I’m a first-year NRPDTP PhD student funded by the BBSRC, exploring how the gut microbiome shapes animal behaviour and interactions with the environment through the microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA). My research focuses on great tits (Parus major) and blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), familiar garden birds which are great model systems. By isolating and characterising host-native bacteria, I aim to uncover how the gut microbiome influences cognition and behaviour, and how it might help wildlife adapt to environmental change.
ACME RESEARCH
Animal Cognition and Microbial Ecology Research