Profile

I am a Corkonian currently working as a post doc in Teagasc and APC Microbiome Ireland. I have always lived in Cork and completed my undergraduate degree in Nutrition and Health Science in CIT. Last year I completed my PhD where I was looking at the microbes in the guts of athletes. After I finished my PhD I was lucky to start a job as a postdoctoral researcher, which is what I am working as now.

When I am not working my favourite thing to do is baking. I love trying out new recipes for family and friends. I really like being active and try to head out for a walk around where I live when I can. I grew up near the beach so walks on the beach are my favourite when I can get there.

My work involves looking at the microbes (bacteria, fungi and viruses) in different types of environments. During my PhD I looked at the microbes that were in the guts of athletes. I was interested in figuring out if athletes had different microbes and if they function differently from non-athletes and also if there were differences between sports. Now I continue to look at the answers to these questions and I am also interested in the microbes in other environments, in particular foods. I am interested in those microbes present in a range of food environments and how they function and interact, including fermented foods.

With working from home at the moment I try and get up and out early for a walk near where I live. After that I have the short commute to my living room where I have my at home office set up. I check on emails and make a detailed list for what I would like to get done for the day. Currently that involves a lot of analysis where I am trying to find out what microbes are present in the samples I am interested in. I also try and keep up to date with papers and research what analysis might be useful in this project. Some days we have a virtual lab meeting or I might virtually talk to some lab mates for a coffee. I try and keep writing reports until the afternoon. I usually finish the day with emails and writing a quick list of what I would like to get done the following day.