Dr. Rachel Feeney

Biography

Rachel Feeney is a PhD student in Björn Schröder's research group at Umeå University. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Leicester in the UK. Following her undergraduate studies, Rachel worked as a Lab Technician at the Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, where her role involved projects on the microbiome and allowed her to become proficient in the extraction of bacterial DNA from stool and saliva samples using 16S analysis. During this time, she developed a keen interest in the impact of nutrition and the environment on the human microbiome, which motivated her to enhance her bioinformatic skills. Rachel also completed an independent project investigating the interaction between C. rodentium and D. alaskensis in the context of colitis. She joined Björn Schröder's lab at Umeå University in July 2021 as a Project Assistant and transitioned to a PhD student in early 2022. Her current research project focuses on the importance of dietary fiber on gut health and how a lack of fiber in diets disrupts the gut environment.

Research Interests

Experience