Nuno studies the wonders of the microbial world. In particular, Nuno explores the behaviour, ecology and evolution of bacteria and how their behavioural ecology impacts us. After finishing his doctoral studies in the Zoology Department of Oxford (Merton College), he moved to Cambridge with a Herchel Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship, which he based in the Department of Applied Mathematics (DAMTP). Here, Nuno explored the behavioural ecology and biophysics of bacterial biofilms (surface-attached communities of bacteria), combining theoretical (i.e., mathematical modelling) and experimental approaches. This combination of theory and experiments prized him with a Wellcome Trust Interdisciplinary Fellowship, which he took up next. Nuno is now a BBSRC Discovery Fellow, he is based in the Departments of Applied Mathematics and Veterinary Medicine, and he continues to explore the wonders of the tiny creatures. In particular, Nuno is now studying how bacteria use motility to cope with stress, both chemical (e.g., antibiotics) and mechanical (e.g., fluid flow).
More recently, Nuno appreciated how “History can make science better”. It really can. In 2020, Nuno concluded a MA in the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University as a part-time student, and he is planning to continue his studies now on the History of Science. Nuno is particularly interested to understand what drives historical amnesia of biomedical knowledge, and how scientific controversies are resolved. Naively, one may think that increasing empirical data is the solution for scientific controversies. But science is done by people and, therefore, social, cultural and political forces should not be overlooked.
At Christ’s College, Nuno supervises 1A Evolution & Behaviour, 1B Evolution & Animal Diversity, and 1A Mathematical Biology.