Microbiology
The microbiology group is a multidisciplinary team that combines molecular biology, mathematical modelling, imaging and next generation sequencing for the fundamental understanding of microorganisms.
It is led by Dr. Avignone Rossa, Reader in Systems Microbiology, and Dr. Jimenez, Lecturer in Synthetic Biology, in the Department of Microbial Sciences.
Both of them have an interest in microbial communities that ranges from their interactions with human hosts and their role in disease to their applications in biotechnology.
Dr. Avignone-Rossa
Dr. Avignone-Rossa studies the structure, ecology and function of natural microbial communities, and the interplay between microbial communities and their hosts, such as the rhizosphere and plants, as well as environmental applications such as the removal of pathogens and pollutants from domestic and sanitary wastewaters, and the recovery of energy from organic rich streams.
Dr. Jimenez
Dr. Jimenez is studying the evolutionary dynamics of pathogenic bacteria that exhibit social behaviours, developing methods to monitor the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes in complex microbial communities, and engineering microorganisms for the up-cycling of plastic waste.