I studied Biomedical Sciences at the University of the West of England, graduating in 2009. I then worked for a microbiology-focused biotechnology company as Research and Development Scientist until securing a PhD position which began in October 2013.
My PhD at the Cardiff University School of Dentistry focused on the interactions between oral bacteria and the fungus Candida albicans in the oral cavity. I developed a biofilm model to represent the comlex multi-species biofilms commonly observed, investigated these biofilms for tissue infections after developing a 3D mucosal tissue model, and completed a clinical study to determine the bacterial microbiota associated with healthy and denture-stomatitis associated samples.

I then completed a fellowship at Cardiff University before joining the University of Bristol for a research position characterising the virulence attributes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. During the coronavirus pandemic, I was involved in a reactive project looking at bacterial secondary infections in Covid-19 positive patients.

Teaching has always been a passion of mine, and I secured a lecturer position in September 2021 and have developed as part of the Pathway 3 team to enhance teaching provision and innovation in microbiology across a number of undergradaute and postgraduate taught units. In February 2026 I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Microbiology.

My leadership responsibilities include undergraduate admissions to the CMM and BMS programmes with Prof Ann Pullsn, Senior Tutor for years 1-4 on the CMM programmes, and as of August 2026 Deputy Programme Director for the CMM programmes.