2013 - now - Reader in Environmental Microbiology, University of Essex, UK

2006 - 2013 - Senior Lecturer in Environmental Microbiology, University of Essex, UK

2003 - 2006 - Lecturer in Environmental Microbiology, University of Essex, UK

1999 - 2003 - Senior Research Fellow, Biological Sciences, University of Essex, UK

1995 - 1999 - Research Fellow, PRIS, University of Reading, UK

1994 - 1995 - Researcher, Japan Marine Science and Technology Centre, Japan

1994 - Ph.D., University of Leicester, UK (Microbial Ecology)

1988 - B.Sc. (Hons.), University of Leicester, UK (Biological Sciences)

Activities of, and interactions between, microbes and their effects on past and present environments Carbon cycling in marine and estuarine environments, e.g. isoprene degradation and production, cycling of extracellular polymeric substances Pollution microbiology, e.g. microbial ecology of petroleum hydrocarbon-polluted marine and groundwater environments Extremophiles, e.g. the influence of high salt concentrations, different types of solute, and multiple stressors on microbial physiology and ecology Biotechnological applications of extremophiles Long-term survival of microorganisms and preservation of cellular macromolecules