Dr Albane Thery

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick

Scientific Background

Research Interests

I study how microorganisms, like bacteria and plankton, adapt and move in complex biological environments – from multispecies marine ecosystems to oral biofilms. My work is a combination of theory and simulations, and I build minimal models for complex living systems, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary work and collaborations, both for theory and experiments.

For example, I model how these bacteria and algae move in confined spaces and flowing biological fluids. I am also interested in understanding how small, micrometre-scale organisms can sense cues from their environment for navigation, predation or escape strategies.

Research Groups

Quantitative, Systems & Engineering Biology

The Zeeman Institute: SBIDER

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: collaborative, flexible, student-dependent

Provision of Training

We will initially make sure that you can get foundational training in biological modelling, focusing on skills for your project and your preferences (theory, small numerical models, more expensive simulations).

You will gradually develop more independence as you figure out how to develop your own models and project directions.

Progression Monitoring and Management

We will meet every week or two weeks for an update on your progress and some troubleshouting if need be. I will not expect new results at every meeting but we will set expectations for intermeditate objectives together.

Communication

I communicate primarily by emails.

I generally expect replies within a day or two for small queries, and longer-term discussions to happen mostly in person.

Meetings

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me at least once per fortnight. These meetings will be face-to-face. I am usually contactable for an instant response 3 or 4 days per week.

Work Patterns

The timing of work in my lab is completely flexible, and (other than attending pre-arranged meetings) I expect students to manage their own time.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 2 weeks' notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5,000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Primary supervisor for:

Communication, competition and resilience in structured bacterial communities

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Communication, competition and resilience in structured bacterial communities

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Munehiro Asally

University of Registration: University of Warwick

BBSRC Research Themes:

Sustainable Agriculture and Food (Microbial Food Safety)
Understanding the Rules of Life (Soil Science)

Project Outline

How do bacterial communities communicate and reorganise to survive environmental stress? Biofilms are dense microbial communities with major consequences for health, agriculture and the environment, including chronic infections, antimicrobial resistance and biofouling. Despite strong spatial gradients in nutrients and oxygen, biofilms can display collective responses and reorganise under changing conditions via chemical, mechanical and electrical cell-cell communication.

This project will develop mathematical models to understand the mechanisms and consequences of long-range communication in biofilms. Together with the Asally lab, we will study electrical waves observed in E. coli biofilms and investigate how nutrient or oxygen depletion affects membrane potential, extracellular ions and bacterial growth. The aim is to build minimal models to reproduce wave propagation, identify wave speeds, signalling ranges and thresholds, and generate predictions that can be tested experimentally.

Understanding how such signals propagate naturally leads to a second question: what do they change at the level of the microbial community? We will model how communication affects the response to perturbations such as nutrient depletion, hypoxia, antibiotics or invasion by a competing population, and whether it alters survival, spatial growth patterns, competition or recovery. We will consider the role of cellular behaviour, including cell division and motility, in these responses.

Finally, we will ask how these mechanisms change when microbial communities inhabit structured environments like soil. We will incorporate the local biofilm dynamics into network models of connected habitats, such as porous soils, where nutrients, oxygen, signals and cells move between local populations. By varying flow, moisture and connectivity, we will identify how communication, transport and environmental structure combine to determine persistence, recovery, invasion or collapse.