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Karen Steward, PhD

Senior Scientific Specialist

After completing an undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge in 2006, Karen became a research scientist at the Animal Health Trust, UK. During her time there, she completed a PhD in molecular microbiology and evolutionary genetics in partnership with the University of Cambridge and went on to hold a post-doctoral position. Her research focused on the fundamental biology of infectious diseases, outbreak analysis and the development of vaccines and diagnostic assays. In 2017 she left the lab to pursue a career in science communication. As senior scientific specialist, Karen employs her wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience to coordinate and create a range of scientific content, tools and resources for the site and provide scientific support across the teams.


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Published Content
Total: 225
Sequencing the Microbiome content piece image
Infographic

Sequencing the Microbiome

Download this infographic to discover what the microbiome is, why it's important and how we can learn more from harnessing the power of sequencing.
Celebrations All Round for Analysis Veterans content piece image
Industry Insight

Celebrations All Round for Analysis Veterans

As a stalwart in the biological and chemical analysis fields, JEOL celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. But that’s not all it is celebrating, with the appointment of 35-year veteran of JEOL USA, Bob Pohorenec as President of the company this year.
You’re Unique, So Your Nutrition Should Be Too: An Interview With Professor Tim Spector content piece image
Article

You’re Unique, So Your Nutrition Should Be Too: An Interview With Professor Tim Spector

Recent research has shown that modifiable factors, such as our microbiome diversity, have a much more significant effect on many of our responses to food than fixed factors, like age or genetics. To learn more about predicting and modifying responses to food we spoke with Professor Tim Spector, expert on personalized nutrition.
Evaluating Detection Methods for Persistent Infection content piece image
Article

Evaluating Detection Methods for Persistent Infection

A pair of recent studies looked at the reliability of clinical observations and bacterial culture versus quantitative PCR (qPCR) in detecting clinically healthy carriers of the bacterium that causes strangles, who pose an infection risk to naïve individuals.
Bacterial Culture content piece image
Infographic

Bacterial Culture

There are lots of reasons to culture bacteria, many sources from which to culture them and diverse species with equally diverse growth requirements – some pickier than others. To give yourself a fighting chance at successful bacterial culture it is therefore vital to pick the correct culture conditions for your purpose and avoid contamination by using good aseptic technique.
A long string of circles in a chain. A zoomed in view shows the amino acids Phe, Leu, Ser and Cys on four circles.
Article

Essential Amino Acids: Chart, Abbreviations and Structure

Amino acids are the building blocks that form polypeptides and ultimately proteins. Consequently, they are fundamental components of our bodies and vital for physiological functions such as protein synthesis, tissue repair and nutrient absorption. Here we take a closer look at amino acid properties, how they are used in the body and where they come from.
Food Poisoning Bacteria’s Sugar Coating Could Be Its Undoing content piece image
Industry Insight

Food Poisoning Bacteria’s Sugar Coating Could Be Its Undoing

To learn how Campylobacter hides from the body’s immune system, why some people are more susceptible than others, and the potential role that carbohydrate-based diagnostics could play in the fight against the bacterium, we spoke to Professor Rob Field, Co-founder of Iceni Diagnostics.
Cartoon of a globe held in gloved hands.
Article

Epidemic vs Pandemic

“An outbreak of this”, “epidemic of that”, “protect yourself against a potential pandemic of some horrible sounding disease”. In this article, we take a look at the terminology used by epidemiologists and scientists to describe the occurrence and spread of disease.
Two circles, each containing a microscopy image of gram positive bacteria or gram negative bacteria.
Article

Gram Positive vs Gram Negative

Being able to differentiate bacterial species is important for a host of reasons. While molecular techniques can determine the specific species, even without getting into the molecular nitty gritty, there are phenotypic differences between groups of bacteria that can be used to differentiate them. One such useful classification – if a bacterium is Gram positive or Gram negative - is based on the structure of bacterial cell walls.
Knowledge Really Is Power When It Comes to Investigating the Mechanisms of Microbes content piece image
Article

Knowledge Really Is Power When It Comes to Investigating the Mechanisms of Microbes

For scientists investigating genomes and molecular mechanisms of microbes, it is vital that they can collate existing knowledge and understanding in the context of their current work to draw conclusions and fill gaps in knowledge. We spoke to Dr Peter Karp, leader of the BioCyc project, a microbial genomes and metabolic pathways web portal, about the evolution of BioCyc and its role in research.
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