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Panicking never got anybody anywhere.
Dr Kelly graduated with BSc (hons) in Industrial Microbiology from University College Dublin. She was subsequently awareded a PhD in Microbial Ecology from University College Cork, having studied riverine habitats. Her first Post-Doctoral experience was as a Research Associate at the University of Nottingham, investigating stochastic variability in yeast populations. Subsequent Post-Doctoral experience took her back to her roots in Microbial Ecology and Geomicrobiology, first with a position at the Open University (based within the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute), undertaking geomicrobiology research in Iceland and astrobiology research in collaboration with the European Space Agency. Following this was a Post-Doctoral position at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in Nancy, France, where she focused on microbe-mineral interactions and community dynamics in forest soil communities. Dr Kelly left INRA in January 2014 to join the Division of Biology and Conservation Ecology as Lecturer in Microbiology. During her time at Manchester Met she undertook at 2-year sabbatical to undertake a Marie Curie Fellowship, before returning.
School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University (Marie Curie IntraEuropean Fellowship)
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Nancy (French National Institute for Agricultural Research)
The Open University
Nottngham University
Secretary, EDI Officer and Member: Geomicrobiology Network (UK & Ireland)
Section Editor: Pedobiologia (soil journal)
Deptartmental Health & Safety Coordinator (Biology discipline)
English - first language
Irish/Gaeilge - second language
French/Francais - working proficiency
Welsh/Cymraeg - elementary/foundation
Italian/Italiano - elementary/foundation
Microbiology is such an important subdiscipline within the Biological Sciences, impacting the life of everyone, every day, whether or not they realise it. Studying microbiology doesn't just mean studying microbes that are involved in human health/medicine and food (production or spoilage), perhaps the most common areas that people associate with microorganisms. Microbiology encompasses so much more, from the degradation of pollutants in the environment, to the mining of precious metals, the search for extraterrestrial life and even the generation of energy, bacteria, archaea and fungi are essential for the functioning of the Earth and for our survival. Studying microbiology at undergraduate level will give you the opportunity to scratch the surface of the microbial world and help you understand just how amazing these (mainly) microscopic creatures are.
Unit Leader (2018-current):
6F6Z1002 Environmental Microbiology (third year unit)
6F4Z1107 Biomolecules and Cells (first year unit)
Past Units Taught On (2014-2018):
6F3Z1003 Foundation Biology
6F4Z1004 Biomolecules, Cells and Microorganisms
6F4Z1005 Tutorial Activities and Field Skills
Additional Units Taught On (2014-current):
6F6Z2012 Forensic Investigative Project
6F6Z1001 Project
6F5Z1008 Comparative and Environmental Physiology
6F5Z1004 Microbiology
6F5Z1003 Research Design and Analysis
PhD Dissertation Examiner:
2013: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Nancy, France
2017: Manchester Metropolitan University
Journal Peer Reviewer:
Microbial Ecology, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Canadian Journal of Microbiology, Pedobiologia, International Journal of Astrobiology
Editor:
Pedobiologia (2014-current)
While my research expertise may be described broadly as microbial ecology, I particularly specialise in mineral environments, thus geomicrobiology. Geomicrobiology is itself however very broad, encompassing soil microbiology, extremophile research, astrobiology, volcanic microbiology and aquatic microbiology to name but a few, each of which I have and continue to work in. Most recently I have undertaken a two-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie Intra European Fellowship at Bangor University (Wales), where I focused on microbial communities and activities in subterranean acid mine environments using a combination of traditional culture-based methods, chemical analyses and high-throughput DNA sequencing.
S. Uroz, LC. Kelly, MP. Turpault, C. Lepleux, P. Frey-Klett (2015). The Mineralosphere Concept: Mineralogical Control of the Distribution and Function of Mineral-associated Bacterial Communities. Trends in Microbiology. 23(12), pp.751-762.
CS. Cockell, LC. Kelly, V. Marteinsson (2013). Actinobacteria—An Ancient Phylum Active in Volcanic Rock Weathering. Geomicrobiology Journal. 30(8), pp.706-720.
