Mathematical Modelling of Microbial Population Dynamics

This microverse-funded research program investigates microbial interactions and community dynamics through mathematical modelling and quantitative image analysis. Understanding microbial interactions, community dynamics and community structure is essential in understanding the resistance and resilience of microbial communities to disturbance. The research program consists of 3 conceptually related but distinct projects. The first project develops a mathematical model to describe the bacterial colonisation of endotracheal breathing tubes, in order to shed light on the yet unknown infection pathways of infection in ventilator associated pneumonia. This work is done in collaboration with Dr. Anne Busch in the Theoretical Microbial Ecology group and Dr. Frank Bloos from the University Clinic in Jena. The second project is being done in collaboration with the group of Prof. Georg Pohnert. It investigates algal rejuvenation and how this process is impacted by algae-bacteria interactions, using mathematical modelling in combination with data on algal population dynamics in the presence and absence of different marine bacterial species, provided by the Pohnert group. The third project involves image analysis of data collected in the Theoretical Microbial Ecology group on amoebal predation of bacteria. The aim is to compare amoebal predation on single bacterial cells compared with predation of bacterial aggregates. This will reveal how different patterns of spatial organisation of bacteria impact resistance against amoebal predation. The project may also involve spatially resolved mathematical modelling in its later stages.

PhD start: 10/01/2025