Team Profiles Archive - Page 2 of 2 - Westra Lab

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, […]

I have background in phage engineering and previously, I worked on engineering T5 like Lytic phages using CRISPR/Cas9 and Cas13 systems to elucidate their fundamental biological mechanisms. Currently working in the Westra Lab, I focus on developing bio-contained/non-replicative synthetic phages targeting P. aeruginosa, engineering phage production host to promote epigenetic modification of phages, with the […]

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 […]