Harnessing the power of microbes to develop new technologies that benefit society and the natural environment.

Our research centres on the mechanisms that microbes use to adapt to anthropogenic chemical stresses. This encompasses ‘environmental’ problems such as pollutant bioremediation, but also ‘clinical’ problems such as the evolution of multiple antibiotic resistance elements. Our work has revealed novel organisms, genes, and processes of fundamental importance to biogeochemistry, and applied significance for bioremediation and biocatalysis.