Microbiology

The Microbiology discipline investigates the molecular, physiological, and evolutionary mechanisms underlying microbial life — from individual bacterial cells to complex host-associated communities. Research addresses how bacteria sense environmental stress through signal transduction and RNA modifications, how membrane transporters regulate metabolite homeostasis, and how non-canonical amino acids and specialised elongation factors expand the biochemical repertoire of prokaryotes. Groups also study how pathogens colonise and persist in host environments, how bacteriophages and mobile genetic elements shape antimicrobial resistance, and how gastrointestinal pathogens evolve within hosts — with direct relevance to phage therapy. Plant microbiology, parasitology, and symbiosis research extend the discipline's scope. Together, the groups connect fundamental microbial biology to questions of infection, adaptation, and therapeutic intervention.