News

Professor Kevin Foster combines his unique background in maths, ecology, evolution and microbiology to study microbial communities. He is particularly interested in bacterial competition, and has applied the logic of ecology and evolution to microbiology. His flagship study pioneers the use of ecological principles rooted in nutrient competition and bacterial genomes to predict which sets of gut bacterial will limit the growth of important bacterial pathogens.

After successful postdocs in Texas, Berlin and Helsinki, Professor Foster started his own group at Harvard University with a prestigious Bauer Fellowship in 2006. He then relocated to Oxford, where he was a professor of evolutionary biology in the Departments of Biology and Biochemistry until his appointment to the Chair of Microbiology at the Dunn School, in association with Wadham College, in 2024.

“I am delighted to join the ranks of the Royal Society”, said Prof Foster “This was only possible because of the talent and achievements of past and present group members, and I am very grateful to them.”

Kevin is joining an impressive cohort of new fellows recognised by the Royal Society this year. Other current Fellows of the Royal Society based at the Dunn School are Prof Matthew Freeman, Prof Nick Proudfoot, Prof Jordan Raff, Prof Liz Robertson, Prof Geoff Smith and the Dunn School’s Visiting Professor and ERC President Prof Maria Leptin.