Georgia Drew

Evolutionary Biologist

I’m a biologist interested in the evolution of symbioses between animals and microbes. The majority of animals form associations with bacteria, sometime these bacteria act as pathogens and cause damage to their host. In other cases animals depend entirely on the metabolic capabilities of bacteria to provide them with essential nutrients. Bacteria can evolve rapidly, meaning that they can frequently transition from being pathogens to acting as beneficial symbionts. I’m interested in experimentally evolving populations of bacteria to explore what factors can drive these transitions, and whether we can manipulate these factors for desirable outcomes (e.g. for probiotics, biocontrol or pathogen intervention strategies). Previously I did my PhD at the University of Liverpool, exploring how a bacterium associated with poor honey bee health is transmitted.