Meet the people

Dr Michael Cunliffe - MBA Fellow (Principal Investigator)

General Research Interests:

• Trace gas microbiology and biogeochemistry
• Bacterial energy metabolism
• Sea surface microlayer: microbiology and biogeochemistry
• Biofilms
• Pollution microbiology

Education and Professional Experience:

Professional positions:

• 2010 - MBA Fellow and PI of the Microbial Biogeochemistry Group Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• 2005 - 2009 Postdoctoral Research Associate Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick

Education:

• 2002 - 2005 Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester PhD Microbiology
• 2001 - 2002 Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester MSc Pollution and Environmental Control
• 1997 - 2000 School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool BSc (Hons) Environmental Biology

Valentina Sciutteri - Erasmus Programme Student (from Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy)

Valentina is developing a laboratory model system to study coastal microbial biofilms in response to ocean acidification

Sam Cottingham – MRes Marine Biology

Thesis title: Seasonal microgel and microbial dynamics at L4 coastal time-series station

Jack Billinge – MRes Marine Biology

Thesis title: Biogeochemical and microbiological study of estuarine surface microlayers

Clare Miller - MSc student (with University of Southampton)

Wakefield Memorial Grant Awardee (Marine Conservation Society)

Thesis title: Temporal changes in biofilms and biofouling on marine plastic debris

Tomasa Sbaffi – Campus World Student (from Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy)

Tomasa is conducting a series of experiments to help better understand protist-bacteria interactions in the sea surface microlayer

Ian Lidbury - MRes in Marine Biology

Ian conducted a series of experiments to determine the effects of ocean acidification on natural microbial communities and model laboratory strains.

Lidbury I, Johnson V, Hall-Spencer JM, Munn CB & Cunliffe M (2012) Community-level response of coastal microbial biofilms to ocean acidification in a natural carbon dioxide vent ecosystem. Marine Pollution Bulletin doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.02.011

Delphine Lobelle - Society for Applied Microbiology Summer Student (Summer 2010)

Delphine worked on a pilot project investigating microbial biofilm growth on marine plastic debris. She was particularly successful and was able to publish a paper on her research.

Lobelle D, Cunliffe M (2011) Early microbial biofilm formation on marine plastic debris. Marine Pollution Bulletin 67: 197-200.