Rate My Professor Conor O’Byrne

Conor O’Byrne is a Personal Professor of Microbiology in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at the University of Galway. He holds a BSc in Microbiology from University College Cork (1986-1990) and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee (1990-1994). His postdoctoral research at Colworth Laboratory, Unilever Plc (1994-1997), was followed by an ACT(R) Postdoctoral Fellowship and University Lectureship at the University of Aberdeen (1997-2002). Since joining NUI Galway in 2002 as a Lecturer in Microbiology (2002-2009), he advanced to Senior Lecturer (2014-2019) and Personal Professor (2019-present), while serving as Vice Dean for Internationalisation in the College of Science (2009-2014). He also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Academic Practice at NUI Galway (2007-2010). As Director of the Bacterial Stress Response Group, established in Aberdeen in 2000 and relocated to Galway in 2002, he leads research on molecular mechanisms enabling food-borne bacterial pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella Typhimurium to sense and adapt to environmental stresses including acid pH, osmolarity, oxygen depletion, light, and temperature changes.