Blogs

31st July 2026

Exploring the relationship between food structure, fermentation and gut health in plant-based foods

“Food is far more than a simple source of nutrients. Food’s physical structure, formulation, and processing all play a role in determining how it is broken down during digestion and how the resulting compounds are used by our gut microbiome. With the growing popularity...

24th July 2026

How is brain health connected to the gut and why does it matter?

Brain health is the state of brain functioning across cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, behavioural and motor domains that allows a person to realise their full potential in life. Over 1 in 3 people are affected by neurological conditions, making brain disorders one of the leading...

17th July 2026

What is clinical metagenomics and how could it help diagnose infections?

“Studies have shown clinical metagenomics can be effective at detecting infections in a huge array of human samples, such as tissue, fluids and wounds. To understand what clinical metagenomics is, we first have to delve into the meaning of metagenomics. Genomics is the study...

10th July 2026

Improving inclusivity; Introducing our new EDI Committee Co-chair Dr Emma Waters

“I’m a postdoctoral researcher at the Quadram Institute and I’ve just been appointed the new EDI co-chair which is very exciting. I’m joining Dr Stephen Robinson as Co-Chair. Moving from equality to equity There are two versions of EDI. The first is Equality, Diversity...

3rd July 2026

What we learn from microbes under stress; Dr Alessia Lepore’s fellowship

“Since joining the Quadram Institute as an Early Career Fellow, I’m studying the tricks that food pathogens, microbes that cause disease, use to adapt to multiple stresses across the food chain, potentially jeopardising food safety. What stresses do microbes experience? Think of a pathogen...

26th June 2026

How we study microbiomes

A microbiome is a community of microbes, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms that live and interact together in an environment. Microbiome research is constantly developing to learn more about which microbes are living together in different places and what they do and...

19th June 2026

From phages to pigs: turning research into a spinout company

“I’m currently a postdoctoral researcher here at the Quadram Institute. My day-to-day research is looking at bacteriophages, which are viruses that can infect and kill bacteria, and how they can be used as therapeutics in both humans and animals. A lot of the research...

12th June 2026

Reflecting on work experience in the communications team as a Broadcast Journalism student

“I have just finished my second year of the Broadcast and Multimedia journalism degree at the University of East Anglia. I thought a placement at the Quadram Institute would be a fascinating opportunity. Coming from a more humanities subject background rather than a scientific...

5th June 2026

Understanding viral ecology and diversity to develop future phage therapy

“I’m interested in what viral communities look like in nature. The overwhelming majority of these are bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect bacteria. Bacteriophages are key drivers of microbial ecology and evolution. That’s what I’m most interested in. I see myself as a viral...

22nd May 2026

Five ways we’re researching women’s health

Despite affecting half the population, women’s health has historically been and continues to be understudied. A recent report found that there are 67% less clinical trials that were female-only compared to male-only. It’s important that everyone, including women, are represented in research so that...