Women in Science Festival - Distinguished Speaker Seminar 2016: Bacteria in Search of the Perfect B&B

Join us for a talk that explores the career of one of Scotland’s leading experts on preventing E.coli bacteria that can cause severe food poisoning. Dr Nicola Holden (James Hutton Institute) started her research career working as a technical assistant, and whilst working obtained her degree with the Open University. Nicola then was awarded a PhD from Edinburgh University for her work on another food-related bacteria, Salmonella.

Since then, Nicola has continued working on bacteria that are found in food, to understand how they adapt to different environments, with the goal of preventing their spread from the field to our plates.

Nicola works with a number international collaborators and sits on many national committees. She frequently works with microbiologists in the EU on pathogens in fresh food, to raise awareness about the issue at policy levels and share knowledge and training opportunities.

This talk will chart Nicola’s career showing how it has brought us to a deeper understanding of bacteria lifecycle, and ultimately describe why these bacteria are simply searching for the perfect B&B.