Team Profiles Archive - Page 2 of 2 - Westra Lab

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 […]

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 […]

I graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BSc Biological Sciences degree in 2024, and then I went on to complete my Masters by Research degree with the University of Exeter, finishing in 2025. During my Masters project I focused on anti-phage defence system expression and phage susceptibility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. My PhD project, […]

2025 Bridget Watson – Post-doctoral Fellow Bridget’s PhD research (University of Otago, New Zealand) focused on understanding the influence of CRISPR-Cas on phage-bacteria interactions. In the Westra Lab, she lookedat the effect of different ecological conditions on the coevolution of CRISPR-Cas immunity and phages, to understand in which environments CRISPR-Cas immunity is most beneficial. Twitter: @drbridgetwatson Xinyan Yu […]