PhD student in Björn Schröder's research group
Rachel completed her Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Leicester (UK). Following this, she joined the Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford (UK) working as a Lab Technician. In this role she was involved in various projects relating to the microbiome and became proficient in extraction of bacterial DNA from stool and saliva samples to be used for 16S analysis. While working on these projects, Rachel developed a keen interest in the impact of nutrition and the environment on the human microbiome and also began to develop her bioinformatic skills. Alongside her Lab Technician duties, she also completed an independent project that aimed to investigate the interaction between C. rodentium and D. alaskensis in the context of colitis.
Rachel joined Björn Schröder lab at Umeå University in July 2021 as a Project Assistant and became a PhD student in the beginning of 2022. Her project focuses on the importance of dietary fibre for gut health and how lack of fibre in our diets can disrupt the gut environment.