Mathew Stracy
Position: Group leader.
Mathew did his PhD in Oxford focusing on the fundamental molecular biology of Escherichia coli DNA-binding proteins, using genetic and microscopy methods. He then moved to the Technion Israel Institute of Technology as a postdoc to study how antibiotic resistance emerges during treatment of urinary tract infections using pathogen genomics and machine learning analysis of patient records. He moved back to Oxford in 2022 to start a lab in the Dunn School.
Carolin Kobras
Position: Postdoctoral researcher
Carolin obtained her BSc and MSc Biology degrees at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany, before completing her PhD studies at the University of Bath. Over the course of her education, Carolin developed a keen interest in how antibiotics work and how bacteria become resistant against them. Before joining the Stracy Lab, Carolin was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sheffield. Her research there focussed on understanding mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance in the Gram-positive human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. At Oxford, Carolin investigates antibiotic tolerance, in which bacteria transiently enter a slow-growing state, allowing them to survive antibiotic treatment.
Laura de Nies
Position: Postdoctoral researcher
Laura obtained her MSc in Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Wageningen, the Netherlands, before completing her PhD at the University of Luxembourg. Her research interests revolve around how different evolutionary processes shape antimicrobial resistance in microbial communities. Her research during her PhD has focused on resolving mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance in different microbial reservoirs. She has now joined the Stracy Lab as a postdoctoral research to investigate the collateral effect of antibiotics on microbial communities of the gut.
Michelle Fan
Position: DPhil student
Michelle completed her undergraduate BSc (Hons) in the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. During her undergrad, she worked in three different labs and developed a keen interest for everything about the gut microbiota. Currently, she is studying the collateral damage of antimicrobial resistance on the gut microbiota in the Stracy Lab. In her free time, you will find her either skiing down the alps or baking at home.
Dan Noel
Position: Postdoctoral researcher
Dan completed his undergraduate studies and PhD at the University of Southampton, where he developed a strong interest in bacterial stress responses and dormant states. For his first postdoctoral position, he moved to the University of Helsinki to use advanced microscopy methods to study how extremophilic organisms adapt and respond to temperature stress. In the Stracy Lab, Dan now applies these powerful imaging techniques to investigate bacterial survival strategies against antibiotics, with a particular focus on tolerance and dormancy.
India Brough
Position: Postdoctoral researcher
India completed her undergraduate studies at King's College London, before completing her PhD in Oxford focusing on early-life priming of the immune system by intestinal microbiota in the context of inflammatory arthritis. Her research interests have evolved to utilising gnotobiotic models to study microbial interactions in-vivo. In the Stracy lab, India is researching antibiotic-induced damage to the gut microbiome and how it can facilitate pathogen bloom.
Katharina Fischel
Position: DPhil student
Katharina obtained both her Bachelor’s and her Master’s degree at the University of Vienna. For her Bachelor’s thesis she joined a lab at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, where she investigated the biofilm forming abilities of bacterial strains isolated from a food processing environment. During her Master’s she developed a passion for antibiotic research. She performed her Master’s project at a pharmaceutical company, where she contributed to the development of a novel antibiotic strategy to combat tuberculosis over the course of several years. As a DPhil student in the Stracy lab, Katharina is now studying the phenomenon of antibiotic tolerance and potential treatment strategies against persistent and tolerant bacteria.