Rate My Professor Michael Cunliffe

Professor Michael Cunliffe is Professor of Marine Microbiology in the School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, at the University of Plymouth, with a joint appointment as MBA Senior Research Fellow and Director of Science at the Marine Biological Association since 2014. He obtained a degree in environmental biology from the University of Liverpool, an MSc and PhD in microbiology from the University of Manchester, and undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Warwick. He joined the Marine Biological Association in 2010 as MBA Research Fellow and Group Leader. Leading a research group, his work investigates microbial biology, ecology, and evolution in marine settings, from laboratory experiments to field studies in coastal waters around Plymouth, polar regions, and the open ocean. He supervises PhD students on marine fungi, microbial ecology, and related topics, and teaches modules in marine biology, ecology, microbiology, and oceanography at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Cunliffe's research centers on aquatic fungi, planktonic fungi, phytoplankton parasites, and sea surface microlayers, advancing knowledge of their ecological roles through projects like BIO-PLASTIC-RISK on biodegradable plastics, Micro-ARC on polar microbes, and MYCO-CARB on marine fungi. A Fellow of the Marine Biological Association, he contributes to committees including the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Science Foundation's sea-surface microlayer programme, Applied Microbiology International's Ocean Sustainability Advisory Group, and the Microbiology Society's Eukaryotic Division. His highly cited publications include "Early microbial biofilm formation on marine plastic debris" (Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2011), "Fungi in aquatic ecosystems" (Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2019), "Sea surface microlayers: A unified physicochemical and biological perspective of the air–ocean interface" (Progress in Oceanography, 2013), "Multi-year assessment of coastal planktonic fungi reveals environmental drivers of diversity and abundance" (The ISME Journal, 2016), and "Planktonic Marine Fungi: A Review" (Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2024). These works have shaped understanding of marine microbial processes and biodiversity.