Prof Rob Kingsley

Biography

I am a Professor of Microbiology at the University of East Anglia and a group leader and Principal Investigator at the Quadram Institute Bioscience in Norwich, UK. My research group combines bioinformatics, genomics, molecular microbiology, and models of infection to investigate interactions between bacterial foodborne pathogens and the host, host microbiota / virome and the environment.

Whole genome sequence of bacterial pathogens and associated microbial and viral communities are studied to understand the function and evolutionary history of genes important to disease, transmission, drug resistance and phage sensitivity. Computational analysis generates hypotheses that are tested using classical microbiology, molecular genetics and models of infection.

My research group’s work has shed light on how new pathogens emerge and evolve, how epidemics spread and factors affecting risk to human and animal health in the food chain. My long-term objective is to use this insight to improve policy and practice and in the rational design of intervention strategies, surveillance, and risk assessment of foodborne pathogens.