Microbiological research within biosciences covers a wide range of areas. Our expertise lies in the application of molecular biology approaches to fundamental research on microorganisms. Current areas of ongoing research include rapid pathogen detection, foodborne and zoonotic diseases, the microbiological safety of food including novel decontamination processes, probiotics, bacteriophage, development and use of marker genes to study bacterial interactions with hosts and the environment, metal and antibiotic resistance of bacteria, modelling of resistance spread and drug discovery. The work covers fundamental studies of individual organisms at a genetic and biochemical level, through to metagenomics. We use techniques such as phenomics, genomics and transcriptomics to relate microbial physiology to gene regulation and expression and to understand their environmental control. Metagenomics are used to examine the complex interactions in microbial populations and apply this to improve control of fermented food production and to study the spread of antimicrobial resistance determinants.