CS. Cockell, LC. Kelly, S. Summers, V. Marteinsson (2011). Following the kinetics: iron-oxidizing microbial mats in cold icelandic volcanic habitats and their rock-associated carbonaceous signature. Astrobiology. 11(7), pp.679-694.
LC. Kelly, CS. Cockell, A. Herrera-Belaroussi, Y. Piceno, G. Andersen, et al. T. DeSantis, E. Brodie, T. Thorsteinsson, V. Marteinsson, F. Poly, X. LeRoux. (2011). Bacterial diversity of terrestrial crystalline volcanic rocks, Iceland. Microb Ecol. 62(1), pp.69-79.
CS. Cockell, D. Pybus, K. Olsson-Francis, L. Kelly, D. Petley, et al. N. Rosser, K. Howard, F. Mosselmans. (2011). Molecular characterization and geological microenvironment of a microbial community inhabiting weathered receding shale cliffs. Microb Ecol. 61(1), pp.166-181.
LC. Kelly, CS. Cockell, YM. Piceno, GL. Andersen, T. Thorsteinsson, et al. V. Marteinsson. (2010). Bacterial diversity of weathered terrestrial Icelandic volcanic glasses. Microb Ecol. 60(4), pp.740-752.
LC. Kelly, DW. Rivett, E. Pakostova, S. Creer, T. Cotterell, et al. DB. Johnson. (2023). Mineralogy affects prokaryotic community composition in an acidic metal mine. Microbiological Research. 266, pp.127257-127257.
N. Eisenhauer, PM. Antunes, AE. Bennett, K. Birkhofer, A. Bissett, et al. MA. Bowker, T. Caruso, B. Chen, DC. Coleman, WD. Boer, PD. Ruiter, TH. DeLuca, F. Frati, BS. Griffiths, MM. Hart, S. Hättenschwiler, J. Haimi, M. Heethoff, N. Kaneko, LC. Kelly, HP. Leinaas, Z. Lindo, C. Macdonald, MC. Rillig, L. Ruess, S. Scheu, O. Schmidt, TR. Seastedt, NMV. Straalen, AV. Tiunov, M. Zimmer, JR. Powell. (2017). Priorities for research in soil ecology. Pedobiologia. 63,
LC. Kelly, Y. Colin, MP. Turpault, S. Uroz (2016). Mineral Type and Solution Chemistry Affect the Structure and Composition of Actively Growing Bacterial Communities as Revealed by Bromodeoxyuridine Immunocapture and 16S rRNA Pyrosequencing. Microbial Ecology. 72(2), pp.428-442.
S. Uroz, LC. Kelly, MP. Turpault, C. Lepleux, P. Frey-Klett (2015). The Mineralosphere Concept: Mineralogical Control of the Distribution and Function of Mineral-associated Bacterial Communities. Trends in Microbiology. 23(12), pp.751-762.
S. Summers, AS. Whiteley, LC. Kelly, CS. Cockell (2013). Land coverage influences the bacterial community composition in the critical zone of a sub-Arctic basaltic environment. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 86(3), pp.381-393.
CS. Cockell, LC. Kelly, V. Marteinsson (2013). Actinobacteria—An Ancient Phylum Active in Volcanic Rock Weathering. Geomicrobiology Journal. 30(8), pp.706-720.
CS. Cockell, LC. Kelly, V. Marteinsson (2013). Actinobacteria-An Ancient Phylum Active in Volcanic Rock Weathering. Geomicrobiology Journal. 30(8), pp.706-720.
LC. Kelly, CS. Cockell, S. Summers (2012). Diverse microbial species survive high ammonia concentrations. International Journal of Astrobiology. 11(2), pp.125-131.
CS. Cockell, MA. Voytek, AL. Gronstal, K. Finster, JD. Kirshtein, et al. K. Howard, J. Reitner, GS. Gohn, WE. Sanford, JW. Horton, J. Kallmeyer, L. Kelly, DS. Powars. (2012). Impact disruption and recovery of the deep subsurface biosphere. Astrobiology. 12(3), pp.231-246.
