Clokie earned her doctoral degree in molecular ecology at the University of Leicester in 2001[4] for research on the evolution of three genera of plants: Eucryphia, Griselinia and Coriaria.
[5] Her research includes identifying specific phage combinations that can be used to destroy Clostridioides difficile Infections (CDI) while maintaining a healthy gut.
[7][8] CDI causes almost two fifths of diarrhoea associated with antibiotics in the Western world, and one in ten of patients die due to a lack of effective treatment.
[7][10] Clokie went on to demonstrate that C. difficile can evolve into a new species, with a specific strand that is adapted to spread quickly in hospitals.
[12] Alongside working on silk worms, Clokie has explored the use of phages in the treatment of drug resistant urinary tract infections.
[14] Clokie maintained bacteriophages were helping growing numbers of patients in compassionate use cases and could become routine for conditions like chronic UTIs and diabetic foot ulcers.