Background
I graduated with a BSc in Molecular Biology from The University of Sheffield in 2022 and during this time I became more interested in microbiology. In the summer of 2021, I undertook a 6-week research project titled Bacterial Evolution in Hypoxia. I worked with tetracycline-resistant S. aureus mutants and looked at their phenotypes in hypoxia and normoxia. During this time, I learned new laboratory skills and see first-hand how a research lab operates. This experience sparked my interest in microbial evolution and antimicrobial resistance. The research I performed got included in a paper titled Antibiotics Limit Adaptation of Drug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus to Hypoxia, of which I am one of the co-authors. In my final year, I pursued a non-lab-based science communication research project. I looked at the influence of language use on knowledge retention. Through this project, I gained a deeper understanding of how to effectively communicate science in the digital age. I have also performed a literature review that investigated skin microbiome, more particularly C. acnes and the role it plays in skin disease, focusing mostly on acne vulgaris. In the future, I hope to become a researcher and pursue a PhD that focuses on combating the global threat of AMR. 
Florey Research Project
Isolating environmental bacteriophages against clinical AMR strains from diabetic foot ulcers My research project focused on two things – isolating and characterizing bacteriophages from environmental samples and assessing them against clinical AMR strains. The first part proved to be challenging as hunting for bacteriophages can be extremely time consuming. Out of ten different environmental samples, I isolated around 30 different strains of environmental bacteria, however I only managed to find bacteriophages against an environmental Staphylococcus spp. strain. To characterize my phages, I utilized methods such as TEM, killing assays and restriction digests. I then proceeded to test the bacteriophages on the clinical strains from diabetic foot ulcers. Bacteriophages I have isolated have shown positive results and they might be potentially used in phage therapy in the future. Bacteriophage research was something completely new to me but has proven to expand my knowledge and laboratory skills. It helped me to strengthen my microbiology and molecular biology techniques. This experience exposed me to new ways of looking at research and let me meet people who are driven by love for science. |
The Team
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