Dr Margarida Castro Gomes Spencer

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick

Scientific Background

Research Interests

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is driven by microorganisms, such as bacteria, evolving mechanisms to resist antibiotics (also called antimicrobials), threatening modern medicine by making it harder to treat infections. As the current antibiotics are becoming ineffective and the search for new ones has its challenges, we need to find innovative ways to tackle the problem of AMR. My research aims to boost the natural infection-fighting abilities of innate immune cells — our body’s first responders nto infection — so we can rely less on antibiotics. To mimic the complex immune responses, we use zebrafish larvae to model host-pathogen interactions during infection.

Research Groups

Microbiology & Infectious Disease

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: technique-orientated, organised, supportive

Provision of Training

I will take responsibility for all your technical training at the start of your PhD, but expect you to develop more independence later so that you can confidently determine the appropriate methods and changes to methodology.

Progression Monitoring and Management

We will meet 1-to-1 at least once a week at the beginning of your PhD, and these meetings will be more spaced out as you progress. During these sessions, I like to be kept up to date with new results and failures, and we will set out the expectations of your progression on a weekly/monthly basis. If these progression criteria are not met, we will always discuss a plan of action together.

Communication

I try my best to avoid sending emails outside of work hours, but it is not always possible, and I definitely don’t expect you to do the same. For ease of communication, the lab has a ‘Slack” group to reach me and other lab members, but it is also used to share files and science updates. I am happy to provide advice and to discuss any issues that are impacting your ability to fulfil your goals.

Meetings

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me at least once per week. These meetings will be a mixture of face-to-face and via video chat or telephone. I am usually contactable for an instant response on every working day.

Work Patterns

The timing of work in my lab is mostly flexible. As we are a wet-lab and work with animal models, some experiments are time-sensitive and will require you to be in the lab at specific times. It may also be required to assist on the weekends to set up zebrafish breeding and egg collections for a couple of hours. You will need to attend pre-arranged meetings, but I expect students to manage their own time.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week's notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5,000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Primary supervisor for:

Exploring opportunistic bacterial infections in zebrafish: from co-infection biology to trained immunity

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).

Exploring opportunistic bacterial infections in zebrafish: from co-infection biology to trained immunity

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Freya Harrison, Dr Annette Vergunst

University of Registration: University of Warwick

BBSRC Research Themes:

Understanding the Rules of Life (Immunology, Microbiology)

Project Outline

Opportunistic pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) and members of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) pose serious risks to immunocompromised individuals, and patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Pa can establish dense biofilms in the lungs of CF patients, while Bcc has been shown to persist within phagocytic cells, making infections difficult to eradicate. Their co-occurrence in CF patients adds further complexity, and although Bcc has been shown to impair Pa biofilms during co-infection, the mechanisms remain unclear. Novel strategies are urgently required to combat these infections, and one promising avenue is trained innate immunity: a process whereby innate immune cells undergo epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming to boost antimicrobial responses.

This project will exploit the zebrafish embryo as a powerful in vivo infection model to investigate how trained immunity can be used to protect against Pa and Bcc, both individually and in co-infections. By combining infection biology with advanced imaging and comparative approaches, the project will uncover new mechanisms of host protection.

Objectives

1. Identify and test inducers of trained innate immunity that enhance host antimicrobial responses against Pa and Bcc.

2. Establish a zebrafish co-infection model to assess how trained immunity influences Pa-Bcc interactions in acute and persistent infections.

3. Apply high-resolution/high-throughput microscopy to visualise Pa-Bcc-host interactions at cellular resolution and define infection niches.

4. Compare zebrafish data with complementary findings from the Harrison lab in a parallel infection model to identify shared mechanisms and inform future work with these models.

This interdisciplinary project will provide training in microbiology, molecular biology, epigenetics, imaging, and in vivo modelling - ideal for students interested in infection biology, host defence, and next-generation antimicrobial strategies.

Exploring phage therapy against intracellular pathogens using the in vivo zebrafish model

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Antonia Sagona

University of Registration: University of Warwick

BBSRC Research Themes:

Understanding the Rules of Life (Immunology, Microbiology)

Project Outline

Intracellular bacterial pathogens pose a significant challenge as they can persist within host cells and evade immune defences. Treating these infections often requires prolonged antibiotic use, which can be ineffective due to low intracellular drug accumulation and may drive the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is a growing global concern and tackling it is a key priority in the UK National Action Plan.

Phage therapy is a promising alternative to antibiotics, but how phages act against intracellular pathogens remains largely unexplored. This project offers an exciting opportunity to work at the cutting edge of microbiology, immunology and host-pathogen research. Using the in vivo zebrafish embryo model, you will investigate phage-pathogen-host interactions in real time, gaining mechanistic insight into the therapeutic potential of phages against hard-to-treat intracellular infections.

This project aims to discover and characterise novel bacteriophages targeting intracellular pathogens, with a focus on understanding their mechanism of action and potential therapeutic activity in vivo.

The primary objectives include:

1. Isolate bacteriophages that effectively target intracellular pathogens (eg. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Burkholderia cenocepacia);

2. Perform phage whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatic analysis to characterise the newly identified phages;

3. Perform zebrafish embryo infection assays to understand phage activity in vivo;

4. Use high-resolution and high-throughput microscopy to visualise phage-pathogen-host interactions at cellular resolution;

5. Analyse host immune responses during phage therapy to determine host-modulating effects.

This interdisciplinary project will equip the student with a broad skillset in microbiology, molecular biology, genomics, imaging, and in vivo modelling - ideal for those interested in infection biology, AMR, and the development of next-generation antimicrobial strategies.

Co-supervisor on a project / projects with supervisor name + link.