Advances in Microbial Physiology

Professor Robert K Poole

Emeritus Professor of Microbiology at the University of Sheffield, UK. Previously West Riding Professor of Microbiology at Sheffield and held a Personal Chair in Microbiology at King’s College London until 1996. Awarded several research Fellowships, with sabbatical leave at the Australian National University, Kyoto University, and Cornell University. His career-long interests lie in bacterial respiratory metabolism, metal-microbe interactions, and bioactive small gas molecules. Notable contributions include work on bacterial terminal oxidases and resistance to nitric oxide, with implications for bacterial pathogenesis. Co-discovered the flavohaemoglobin Hmp, recognized as the primary mechanism of nitric oxide resistance in bacteria. Served as Chairman of numerous research council grant committees, held research grants for over 40 years, and published extensively (h-index, 2024 = 70). Served on several Institute review panels in the UK and overseas. Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Society of Biology.

Professor David Kelly

Emeritus Professor of Microbial Physiology at the University of Sheffield, UK. Possesses over 35 years of research expertise in bacterial physiology and biochemistry, membrane protein transport processes, and bioenergetics. Has worked with the zoonotic food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni for over 25 years. A major program studying C. jejuni physiology was conducted in his laboratory, focusing on responses to oxygen, carbon metabolism, and functional analysis of electron transport chains. Long-standing interests in membrane transport mechanisms, including the discovery of a new class of periplasmic binding-protein dependent prokaryotic solute transporters, the TRAP transporters, which are now known to be common in diverse bacteria and archaea. Published over 150 papers (h-index 2024 = 56), held numerous grants, served on grant committees, and has been a regular invited speaker at national and international conferences. Recipient of a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust, UK.