Dr Chloe Heys

Senior Lecturer

Health, Education, Policing and Sciences

I graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2012 with a degree in Zoology, before continuing my education with an MRes in Advanced Biological Sciences at the University of Liverpool, graduating in 2013. I continued my time here studying for a PhD in Zoology, under the supervision of Dr Zenobia Lewis and Dr Alistair Darby. I then moved onto the University of Glasgow to fulfil a postdoctoral researcher position within the Llewellyn Lab group, before joining Staffordshire University as a Lecturer in Microbiology in 2020.

Professional memberships and activities

  • Member of the American Society for Microbiology.
  • Member of the British Ecological Society.
  • Member of the Animal Behaviour Society.
  • Active journal article reviewer across wide range of journals.

Academic qualifications

  • PhD (University of Liverpool, 2018)
  • MRes Advanced Biological Sciences (University of Liverpool, 2013)
  • BSc (hons) Zoology (University of Liverpool, 2012)
  • Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA) 2021

Expertise

  • Microbiology – culturing and next generation sequencing
  • Host-microbiome interactions
  • Animal behaviour
  • Zoology

Research interests

I am fundamentally interested in host-microbiome interactions, with a particular focus on the role of the gut microbiota on driving the evolution of behaviours in animals. My PhD focussed on the relationship between gut microbiota and animal behaviour in various species of Drosophila with varying ecologies. I use a multi-faceted approach, combining behavioural trials and observations with microbiological and molecular techniques, to test a number of ecological predictions. I have worked with Drosophila in both laboratory and field settings for over eight years, and I have a wealth of experience in conducting large-scale mating experiments and microbiological assays. I extended these techniques when transitioning from studying invertebrates to vertebrates, with my postdoctoral research examining the role of the gut microbiota in mediating health, physiology and behaviour of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Using aquarium facilities at the University of Glasgow and an experimental river system at the Marine Institute in Ireland, I am primarily investigating the role of the gut microbiota in overwintering behaviour, or ‘torpor’, in salmon, but I am also involved in several other projects.

I am also the Principal Investigator on several projects funded by GCRF and others, that investigate the illegal trade of parrots within Indonesia. This project first began through the unique collaboration of international academics, NGOs and policy makers to develop a framework for exploring the effect that the illegal wildlife trade has on bird species (with a particular focus on parrots and raptors) and identifying new methods to reduce this impact. Since then, we have been working closely with registered captive breeding centres and in-country academics and other specialists, to identify how the global COVID-19 pandemic has affected this trade, through a widespread move to online platforms rather than traditional bird markets. We are using a highly interdisciplinary approach–combining disciplines such as zoology, economics, psychology and sociology, in order to achieve this goal.

Publications

  • Kazlauskaite, R., Cheaib, B., Humble, J., Heys C, et al. (2022). Deploying an In Vitro Gut Model to Assay the Impact of the Mannan-Oligosaccharide Prebiotic Bio-Mos on the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Gut Microbiome. Microbiology Spectrum, 10, 3.
  • Heys C., Fisher, AM., Dewhurst, ADD., Lewis, Z., Lize, A. (2021). Exposure to foreign gut microbiota can facilitate rapid dietary shifts. Scientific Reports, 11, 16791.
  • Cheaib, B., Yang, P., Kazlauskaite, R., Lindsay, E., Heys C., et al. (2021). Genome erosion and evidence for an intracellular niche – exploring the biology of mycoplasmas in Atlantic salmon. Aquaculture, 541, 736772.
  • Kazlauskaite, R., Cheaib, B., Heys, C. et al. (2021). SalmoSim: the development of a three-compartment in vitro simulator of the Atlantic salmon GI tract and associated microbial communities. Microbiome, 9, 179.
  • Heys, C., Cheaib, B., Busetti, A., Kazlauskaite, R., Maier, L., Sloan, WT., Ijaz, UZ., Kaufmann, J., McGinnity, P., Llewellyn, MS. (2020) Neutral processes dominate microbial community assembly in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 1;86(8):e02283-19.
  • Heys, C., Lize, A., Lewis, Z., Price, TARP. (2020). Drosophila sexual attractiveness in older males is mediated by their microbiota. Invited special issue Microorganisms, 8:168.
  • Heys, C., Lizé, A., Colinet, H., Price, TARP., Prescott, M., Ingleby, F., Lewis, Z. (2018). Microbiota counteracts male outbreeding strategy by inhibiting sexual signalling in females. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 6:29.
  • Heys, C., Lizé, A., Blow, F., White, L., Darby, A., Lewis, Z. (2018). The effect of gut microbiota elimination in Drosophila melanogaster: A how-to guide for host-microbiome studies. Ecology and Evolution, 00:1–12.
  • Walsh, B., Heys, C., Lewis, Z. (2017). Gut microbiota influences female choice and fecundity in the nuptial gift-giving species, Drosophila subobscura (Diptera: Drosophilidae). European Journal of Entomology, 114:439-445.
  • Antwis, RE. [et al, including Heys, C]. (2017). Fifty important research questions in microbial ecology. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 1:93-95.
  • Verspoor, RL., Heys, C., Price, TARP. (2015). Dyeing insects for behavioural assays: the mating behaviour of anaesthetised Drosophila. Journal of Visualised Experiments, 98: e52645.
  • Lizé, A., Price, TARP., Heys, C., Lewis, Z., Hurst, GDD. (2014). Extreme cost of rivalry in a monandrous species: male-male interactions result in failure to acquire mates and reduced longevity. Proceedings of the Royal Society London Series B. 281: 20140631.
  • Lewis, Z., Heys, C., Prescott, M., Lizé, A. (2014). You are what you eat: gut microbiota determines kin recognition in Drosophila. Gut Microbes, 5:541-3.
in the UK for Quality Education

Sustainable Development Goal 4, Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Social Inclusion

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021