After completing my PhD at the University of Liverpool studying bioremediation of chlorinated phenols, I undertook a post-doctoral position at Westlakes Research Institute in Cumbria before joining Mike Peck’s Research Group at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich.

My research has focused on investigating germination and outgrowth from individual spores of Clostridium botulinum to gain greater understanding of the physiology and variability surrounding these events; using physiological and genomic techniques to examine variability between C. botulinum strains; and the survival and growth of spore-forming bacteria in foods during refrigeration.

Key Publications

Carter, A. T., Stringer, S. C., Webb, M. D., & Peck, M. W. (2013). The type F6 neurotoxin gene cluster locus of Group II Clostridium botulinum has evolved by successive disruption of two different ancestral precursors. Genome Biology and Evolution, 5(5), 1032-1037.

Stringer, S. C., Carter, A. T., Webb, M. D., Wachnicka, E., Crossman, L., Sebaihia, M., & Peck, M. W. (2013). Genomic and physiological variability within Group II (non-proteolytic) Clostridium botulinum. BMC Genomics, 14(1), 333.

Stringer, S. C., Webb, M. D., George, S. M., Pin, C., & Peck, M. W. (2005). Heterogeneity of times required for germination and outgrowth from single spores of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 71(9), 4998-5003.

Webb, M. D., Pin, C., Peck, M. W., & Stringer, S. C. (2007). Historical and contemporary NaCl concentrations affect the duration and distribution of lag times from individual spores of nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 73(7), 2118-2127.

Webb, M. D., Stringer, S. C., Le Marc, Y., Baranyi, J., & Peck, M. W. (2012). Does proximity to neighbours affect germination of spores of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum? Food Microbiology, 32(1), 104-109.