• Insect Gut Microbiome
• Spread of Antimicrobial Resistance

I am a BBSRC funded SWBio DTP PhD student, primarily based at the University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK. My research lies within the BBSRC theme Agriculture and the Environment.

In my PhD I am undertaking an interdisciplinary investigation into the effects bumble bee ingestion of sub-therapeutic levels of arable agricultural antibiotics, on the bee's gut microbiome. I am using techniques including molecular genetics e.g. sequencing, bacterial culture and plasmid transfer and simulation modelling (using BEEHAVE) to investigate how such antibiotic exposure effects bumble bee gut microbiome diversity, the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance within the gut microbiome, and host fitness. For my laboratory experiments I use commercially sourced Bombus terrestris colonies and I will also perform field studies with wild bumble bees.