Sarah has been at the forefront of translating advances in genetic sequencing into microbiology services, and linking this sequence data to electronic health records for large-scale epidemiology. She was instrumental in obtaining ethical and regulatory approvals for a large anonymised linked database of hospital admissions and microbiology/laboratory data (Infections in Oxfordshire Research Database, IORD), and now leads analyses investigating aspects of epidemiology and management of infectious diseases in IORD as Chief Investigator.