School of Social and Political Science

Research interests

1. Social studies of microbiomes
In recent years, microbes have come to the forefront of attention as actors shaping social life. Work within this field focuses on two lines of enquiry. Firstly, developing concepts and methods for understanding and describing interactivity between organisms, microbiomes and the social environment. Secondly, understanding the traffic between biological, social and cultural meanings of microbiomes. 

2. Social dimensions of synthetic biology
Since June 2025, I am part of an Aria-funded project, focusing on the social and ethical dimensions of plant synthetic biology. I focus on collaborative methods for mapping out and engaging the diversity of perspectives within and about the field. This includes voices from across biological and social communities, as well as community stakeholders. 

3. Inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary collaboration 
I have convened and participated in a variety of spaces where researchers across epistemologies— social scientific, scientific and humanistic— come together to address complex problems which are at once social and biological; e.g. microbiomes, conservation and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The combined promise and difficulty of working within these spaces led me to an interest in the practice of collaboration. Previous research has focused on art-science as site of collaboration between social and biological researchers; art-science as site of ontological enquiry; and innovation in public engagement. Current research is focused on experimental governance approaches for synthetic biology of plants. 

Keywords: Social Studies of Microbes; Holobiont; Synthetic biology; Interdisciplinary collaboration; Art-science