I started my research journey at the University of Plymouth in 2013 with an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology. It was during my undergraduate studies that I fell in love with marine microbiology and decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Microbiology at Universität Oldenburg in Germany. In 2019, I returned to Plymouth to undertake my PhD at the MBA and University of Plymouth. My PhD research focuses on characterising antagonistic diatom-bacteria interactions through a combination of laboratory and field-based approaches. Taking advantage of the MBA’s unique access to the highly productive Western English Channel (WEC), I am investigating the diversity and abundance of diatom-antagonistic bacteria at an ecosystem scale. Furthermore, using a range of bloom-forming diatom species alongside a library of diatom antagonists isolated from the WEC, I am working to understand the molecular mechanisms that underpin these ecologically relevant interactions.