Research PG
- 51cg
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- Email Address
- j.barber.21@abdn.ac.uk
- Office Address
- School/Department
- School of Biological Sciences
Biography
I'm an interdisciplinary PhD student currently based at the 51cg. My research combines quantitative microbiology and critical theory to explore how the political, economic and social power structures that underpin our society drive the unequal impacts of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis.
At the most fundamental level, AMR results when pathogens become resistant to the antimicrobial drugs we rely on to treat them. This apparent simplicity belies the complexity of a global crisis driven by the very ways in which our society is structured, including historical and contemporary patterns of racial capitalist extraction and colonial domination. Addressing the AMR crisis thus requires an interdisciplinary approach that situates microbiology within the broader systems of power within which health and inequality are determined.
My aim is to bridge the gap between microbiology in the lab and its real-world applications, ensuring my research translates into health solutions rooted equity, justice and anti-oppressive struggle. This translational approach is crucial in driving microbiological research that moves beyond academic circles and produces material societal benefits, especially for the people and communities that are made disproportionately vulnerable to AMR.
- Teaching
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Courses
2022-23 Semester 2
Practical demonstrator on a second-year course introducing the mechanisms of animal body functions from cells to the whole organism.
- Dissection, data collection and experimental design | 'Heart and Circulatory System'
- Data analysis skills | 'Visual Distortion'
2022-23 Semester 2
Practical demonstrator on a third-year course exploring the complex systems used to investigate animal physiology.
- Molecular biology methods and advanced data interpretation
- Clinical diagnostics and immunology
2022-23 Semester 1
Practical demonstrator on a series of second-year labs that underpin teaching on the basic mechanisms of molecular genetics, inheritance and evolution.
- Scoring Mendelian Traits | 'Handling Flies'
- Building Phylogenies | 'Flower Dissections'
- Skills for CRISPR 1 | 'Plating E. coli and Pipetting Skills'
- Skills for CRISPR 2 | 'DNA Extraction and PCR'
- Skills for CRISPR 3 | 'Gel Electrophoresis'
2022-23 Semester 1
Practical demonstrator on a first-year course that introduces fundamental topics in biological science, from animal behaviour to molecular methods.
- Animal Behaviour | 'Decoding the Honeybee Waggle Dance'
- Microbiology and Infectious Disease | 'Measuring Protists'
- Immunology | 'Colorimetry Practical'
- Environmental Physiology | 'Photosynthesis'