Westra Lab
Westra Lab
My PhD project investigates how a novel innate defence system coined MADS and the CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune system provide synergistic levels of immunity against bacteriophage infection in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using experimental evolution and molecular biology techniques, I hope to elucidate how these antiviral defence systems are regulated and what environmental cues trigger their expression. This project is co-supervised by Prof Edze Westra and Prof Tiffany Taylor (University of Bath). I completed my MSci in Conservation Biology and Ecology in 2022 at the University of Exeter. There, I developed my research interests surrounding host-pathogen co-evolution, specifically how pathogens respond to selection pressures arising from host adaptations and environmental factors.
Contacts:
Edze Westra, Principal Investigator: E.R.Westra@exeter.ac.uk
Hannah Westlake, Project Admin: H.E.Westlake@exeter.ac.uk