CS. Cockell, LC. Kelly, S. Summers, V. Marteinsson (2011). Following the kinetics: iron-oxidizing microbial mats in cold icelandic volcanic habitats and their rock-associated carbonaceous signature. Astrobiology. 11(7), pp.679-694.
LC. Kelly, CS. Cockell, A. Herrera-Belaroussi, Y. Piceno, G. Andersen, et al. T. DeSantis, E. Brodie, T. Thorsteinsson, V. Marteinsson, F. Poly, X. LeRoux. (2011). Bacterial diversity of terrestrial crystalline volcanic rocks, Iceland. Microb Ecol. 62(1), pp.69-79.
CS. Cockell, D. Pybus, K. Olsson-Francis, L. Kelly, D. Petley, et al. N. Rosser, K. Howard, F. Mosselmans. (2011). Molecular characterization and geological microenvironment of a microbial community inhabiting weathered receding shale cliffs. Microb Ecol. 61(1), pp.166-181.
CS. Cockell, P. van Calsteren, JFW. Mosselmans, IA. Franchi, I. Gilmour, et al. L. Kelly, K. Olsson-Francis, D. Johnson. (2010). Microbial endolithic colonization and the geochemical environment in young seafloor basalts. Chemical Geology. 279(1-2), pp.17-30.
LC. Kelly, CS. Cockell, YM. Piceno, GL. Andersen, T. Thorsteinsson, et al. V. Marteinsson. (2010). Bacterial diversity of weathered terrestrial Icelandic volcanic glasses. Microb Ecol. 60(4), pp.740-752.
CS. Cockell, K. Olsson, F. Knowles, L. Kelly, A. Herrera, et al. T. Thorsteinsson, V. Marteinsson. (2009). Bacteria in Weathered Basaltic Glass, Iceland. Geomicrobiology Journal. 26(7), pp.491-507.
LC. Kelly, C. Cockell, S. Summers (2011). Microbiology of Volcanic Environments. K. Horikoshi, G. Antranikian, A. Bull, K. Stetter. In: Extremophiles Handbook. Springer, pp.917-933.
LC. Kelly, S. Uroz, MP. Turpault Characterisation of active forest soil Bacteria during mineral weathering. Florence, Italy,
LC. Kelly, C. Cockell, A. Herrera, G. Andersen, Y. Piceno A geobiological comparison of high and low-Silica containing weathered volcanic glass. Davos, Swtizerland,
LC. Kelly, C. Cockell, G. Kminek, A. Perfumo In search of the limits of microbial tolerance to ammonia.
Conference on the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Seville, Spain 2014
UK & Ireland Geomicrobiology Network: Annual Research in Progress Meeting (2016)
I have been/am an expert reviewer for journals, including the following:
Pedobiologia (and Editor)
ISME Journal
Microbial Ecology
Canadian Journal of Microbiology
FEMS Microbiology Ecology
FEMS Letters
Geomicrobiology Journal
Geobiology
External Awards
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Intra European Fellowship - awarded 2014 (author and Principal Investigator)
NERC Emergency Grant - awarded 2010 (co-author of proposal)
Microbiology consultant, Open University (2011)
Guide (Parys Mountain) for Open University crew filming for a new online science course (2016)
Volunteered in 2015 - 2017 for Lab in a Lorry (http://www.labinalorry.org.uk/) visiting schools in North Wales in the mobile physics lab
Guide to 'It's not Rocket Science' film crew in 2015 (ITV series) at Mynydd Parys mine, North Wales
Marie Curie Intra-European Fellow (2015-2017)
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Intra European Fellow 2015-2017
National Science Foundation (USA)
UK National Commission for UNESCO
Pedobiologia 2014-present
Microbiology Society
UK Geomicrobiology Network
Mineralogical Society (UK & Ireland)