People

Profiles of research group members

Current Members

Helen grew up in Canada and studied mostly maths before drifting further and further into biology. She continues to juggle modelling and experiments since starting her research group at the University of Edinburgh in 2019. When not at work, she enjoys climbing, hiking, mountaineering, cycling, and generally being outdoors.

Academic bio:

Further information: publications on Google Scholar, email Helen


Grace is a postdoc who joined the group in May 2022. Her work focuses on understanding the evolution of antibiotic resistance and the factors affecting the establishment of a resistant bacterial population.

Previously, Grace worked in the group of Prof. Ross Fitzgerald at the Roslin Institute where her worked focused on understanding the host adaptions of bovine strains of Staphylococcus aureus to the dairy niche.

Grace completed her PhD at the University of Warwick in the group of Prof. Nick Waterfield. Her doctoral research focused on the evolution of a strain of Bacillus cereus that is capable of causing an anthrax-like disease and the influence of horizontally acquired genetic material on the phenotype of this pathogen.

When not working, Grace enjoys being outside, hiking, gardening or having a quick dip in the sea and then warming up afterwards on the sofa with some knitting.

Academic bio:

  • 2010-2013: BSc Biology, Department of Biology, University of York (advised by Prof. Thorunn Helgason)
  • 2014-2016: MRes Biology, Department of Biology, University of York (advised by Dr Marjan van der Woude)
  • 2016-2021: PhD Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick (advised by Prof. Nick Waterfield)
  • 2017: PhD mini project, Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester (advised by Prof. Martha Clokie)
  • 2021-2022: Postdoctoral research fellow, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh (advised by Prof. Ross Fitzgerald)

Email Grace


Pierre is a PhD student funded by a Darwin Trust scholarship. His PhD research involves modelling antibiotic resistance evolution in bacteria interacting in a shared environment, co-supervised by Dr. Luke McNally.

Pierre grew up in France where he studied Ecology & Evolution with a later specialisation in applied statistics and computer modelling. Most of his free time is divided between playing music and enjoying the outside world, hiking and birdwatching.

Academic bio:

  • 2008-2010: University degree in Arabic Language, Literature & Civilisation - Université Aix-Marseille III, France
  • 2014-2017: BSc Biology of Organisms, Populations & Ecosystems - Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
  • 2017-2019: MSc Biology Ecology & Evolution, Ecological Systems Modelling - Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France (Master's Thesis supervised by Prof. Jean-Baptiste Ferdy & David Duneau)
  • since 2020: PhD Evolutionary Biology, Immunology and Infection Research - School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh

Email Pierre; Pierre's publications on Google Scholar


Lucy is a PhD student in the EASTBIO doctoral training program, funded by a University of Edinburgh Principal's Career Development Scholarship. Her PhD research investigates how mutation rates vary in bacteria and the consequences of this variation for bacterial evolution. Her PhD is co-supervised by Prof. Meriem El Karoui from the Institute of Cell Biology.

Lucy studied physics and mathematics at the University of Cologne in Germany. During her Master's she specialised in Statistical & Biological Physics, which convinced her to do research in the field of evolutionary biology. In her free time she enjoys climbing and hiking and is looking forward to exploring Scotland's nature.
 
Academic bio:
  • 2013-2016: BSc Physics, University of Cologne, Germany (advised by Prof. Johannes Berg)
  • 2016-2018: MSc Physics, University of Cologne, Germany (advised by Prof. Joachim Krug)
  • 2012-2020: BSc Mathematics, University of Cologne, Germany (advised by Prof. Alexander Drewitz)
  • 2019-2020: Research Assistant, Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Germany (advised by Prof. Joachim Krug)
  • 2020: Research Intern, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal (advised by Prof. Claudia Bank)
  • since 2020: PhD Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh

Email Lucy, Twitter @LanjuLucy


Kiran is a PhD student funded by a Darwin Trust Scholarship. Her PhD research involves both theoretical and experimental approaches to investigate how bacterial interactions at the individual level impact epidemics at the host population level. She is co-supervised by Dr. Pedro Vale as she will be carrying out some of her experiments in fruit flies.

Kiran grew up in Canada where she studied Human Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. She later went on to complete a Master’s degree in the University of Toronto’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department, where she investigated the impact of sea lice on wild Atlantic salmon. In her free time, Kiran enjoys weight lifting, yoga and travelling.

