It's all about bacteria

Meg's research involves the world of bacteria. Much like the newly rediscovered Netflix show Avatar: The last Airbender the bacterial world also consists of good guys (probiotics,) bad villains (pathogens) with some neutral extras (commensals, decomposers) in the mix. Just like some of the good Earthbender bacteria, there are some villains which can harm animals and humans who consume the infected food. My research involves working on the superhero bacterial Avatar and use secret weapons like Alpaca nanobodies to fight the pathogenic Earthbenders so there is no more zoonoses.

Researchers are beginning to understand how our gut, filled with trillions of tiny microbiota, talks to the brain via many different pathways. The gut microbiota changes during pregnancy and early life, which could affect autism development. My research aims to understand the role the gut microbiota during pregnancy and early life in the development of autism.

The shortest distance from the outside world to your brain is through your nose. Within your nose you are constantly exposed to pathogens that can infect your nose and potentially travel to your brain. Brain infections have a high mortality rate. Patients that survive brain infections are often left with live long disabilities. We'll take a trip up our noses and learn about what lies within. Pick through the various microbes that can infect your nose and the stinkers that travel to your brain which includes a brain eating amoeba! We will also learn about what natural defences we have up our noses, steps we can take to reduce these infections and some of the cool work at CSIRO trying to grow the inside of your nose in a dish and developing strategies to fight infections