Bacteriophages are viruses that prey on bacteria. Through an EPSRC Innovation Fellowship, I am studying this predator-prey interaction at all length scales, ranging from intracellular molecular interactions up to population dynamics. I collaborate with a Glasgow-based company, Fixed Phage Ltd., who attach bacteriophages to surfaces to kill harmful bacteria.

Active matter concerns the physics of interacting active 'agents' such as chemically propelled synthetic particles or living organisms. I have several publications on the propulsion mechanism and statistical physics of hydrogen-peroxide propelled Janus colloids. More recently, I've become interested in the behaviour of motile bacteria and active nematics made from components of the cellular cytoskeleton (see left).