People

Quantitative microbial ecology and evolution

Dr Bogna Smug is a computational and quantitative biologist whose research spans microbial ecology, evolutionary genomics, and mathematical biology. She uses a combination of bioinformatics, mathematical modelling, and data science to study how bacteria and bacteriophages interact, co-evolve, and collectively shape microbial communities.

Her work spans multiple scales — from the molecular level (prophage gene content and function) to the population level (coevolutionary dynamics and resistance emergence) and the community level (social evolution and public goods theory). A recurring theme is evolution of diversity within the microbial world, and in particular within bacteria and their viruses: bacteriophages.

Dr Smug is currently based at the Malopolska Biotechnology Centre (Jagiellonian University, Kraków) and will be joining the Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava to establish the Phage Ecology and Evolution Group. She previously held research positions at the University of Exeter and Jagiellonian University, where she developed expertise in mathematical biology and microbial interactions. Her published work spans top journals including Nature Communications, Nature Ecology & Evolution, eLife, and The ISME Journal.