Professor Gary Rowley

Before joining ARU in September 2026 as the inaugural Director of the Centre for Biomedicine and Health Innovation, Gary spent almost 20 years at the University of East Anglia, where he held a range of research, teaching and leadership positions, most recently serving as Associate Dean for Employability and Innovation within the Faculty of Science. He continues his association with UEA as an Honorary Professor.

Gary studied a BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Bradford, including a year in industry at Scarborough Hospital, where he first developed his interest in microbiology research. He subsequently joined the Wellcome Trust-funded Molecular Functions in Disease doctoral training programme at the University of Glasgow, undertaking research rotations in parasitology and immunology before discovering a lasting passion for Salmonella biology with Professor Mark Roberts.

Following postdoctoral research with Professor Jay Hinton at the Institute of Food Research (now the Quadram Institute), Gary established his own research group at UEA. His research is supported by an extensive international network of collaborators, including partnerships across the UK, Europe and North America.

• Bacterial gene regulation
• Bacterial stress responses, metal homeostasis and antimicrobial resistance
• Host-pathogen interactions
• Functional genomics and molecular microbiology
• Microbial nitrogen cycling and nitrous oxide emissions
• Environmental microbiology and climate change
• Bacterial small RNA biology

Through a combination of functional genomics, molecular biology, bacterial physiology and infection assays, the research carried out in the Rowley Lab addresses important questions in both medical and environmental microbiology. We encourage new collaborations and commercial partnerships/contract research.

Our expertise and research are related to UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being, and Goal 13: Climate Action.

We welcome discussions with prospective postgraduate researchers, early-career academics and prospective fellows. We are willing collaborators and welcome collaborative grant development, consultancy, knowledge exchange and industry partnerships.

• MRes & PhD (Wellcome Trust Molecular Functions in Disease Programme), University of Glasgow
• BSc Hons (Biomedical Science), University of Bradford

• Member, Microbiology Society
• Member, Biochemical Society
• Member, Applied Microbiology International
• Fellow, Royal Society Biology
• Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• Editorial board member, Virulence

• sRNAs: Critical yet overlooked regulators of bacterial denitrification. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (responsive mode), 30/05/24 → 29/05/27, £504,979.99 (PI)

Ahire, J.H., Wang, Q., Bao, Y., Storer, I.S.R., Bidula, S., Rowley, G. and Crack, J.C. (2026) ‘Heparin-Conjugated Silver Nanoparticles via Amide Chemistry for Selective Targeting of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Pathogenic Fungi’, International Journal of Nanomedicine, 21, 576538. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S576538.

Menestreau, M., Milligan, D.A., Sennett, L.B., Bergaust, L., Bakken, L.R., Rowley, G., Kjos, M., Shapleigh, J.P. and Frostegård, Å. (2026) ‘Distinct denitrification phenotypes in closely related bacteria: clues to understanding variations in nitrite accumulation among Stutzerimonas strains’, Environmental Microbiology, 28(4), e70275. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.70275.

Liu, D., Zhang, Y., Shi, H., Guo, Z., Rowley, G., Todd, J.D. and Zhang, X.-H. (2025) ‘DSMG-Chip: a high-throughput degenerate qPCR chip for profiling microbial DMSP and related organic sulfur metabolic genes in diverse environments’, Environmental Science & Technology, 59(45), pp. 24416–24429. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c10820.

Price, A., Kingston, R., Rowley, G., Olsson-Francis, K. and Macey, M.C. (2025) ‘Iron oxidation by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain SL1344 is an abiotic byproduct of nitrate respiration’, Access Microbiology, 7(12), 001078.v3. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.0.001078.v3.

Ahire, J.H., Wang, Q., Rowley, G., Chambrier, I., Crack, J.C., Bao, Y. and Chao, Y. (2024) ‘Polyurethane infused with heparin capped silver nanoparticles dressing for wound healing application: synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial studies’, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 282, 136557. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.136557.

Cutruzzola, F., Di Lucente, C., Richardson, D., Rowley, G., Rinaldo, S. et al. (2022) ‘25th European Nitrogen Cycle Meeting: from molecules to climate change’.
Xue, C.-X., Lin, H., Zhu, X.-Y., Liu, J., Zhang, Y., Rowley, G., Todd, J.D., Li, M. and Zhang, X.-H. (2021) ‘DiTing: a pipeline to infer and compare biogeochemical pathways from metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data’. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, 698286.

Moeller, S., Payá, G., Bonete, M.-J., Gates, A.J., Richardson, D.J., Esclapez, J. and Rowley, G. (2021) 'Microbial small RNAs: the missing link in the nitrogen cycle?' Frontiers in Environmental Science, 9, 660055.

Xue, C.-X., Liu, J., Lea-Smith, D.J., Rowley, G., Lin, H., Zheng, Y., Zhu, X.-Y., Liang, J., Ahmad, W., Todd, J.D. et al. (2020) ‘Insights into the vertical stratification of microbial ecological roles across the deepest seawater column on Earth’, Microorganisms, 8(9), 1309.

Pinchbeck, B.J., Soriano-Laguna, M.J., Sullivan, M.J., Luque-Almagro, V.M., Rowley, G., Ferguson, S.J., Roldán, M.D., Richardson, D.J. and Gates, A.J. (2019) ‘A dual functional redox enzyme maturation protein for respiratory and assimilatory nitrate reductases in bacteria’, Molecular Microbiology, 111(6), pp. 1592–1603.

Hews, C.L., Pritchard, E.J. and Rowley, G. (2019) ‘The Salmonella-specific, σE-regulated, STM1250 and AgsA function with the sHsps IbpA and IbpB to counter oxidative stress and survive macrophage killing’, Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 9, 463861.

Gaimster, H., Hews, C.L., Griffiths, R., Soriano-Laguna, M.J., Alston, M., Richardson, D.J., Gates, A.J. and Rowley, G. (2019) ‘A central small RNA regulatory circuit controlling bacterial denitrification and N₂O emissions’, mBio, 10(4).

Hews, C.L., Cho, T., Rowley, G. and Raivio, T.L. (2019) ‘Maintaining integrity under stress: envelope stress response regulation of pathogenesis in Gram-negative bacteria’, Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 9, 313.

Gaimster, H., Alston, M., Richardson, D.J., Gates, A.J. and Rowley, G. (2018) ‘Transcriptional and environmental control of bacterial denitrification and N₂O emissions’, FEMS Microbiology Letters, 365(5), fnx277.

Gary is an active member of the international nitrogen cycle research community and regularly presents his work at major scientific meetings worldwide. He has served on the scientific organising committees of the European Nitrogen Cycle Meetings, including conferences hosted in Norwich and Rome, supporting collaboration across microbiology, environmental science and climate research communities.