Overview

I am an interdisciplinary microbial ecologist with an interest in translating microbial ecology into practical interventions to reduce the burden of microbe-associated problems in everyday life.

My current postdoctoral research focusses on antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in livestock production. Colleagues and I are bringing together lots of scientific studies looking at antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in beef cattle production systems (through systematic review and meta-analysis) to try to establish to what extent antibiotic use drives antibiotic resistance in these systems. Crucially, when there is a 'spike' in antibiotic resistance after antibiotic administration, how quickly does it decay in cattle faeces and faeces-exposed environments (e.g. soil, air, water)? This systematic review and meta-analysis is part of a wider BBSRC/NERC-CONICET funded UK-Argentina project looking at antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in beef production through evidence synthesis, a cohort (observation over time) study of 9 Argentinian feedlots, lab experiments, economics and policy.

I am currently also leading a project to develop a farming simulation/game to explore antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in livestock production, funded by GW4. Our team of researchers from the Universities of Exeter, Bristol and Cardiff are working with farmers in South Wales and the South West to create a playable farming simulation. We hope that the tool can be used to communicate and question assumptions about how and why farmers use antibiotics in the way that they do, and identify realistic new ways to help them rely less on antibiotics where it is feasible.

Qualifications

BA Geography, University of Oxford 2009-2012

PhD Microbial Ecology, Imperial College (Silwood Park) 2013-207

Career

My PhD research (in Tom Bell's lab at Silwood Park, Imperial College 2013-2017) focussed on microbial invasions. Microbial invasions cause problems in everyday life when microbes invade host-associated microbiomes (e.g. human/animal and plant pathogens) or contaminate natural (e.g. seas, soil) or manufactured (e.g. beer, machines) environments, for example. Using the 'tree hole' system of leaf-litter degrading microbial communities, colleagues and I explored how microbes invade established communities of other microbes. For example, how does the number (Jones et al 2017), diversity (Rivett et al 2018) and evolution (Vila et al 2019) of invading species affect their invasion success? On the other side of the coin, how does the composition and functioning of the community being invaded limit the success of the invader (a process called biotic/colonisation/invasion resistance; Jones et al forthcoming)?

Links

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