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Dr Hayley Knights

Research Member of Common Room

Postdoctoral Researcher

Department of Biology

As a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Biology, Hayley works at the intersection of plant sciences, microbiology, and synthetic biology. Her research focuses on engineering beneficial plant-microbe interactions to reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers and promote more sustainable forms of agriculture. She is particularly interested in nitrogen-fixing bacteria and how their natural capabilities can be harnessed and reprogrammed to meet agricultural needs.

Hayley completed her PhD at the University of Oxford, where she studied the genetic factors that shape how bacteria associate with plant roots. Building on this work, her current research explores synthetic signalling systems that allow plants to precisely regulate microbial behaviour at the soil-root interface.