Prof Kevin Foster

Prof Kevin Foster

We study social interactions in microbes and other group-living species

Communities of microbes are everywhere and are important for ecosystem function, agriculture, industry, health and disease. The challenge is that most microbial communities contain many evolving and interacting species, which makes them difficult to understand and predict. The Foster lab combines theory with experimental work to break down the complexity of microbial communities. The lab has a particular interest in the ways that bacteria fight, using toxins and other means, to invade and persist in communities. They also study the ecological networks formed by interacting bacteria, with the goal of predicting and manipulating gut communities for better health.

Read more at: https://zoo-kfoster.zoo.ox.ac.uk