I am fascinated by the dual nature of microbes—their ability to cause harm or support health. My current work focuses on understanding host-pathogen interactions in the lung during chronic infection. I use spatial transcriptomics, imaging, and genomics to reveal these relationships in great detail. With this understanding we hope to facilitate better treatments for people living with long-term lung conditions.
My current work focuses on answering these key questions:
- What are the pathogen niches during chronic infection?
- Do co-infecting pathogens inhabit the same space?
- What is the transcriptional profile of infected host cells?
By using spatial transcriptomics to study the cystic fibrosis lung, we can gain insights into how bacteria and host cells interact within their local environments during chronic infection. Complimentary genomic approaches then help us understand, in finer detail, how the pathogen adapts to the host microenvironment over the course of the infection.
Wellcome Sanger Institute