Thermophilic Anaerobes / Grand Challenges in Biology and Biotechnology (PDF)

Sean Michael Scully is an adjunct at the University of Akureyri where he teaches courses related to biochemistry and microbial biotechnology. His interest in extreme environments began at an early age when he visited the thermal features at Yellowstone National Park and has grown into a fascination of extremophiles and their utility. Under the supervision of Jóhann, Sean finished his Ph.D. at the University of Iceland where he studied the amino acid metabolism of anaerobic thermophiles within the genus of Thermoanaerobacter. His current work focuses on the use of thermophilic anaerobes for the synthesis of useful molecules, particularly those with chiral centers, and the use of psychrophilic bacteria for the production of bioplastics and cold-active enzymes.

Jóhann Örlygsson is a professor of microbiology at the University of Akureyri which is situated in northern Iceland. Jóhann has spent his career studying thermophilic anaerobes to which he was first exposed by Jacob K. Kristjansson as an undergraduate at the University of Iceland. Jóhann completed his Ph.D. from the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences where he examined the role of interspecies hydrogen transfer among thermophiles. He did his post-doctoral work in Groningen, The Netherlands before returning to Iceland where he has been investigating the physiology of thermophilic anaerobes isolated from geothermal environments in Iceland with a particular emphasis on the production of biofuels such as biohydrogen, biomethane, and bioethanol and later on the production of fine chemicals.