My research broadly focuses on the evolution of social interactions in microbes. During my PhD, I used experimental and computational approaches to study the role of antimicrobial toxins, called ‘bacteriocins’, in mediating competition in natural populations of Staphylococcus aureus from the human nasal microbiome. I also used comparative genomics approaches to understand whether horizontal gene transfer plays a role in stabilising cooperation across bacteria.

As a Postdoc, I now research social interactions in multi-species microbial communities. In particular, I aim to understand how social interactions give rise to microbial 'community functions', i.e. functions performed by communities that cannot be achieved by individual community members. I then aim to utilise our understanding of these social interactions to implement artificial selection strategies that evolve communities to improve community functions. This work has important practical applications, as many community functions have high medical and industrial relevance, including the production of useful molecules, such as pharmaceuticals and enzymes, and the degradation of harmful ones, such as toxic waste.