I am a postdoc working on applying population genetics methods to datasets of sequenced bacterial genomes (papers here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=jane+charlesworth). My research involves a lot of scripting and modelling–skills which I had to pick up with minimal support during my PhD, because my degree contained no computational content.
My current project is looking for association between genetic variants and invasiveness in Staphlycoccus aureus. Most Staph aureus bacteria live harmlessly in the noses of human hosts, but in around 20% of cases, normally harmless bacteria can become invasive and cause disease, including septicaemia. I am working on developing methods for carrying out association studies in a large set of bacterial genomes. |
