Isobel Smith

Isobel is a PhD student working to understand the evolution and transmission of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria in bivalve shellfish. 

Her work aims to establish the prevalence and diversity of AMR bacteria in bivalve molluscs and understand how AMR may evolve within the shellfish microbiome. Additionally, she aims to assess the risk posed to human health from exposure to AMR bacteria from shellfish.  

She is supervised by Professor William Gaze, Dr Anne Leonard and Professor Angus Buckling from the University of Exeter as well as Dr Craig Baker-Austin from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS). Her work is funded by the Sustainable Aquaculture Futures strategic alliance between the University of Exeter and CEFAS. 

Isobel graduated from the University of Surrey with a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science in 2023. While pursuing her degree, she completed a professional training year at the FAO Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Reference Centre at CEFAS, Weymouth. There, she initiated the development of a surveillance protocol to detect AMR bacteria and resistance genes in ornamental fish imports.