ABOUT US
Grace Barker, PhD student
I’m a first year PhD student studying the metabolic interactions between the gut microbiota and the host, specifically the effect of diet and nutritional supplementation on the gut microbiome and how this modulates colorectal cancer risk in high- and low-risk populations.
Holly Jenkins, PhD student
I am a final year PhD student within the Department of Neonatal Medicine and I am studying the development and functionality of the preterm gut. This essentially means I spend my time in the lab analysing baby poo!
Jerusa Brignardello, PhD student
I am a trained dietitian and PhD student. I am studying how dietary patterns such as healthy, unhealthy, vegan and omnivore can modulate metabolism. That means I look for different metabolites in blood, urine and poo using diverse analytical techniques.
Kiana West, PhD student
I am a PhD student studying the gut microbiota and host–microbe metabolic interactions. I have a special interest in the gut–brain axis, particularly altered gut–brain communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Lesley Hoyles, MRC Intermediate Research Fellow
I am a gut microbiologist and computational biologist within the Department of Surgery and Cancer. I look at how gut bacteria and the metabolites they produce affect humans and animals, using a mixture of laboratory work and big data approaches.
Marine Letertre, PhD student
I am a chemist by training, working at the interface between chemistry and biology in the Department of Surgery and Cancer. I look at how the gut microbiota affects drug metabolism, and how drugs affect the gut microbiota. I use analytical chemistry and microbiology techniques in my work.