University of Liverpool
Our Lab Group
Meet the team!
Dr Jamie Wheeler
PI
I am a Wellcome Early Career Researcher and a University of Liverpool research fellow focussing on biofilm development in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Prior to starting my own research group, I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate (2019-2024) in the microbial physics group at the University of Sheffield.
Before that, I received my PhD (2019) from the University of Oxford, where I studied bacterial motility in developing biofilms under the joint supervision of Dr William Durham and Prof Kevin Foster.
You can find out more about me and our work on my departmental webpage.
Maryam Abdulkarim
PhD Student
I studied BSc Microbiology in Nigeria, where I developed an interest in bacterial pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). I went on to complete an MSc in Antimicrobial Resistance at the University of Sheffield, where my research at the Microbial Physics Lab focused on type IV pili-mediated chemotaxis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Following my MSc, I continued working on this project as a laboratory technician at the University of Sheffield, and later as a research assistant with Dr. Jamie Wheeler at the University of Liverpool. I am now continuing this work as a PhD student. Alongside my research, I am actively engaged in AMR advocacy with student-led organisations in Africa.
My current research focuses on the behaviour of biofilm-associated Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a WHO priority pathogen, and its response to antibiotic exposure. Using microfluidic systems to precisely control chemical environments, combined with high-throughput single-cell tracking, the project investigates a recently discovered phenomenon known as ‘antibiotic taxis’, where surface-attached bacteria actively migrate towards antibiotics. By applying these experimental approaches, I aim to better understand the mechanisms driving this behaviour and explore its implications for biofilm formation, chronic infection, and AMR.
Soroush Zeaei
PhD student (jointly supervised by Dr Mack Durham, University of Sheffield)
I completed my Master’s in Mechanical Engineering at Tarbiat Modares University. My Master’s project focused on motile sperm separation using microfluidics. We studied sperm swimming behaviour in microfluidic chips and separated motile sperm to assist in IVF procedures.
My project focuses on studying bacterial motility, specifically Flavobacterium johnsoniae, using microfluidics. I am studying its response to different chemical gradients to better understand how it moves toward plant roots, which secrete different root exudates, and how to increase its association with plant roots.
Dr Findlay Munro
PDRA
I’m from the Northeast of Scotland, and I completed my undergraduate degree in biochemistry at the University of Dundee. I then joined the Wellcome Trust PhD programme in Dundee and joined the lab of Megan Bergkessel. I studied the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and looked at the physiological priorities of growth-arrested cells. I combined nascent proteomics and transposon-insertion sequencing to investigate what proteins starved cells made and if they impacted viability. Ultimately, we highlighted intracellular carbon storage granules, known as "carbonosomes", as an obscure yet important feature impacting the viability, motility and antibiotic susceptibility of growth-arrested P. aeruginosa.
My current research aims to further characterise and explore the regulatory mechanisms underpinning antibiotic taxis in P. aeruginosa – a novel behaviour where surface-attached cells appear to migrate and "twitch" towards increasing concentrations of harmful molecules. I will combine microfluidic devices; time-lapse microscopy; and single-cell tracking to quantify taxes and to map the genetic and environmental factors which stimulate and regulate this behaviour. We anticipate this research will improve our mechanistic understanding of twitching motility and antibiotic stress responses in P. aeruginosa while highlighting the importance and power of studying bacteria in contexts which more closely reflect infection scenarios.
Ant Warnecke
PhD student (jointly supervised by Dr Jamie Hall, University of Liverpool)
Bio: I graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology from the University of Liverpool, investigating how beneficial rhizobacteria influence plant defences. I also undertook a research internship at the University of Oxford studying symplastic connectivity in a model grass species using electron microscopy, followed by an MRes in Infection, Microbiology and Microbiomes at the University of Liverpool exploring Clostridium perfringens in the human gut using comparative metagenomics. These experiences developed my interest in genetics and evolution more generally, leading me to begin my PhD under the joint supervision of the Hall and the Wheeler Labs in October 2026.
Project: Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat, and plasmids play a major role in its spread by transferring resistance genes between bacteria. However, emerging evidence suggests that plasmids can also manipulate the behaviour of their bacterial hosts, potentially increasing their own chances of survival and spread. My PhD therefore investigates whether multidrug resistance plasmids alter the behaviour of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an important opportunistic pathogen, and whether these changes promote the spread of antibiotic resistance. I aim to understand how plasmids influence bacterial movement, chemotaxis, and social behaviours, to ultimately uncover the evolutionary mechanisms that enable resistance plasmids to spread and persist in bacterial populations.