Team Profiles Archive - Westra Lab

After my PhD in the lab of Prof. John van der Oost at Wageningen University on the molecular mechanism and regulation of CRISPR-Cas immune systems (2009-2013), I started to explore the evolutionary ecology of CRISPR-Cas immune systems as a Marie-Curie Fellow in the lab of Prof. Angus Buckling, University of Exeter (2013-2015). I received a […]

I work part-time as the project administrator for the BBSRC sLoLa project  on multi-layered bacterial genome defences that is coordinated by Prof Edze Westra. The project also includes researchers from six other UK universities. The aim of the project is to examine how multiple defence systems in the same cell interact to protect against mobile […]

I joined the van Houte and Westra labs in April 2023 as a Part-time Project Administrator. It’s my job to take care of all the little administrative tasks like ordering consumables, updating websites, and acting as a liason with our lovely ESI staff to ensure things run as smoothly as possible in the lab. If […]

During my PhD, I investigated the structure and mechanism of several novel ancillary proteins from type III CRISPR-Cas systems. My project now aims to understand the role of quorum sensing in the evolution of anti-phage resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa when embedded in a synthetic microbial community. Additionally, it seeks to identify general principles governing how community interactions […]

During my PhD I studied prokaryotic Argonaute proteins focusing on their biochemical characteristics and in vivo functions. I am now looking at the interplay between different bacterial defence systems using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model system. This project aims to understand how multiple defence systems in one cell interact to protect the host against mobile […]

My research aims to understand how restriction modification (RM) systems interact with mobile genetic elements (MGE), as well as how microbial community dynamics shape the evolution and maintenance of RM system diversity. To this end I utilise bioinformatic analysis of large scale genomic datasets to glean insight into how the RM-MGE interplay has shaped bacterial […]

Previously, I completed my undergraduate degree and Masters at the University of Sheffield, where I worked on determining genes essential for antimicrobial resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Currently, I’m working on the regulation of a communication system within phages of Bacillus subtilis which determines the phage’s lysis/lysogeny lifecycle. I am co-supervised by Edze Westra and Stineke van […]

Having studied for my BSc in Zoology and MSc in Pathogen Evolution (University of Exeter, Penryn Campus), my main research interests surround the evolution and ecology of microbes and pathogens, with a particular focus on microbial social evolution. My MSc research project investigated the impact of the bacterial communication system (quorum-sensing) on autolysis and biofilm […]

I am researching the evolution and ecology of multi-layered bacterial defence systems, focusing on the role of environmental conditions. I use mathematical modelling and simulation techniques to identify environments that select for multi-layered defence systems. I am co-supervised by Mario Recker and Edze Westra. During my Master’s I studied the role of environmental variations in […]

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 […]