My research interests centre on understanding the ecology and evolution of host-symbiont interactions in animals. Much of my current work uses wild rodents and their symbionts as model systems, and involves a mix of field, lab and analytical approaches.
I am fascinated by how hosts and microbial symbionts shape each other’s lives. In the past, I have separately researched animal behaviour and microbial ecology, but now I am combining these two areas of interest. I am investigating how inter-individual variation in the gut microbiome might influence animal behaviour, using wild house mice as a model system.
My research focuses on how differences between individuals relate to fitness. My current role explores how within and between individual variation in the mammalian gut microbiome affects host phenotypes in house mice (Mus musculus). My previous research focussed on competitive and reproductive signalling in bank (Myodes glareolus) and field voles (Microtus agrestis). I use a mixture of field studies, animal lab and molecular techniques to address these questions.
I am a host-microbe ecologist, with a particular interest in the causes and consequences of individual variation in natural populations. My previous work focussed on individual variation in the immune response of wild field voles (Microtus agrestis). My current focus, in the Knowles lab, is on individual variation in the gut microbiome of wild house mice (Mus musculus).
I study the gut microbiota in relation to social networks in wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and Siberian flying squirrels (Pteromys volans). I use metacommunity theory to understand how patterns of social interaction shape the microbiota, and how these microbes in turn might affect host social behaviour. Ideas of dynamic networks haunt me in all fields of life: when not doing science, I run a metaphor club and write poetry about metapopulation dynamics.
I am interested in host-microbiome interactions across species. In my PhD I am studying natural variation in the mammalian gut microbiome over the life course and the consequences this has for host health and survival. With a background in immunology, I am interested in the host component of this symbiotic relationship particularly from the immune system perspective.
Before joining the Knowles lab I worked across the globe on large carnivore conservation programmes, including ZSL’s Mongolia illegal wildlife trade project. My work in Oxford focuses on how species interact and how perturbations in a system can affect their coexistence or competition. I am interested in designing and facilitating ecological conservation efforts in my home state of Tasmania (Australia) informed by rigorous research.
