Research Interests

My research is focused on applying fundamental microbiological research to a range of biotechnologies that address goals relating to global issues, such as public health, food production, water security, energy independence and environmental sustainability.

For over a decade, I have combined principles of biosystems engineering and bioreactor design with an understanding of metabolism, physiology and ecology to achieve a suite of applied microbiology research goals. Particular attention has been paid to the physiological role and expression of oxygen-tolerant [NiFe] respiratory hydrogenases and the application of extremophilic methane oxidising bacteria to produce biofeedstocks. I am also interested in the microbial production of environmentally-friendly bioplastics from organic wastes, microbial denitrification of wastewaters and bioremediation.

My current externally funded programmes (total $1.3M) include leading projects investigating the use of extremophilic microorganisms to produce next-generation protein feeds from industrial off-gases and investigating metabolic flexibility within methanotrophic bacteria.