People

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 running around outdoors.

Academic bio:

• 2004-08: BSc (Hon) Applied Mathematics, Minor in Medical Sciences - University of Western Ontario, Canada (Honours thesis advised by Prof. Lindi Wahl)
• 2008-10: MSc Mathematics - Queen's University, Canada (advised by Prof. Troy Day)
• 2010-14: PhD Theoretical Biology - ETH Zurich, Switzerland (advised by Prof. Sebastian Bonhoeffer)
• 2015-16: postdoc in Theoretical Biology - ETH Zurich
• 2016-19: Swiss National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow - Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, UK (advised by Prof. Craig MacLean)
• since 2019: Royal Society University Research Fellow - School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh

Further information: publications on Google Scholar, Twitter @HelenKAlexander, 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.

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

Amy is an intercalating medical student doing her Honours year in Zoology. Her Honours project, supervised by Grace and Helen, is addressing the question: "How does emergence of antibiotic-resistant mutants depend on interactions with the antibiotic-sensitive bacterial population?"

Ellie is an Honours student in the Ecology programme. Her Honours project, supervised by Grace and Helen, is addressing the question: "What is the role of dead cells in bacterial population growth and survival under antibiotic treatment?"

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

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

Katie completed her Honours project in Evolutionary Biology with us in 2023. Katie studied evolution of antibiotic resistance in the lab, and her dissertation was entitled "How does the population density of Pseudomonas aeruginosa affect evolutionary rescue under antibiotic treatment?"