Academic Bio:

  • 2012-2017: BSc Biology, University of Toronto, Canada (advised by Prof. Nicole Mideo)
  • 2013: Research Assistant, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Canada (advised by Dr. Evelyn McMullen)
  • 2014-2017: Research Assistant, Ecology and Evolutionary Department, University of Toronto, Canada (advised by Prof. Aneil Agrawal)
  • 2017-2018: MSc Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Canada (advised by Prof. Martin Krkosek)
  • 2019-2021: Research Assistant & Lab Manager, Ecology and Evolutionary Department, University of Toronto, Canada (advised by Prof. Martin Krkosek)
  • Since 2021: PhD Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh

Email Kiran


Iris is a PhD student on the Wellcome Trust Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health Programme. Her rotation project aims to assess whether the growth medium impacts the collective antibiotic tolerance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the aminoglycoside tobramycin. 

Previously, Iris studied Microbiology at the University of Glasgow, where her final year project in the Roe Lab examined the effects of the amino acid D-serine on the Escherichia coli genotoxin colibactin. Following her growing interest in antimicrobial resistance, she pursued an MSc in Epidemiology of Infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. Her MSc project investigated certain biological fitness determinants of an emerging Streptococcus pyogenes genotype in the One Health Research into Bacterial Diseases lab. 

Beyond academic research, Iris is passionate about science communication engaging diverse audiences through outreach projects, public engagement initiatives and scientific illustration. In her free time, she also enjoys crocheting and hiking. 

Academic bio: 

2019 - 2023: BSc (Hons) in Microbiology with a specialisation in Bacteriology, School of Infection and Immunity, University of Glasgow (advised by Prof Andrew Roe). 

2023 - 2024: MSc Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance, School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow (advised by Dr Katarina Oravcova)

Since 2024: PhD Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health programme, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh 

Further information: 

Email Iris

Twitter/X: @iiris_floria

Bluesky: @irisfloria.bsky.social


Trisha is a PhD student on the Wellcome Trust Hosts, Pathogens, and Global Health Programme. For her first rotation project she is investigating the effects of a secondary metabolite, pyocyanin, on collective antibiotic tolerance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Trisha was born and brought up in Kenya but moved to the UK for all her further education. She has previously worked on antifungal resistance mechanisms, characterizing novel vaccine candidates against Streptococcus pneumoniae, and developing a novel method of isolating monoclonal antibodies against infectious diseases. During her free time she enjoys hiking, trekking and just generally being outdoors lost in nature. 

Academic bio:

  • 2020-2023: BSc (Hons) Applied Medical Sciences, Division of Medicine, University College London, England (Honors project in Professor Jeremy Brown’s lab)
  • 2022: Summer Intern, Wellcome Trust Integrative Cell Mechanisms Biomedical Vacation Scholarship, University of Edinburgh, Scotland (Project in Professor Peter Swain’s lab)
  • 2023-2024: MRes Clinical Research (Translational Medicine Pathway), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, England (Research project in Professor Robin Shattock’s lab)  
  • Since 2024: PhD candidate on the Wellcome Trust Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health programme, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Alumni

Deirdre is an empirical ecologist and evolutionary biologist using a range of experimental systems to understand the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of communities under stress. She was a postdoc in the group from Jan. 2020 to Apr. 2021. She was crucial in getting the wet lab off the ground and starting up experiments on evolution of antibiotic resistance. After subsequently working as a research fellow in climate science at Trinity College Dublin, Deirdre is now back at the University of Edinburgh as a Lecturer in Ecological Education as of Oct. 2022.

Further information: Deirdre's personal website, publications on Google Scholar, Twitter (@deirdremcclean1), email Deirdre


Katie completed her Honours in Evolutionary Biology in 2023 and did her Honours project in our lab focusing on the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Her dissertation was entitled "How does the population density of Pseudomonas aeruginosa affect evolutionary rescue under antibiotic treatment?". 

Katie re-joined the lab as a research technician for summer 2024, continuing to support research into antibiotic resistance evolution in P. aeruginosa.


Amalia did her PhD in the Research Group for Genomic Epidemiology at the Technical University of Denmark, and visited our group from February - March 2023. Her PhD research focused on the transmission and selection of antimicrobial resistance in host populations. She combines mathematical modelling, wet lab experiments with bacterial isolates, and metagenomics on the gut microbiome of insects.


Amy is a medical student who did her intercalated Honours year in Zoology in 2023-24. Her Honours project in our lab addressed the question: "How does emergence of antibiotic-resistant mutants depend on interactions with the antibiotic-sensitive bacterial population?"


Ellie completed her Honours in Ecology in 2023-24. Her Honours project in our lab addressed the question: "What is the role of dead cells in bacterial population growth and survival under antibiotic treatment?"


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