Position: I’m a computational biologist currently carrying out postdoctoral research in genomics at the University of Oxford.
Research focus: The quantity of eukaryotic genome assemblies available today (25,000+ on NCBI alone) can give unprecedented insight into biological phenomena at scale. However, we also need tools capable of handling this high volume of data. To accomplish this I design and implement Nextflow software workflows that can properly utilise the machine hardware (e.g., high-performance computing clusters) for highest efficiency and speed. Software also needs to be portable and available to other researchers, hence in addition to coding, we’re thinking about software environments, containers, and public code repositories.
Past research topics include:
- Horizontal gene transfer across viral realms
- Finding parasites within parasites!
- Virus discovery and genomic analysis from complex metagenomic datasets
- Identification of the hosts of novel viruses
- Eukaryotic genomics, such as the zebra finch germline-restricted chromosome
- scRNA-Seq analysis of immune cell populations
- RT-qPCR & NGS for understanding virus epidemiology in mosquito populations
- Pathogen (bacteria & virus) identification in CNS disease
- Trypanosome cell signalling & protein motif evolution
- Fish parasitology
- Butterfly life history
- Dinosaur evolution
Educational history in a nutshell:
| Degree | When | Where |
|---|---|---|
| PhD in Computational Virology (Marie Skłodowska-Curie HONOURs network) | 2023 | University of Amsterdam |
| Double MSc in Evolutionary Biology (Erasmus Mundus MEME programme) [Distinction] | 2017 | LMU Munich & Uppsala University, with thesis project at Harvard University |
| BSc in Zoology [First Class Hons.] | 2014 | Cardiff University with a professional training year at the University of Bristol |
When I’m not doing science, I am:
- Playing with my daughter
- Listening to fantasy & fiction audiobooks
- Working on a children’s book series with my wife
- Going on endless Wikipedia dives
- Trying to stay flexible!