often following their responses over relatively long time periods (>24 h). We then use massively parallel cell tracking to follow and analyse bacterial behaviour, transforming our movies into a statistical description of the behaviour of thousands of individual bacterial cells.
We typically use the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa as our model organism. P. aeruginosa is a prolific biofilm producer that often exhibits a striking degree of antibiotic resistance and is listed by the World Health Organisation as a priority pathogen. P. aeruginosa crawls across surfaces using twitching motility, which is driven by the extension and retraction of molecular grappling hooks called type-IV-pili. We are interested in how cells use twitching motility to respond to antibiotics, competing microbes and the host immune system during biofilm formation and infection.
Research grants
Crawling in the dark? How Pseudomonas aeruginosa navigates antibiotic gradients in biofilms
WELLCOME TRUST (UK)
February 2025 - January 2030