Research Interests:

My work focuses on cooperation, conflict and communication in biofilms of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This bacterium forms highly structured, surface attached communities of particular importance in chronic airway infections of patients with Cystic Fibrosis. The construction of a biofilm is one of the many spectacular phenomena performed by a group of cells often including more than one species. Biofilms are thought to be the most prevalent natural form of bacterial growth and therefore an understanding of biofilms is important to achieve an understanding of bacterial behaviours in nature. Within a population of biofilm cells there exists an interesting pattern of cooperation, conflict and communication (quorum sensing) much of which is still to be explored.

Links:

Pseudomonas page; Social evolution in microbes

Publications