I grew up on a mixed livestock farm adjacent to my grandparents' dairy farm in West Wales. My whole childhood centered around spending time outdoors looking after livestock and roaming the land. This connection to animals and nature from an early age had a big impact on how I've wended my way through my research career to date. I studied biology at undergrad to learn about how the natural world works; I then chose veterinary parasitology for my Master's after being in absolute awe with how organisms adapt to colonise hosts; and lastly, for my DPhil I ventured into the microbiological world after a growing appreciation for the microbiome. 

My DPhil application essay for Oxford was titled 'An environment within an environment: the ecological, physical, and social effects of the microbiome on the human body'. I wanted to explore how our environmental influences shaped our  body's microbiome and subsequent health. The idea stemmed from thinking about the millions of organisms inhabiting our bodies and how these community profiles may be altered by a changing environment (particularly in the context of climate change). After starting at Oxford, I ended up working on population studies in bacteria, focusing on one main study organism (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) as I was surprised by how little we know about population dynamics in even one species let alone thousands!

My work with bacterial antibiotic survival mechanisms has been incredibly eye-opening to the global threat of antibiotic resistance. The world is also sleep-walking into a climate disaster where we need to find innovative solutions to combat increasing carbon emissions and the potential scarcity of food and water. I want to dedicate the coming years to helping solve these grave issues by leveraging my knowledge in microbiology, agriculture, and environmental research. My firsthand and research-based experiences give me a unique perspective and set of skills to approach these issues. While sometimes daunting to consider, I'm excited at the prospect of contributing to the global effort to safeguard our environment and public health for future generations.