Question: What made you want to go into looking at bacteria and viruses?

Andy Timms answered on 29 Sep 2020:

Hi Kitty.
That is a complicated question as the reasons have changed over the years but basically they are fascinating things individually and as populations 🙂
When I started in science I viewed bacteria and viruses (particularly the viruses that affect bacteria – bacteriophage) as tools, they were easy to grow and easy to work with so I could use them to answer various questions that would take much longer to answer using other systems.
Relatively recently we have come to see that bacteria (and viruses) have really important effects (both positive and negative) on us and the environment, when you think that there are more bacteria and other micro-organisms in and on our bodies than there are cells that make ‘us’, they are everywhere and we couldn’t survive without them.
Looking at bacterial poulations, looking at the way they interact with us, looking at the genetics and mechnaisms they use to live on or in us and (sometimes) cause infection and disease.
There are so many interesting areas to look at and it is just amazing that they may have been on this planet for billions of years and we know so little about them.
So many reasons that I can’t put them all down here but I hope some of the above interests you.
Andy