Differential Phototactic Behavior of Closely Related Cyanobacterial Isolates from Yellowstone Hot Spring Biofilms
Published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2022. Read more.
CV
Education
- B.S. in Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2014
- M.S. in Microbiology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2015
- Ph.D in Plant Microbiology, University of Cambridge, 2019
Work experience
- September 2019 - Present : Postdoctoral Researcher
Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California, USA
The goal of my research is to understand the dynamics of microbial communities consisting of interacting and coevolving species well enough to be able to model how they would respond to abiotic or biotic perturbations. I will be working with microbial communities and isolates from hot spring mats in Yellowstone NP and collaborating with biologists, physicists and computer scientists, primarily from Cambridge and Stanford.
- April 2020 - August 2021 : Founder and Project leader for CODI
Combined Diagnostics (CODI), Stanford, California, USA
During the COVID-19 quarantine, as labs were shut and experiments stalled, I started and led a team at the MIT COVID Hackathon that focused on leveraging rapid antibody/antigen testing with additional patient information to increase diagnostic accuracy. Following our win, I pushed this project further, by including more people (statisticians, developers, doctors) and developing the idea. Our proposed solution led us to win three more data challenges with prizes over 100,000 dollars, and publish two papers (one on the methodology, and one on its application to the management of large events). The Rshiny app we created was integrated and maintained by a testing company (CERTIFIC).
- June 2017 - August 2017 : Research Intern
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), London, United Kingdom
I spent 3 months trying to understand and address the problem of global folate deficiency. I created a model that significantly improved upon the process of estimating how many births with Neural Tube defects could be averted in different regions by mandating folic acid fortification of cereal grains, and therefore could help GAIN prioritise their efforts.
- September 2016 - November 2016 : Development i-Teams advisor
The Center for Global Equality, Cambridge, United Kingdom
I advised and participated in an investigation into the feasibility of tackling vitamin B12 deficiency in developing countries by farming and processing microalgae in coculture with bacteria. I conducted interviews with directors of commercial algae cultivation companies, and nutrition charities. As a team we summarised our findings in the form of an oral presentation to a broad audience, as well as a written report to advise researchers where their technology could be best applied.
Honors and Awards
- EMSL Exploratory research grant (2021)
- C3.AI COVID Grand Challenge winner (2020): 1st place — 100,000 dollar prize.
Link to a video presentation of our submission - Lumiata COVID-19 hackathon overall winner (2020): 1st place — 10,000 dollar prize.
- MIT COVID-19 Challenge winner (2020)
- Young Microbiologist of the Year Finalist (2019)
- BBSRC DTP Studentship
- Full Blue
- Sixth Form Scholarship
- Oppidan Scholarship
Publications
-
-
Predicting COVID-19 Transmission to Inform the Management of Mass Events: Model-Based Approach
Published in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2021. Read more.
-
Combining SIMS and mechanistic modelling to reveal nutrient kinetics in an algal-bacterial mutualism
Published in PloS One, 2021. Read more.
-
Responses of a Newly Evolved Auxotroph of Chlamydomonas to B12 Deprivation
Published in Plant physiology, 2020. Read more.
-
A Bayesian Hierarchical Network for Combining Heterogeneous Data Sources in Medical Diagnoses
Published in Proceedings of the Machine Learning for Health NeurIPS Workshop, 2020. Read more.
-
A metE mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii provides new perspectives on the evolution of vitamin B12 auxotrophy
Published in PhD diss., University of Cambridge, 2019., 2019. Read more.
-
Snow algae communities in Antarctica: metabolic and taxonomic composition
Published in New Phytologist, 2019. Read more.
-
Quantitative proteomics of a B12‐dependent alga grown in coculture with bacteria reveals metabolic tradeoffs required for mutualism
Published in New Phytologist, 2018. Read more.
-
Microbial mutualism at a distance: The role of geometry in diffusive exchanges
Published in Phys. Rev. E, 2018. Read more.
Talks
Experimental evolution of algal B12 auxotrophy. (Postdoctoral Job Talk)
Talk at MacClean lab meeting, Oxford, UK
A metE mutant of C. reinhardtii provides new perspectives on algal B12 dependence. (Postdoctoral Job Talk)
Talk at Cordero lab meeting, MIT, MA
Responses to B12 deprivation in an artificially evolved strain of Chlamydomonas. (Postdoctoral Job Talk)
Talk at Merchant Lab, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Interactions between Cyanobacteria and Chloroflexi from thermal springs
Talk at Carnegie Science PostDoc roundtable, Stanford, CA
Phototaxis and Photokinesis in thermophilic cyanobacteria
ASM Microbe Poster presentation at ASM Microbe, Virtual
Cooperative motility shapes biofilm structure in hot spring mats.
Talk at Stanford Bug Club, Stanford CA, USA
Differential phototaxis among cyanobacterial isolates from Yellowstone hot spring biofilms.
Talk at ASM Microbe 2022, Washington, DC
Teaching
Mentor for the Carnegie Summer Internship Program, June 2022-August 2022, Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Plant Biology
Mentor for the Stanford BioBUDS Program, January 2022-March 2022, Stanford University
Mentor for final year undergraduate research project, January 2018-April 2018, University of Cambridge, Department of Plant Sciences
Undergraduate Supervisor, January 2017-March 2018, University of Cambridge
Mentor for final year undergraduate research project, January 2017-April 2017, University of Cambridge, Department of Plant Sciences
Demonstrator for Plant Physiology and Cell Biology practicals, 2016-2018, University of Cambridge
Miscellaneous
- Men’s Captain of the Cambridge University Modern Pentathlon Club
- Captain of the Cambridge University Athletics club Pole Vaulting squad