Dr Kate Steed

Dr Kate Stephens

PhD (Food and Microbial Sciences) BSc(Hons) Medical Microbiology

Kate joined Optibac in 2018. She is our Training Specialist within the Technical Team.

Kate earned a PhD from University of Reading in the microbiome research unit, in Professor Glenn Gibson’s research group, studying gut microbiology. The topic of her PhD thesis was ‘Synthesis and cholesterol lowering abilities of novel prebiotics using reverse enzyme synthesis from probiotic microbes’. Kate won the Yakult ‘PhD student of the year’ award for commitment to science outreach and communication.

She has guested on a podcast and been heard on the radio, sharing her expert perspective on the child microbiome. She has also been featured in a range of print media, including Women’s Health, The Guardian, The Telegraph, as well as The Daily Mail.