Areas of Expertise
- Clinical Microbiology
- Bacterial Genomics and Bioinformatics
- Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
- Multi-Omics Technologies
- Biofilm Modelling
- Novel Antimicrobial Discovery
- Medical Device Infection Research
- One Health Research
- AMR Surveillance and Epidemiology
Roles and Responsibilities
Dr Adam Varney is a Senior Research Fellow and Microbiology Academic Lead for the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF), leading microbiology research and commercial innovation activities across academic, industrial and healthcare sectors. He is a member of the School of Science and Technology and the Antimicrobial Resistance, Omics and Microbiota (AROM) research theme.
Dr Varney is recognised by Nottingham Trent University as an independent researcher. His research focuses on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), clinical microbiology, infection prevention and control, AMR surveillance, and the development of novel antimicrobial therapies. He has particular expertise in applying genomic and other omics approaches to understand pathogen biology, antimicrobial activity and resistance mechanisms.
As Academic Lead for Microbiology within MTIF, Dr Varney manages specialist microbiology facilities supporting research, commercial contract work and industrial collaborations. He supervises doctoral and master’s research projects and contributes to the training and development of early-career researchers.
Career Overview
Dr Adam Varney received a BSc (Hons) degree in Biological Sciences from Nottingham Trent University, including a year-long placement within the Microbiology Department at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. During this placement, he completed the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) Registration Training Portfolio in Clinical Microbiology.
He subsequently completed an MRes in Molecular Microbiology and a PhD in Microbiology at Nottingham Trent University, where his research focused on the development and characterisation of novel antimicrobial compounds and the use of transcriptomic approaches to investigate their mechanisms of action against clinically important bacterial pathogens.
Following completion of his PhD, Dr Varney was appointed as a Research Associate through a Flexible Talent Mobility Award (FTMA) before securing a joint School of Science and Technology-Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (SST-MTIF) Research Fellowship. During this fellowship he developed interdisciplinary research collaborations and expanded his expertise across antimicrobial resistance, clinical microbiology and medical technologies research.
Dr Varney was subsequently appointed as a Senior Research Fellow within the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility, where he achieved independent researcher status and established his own research portfolio. Since then, he has successfully secured and delivered a range of academic and commercial research projects and developed collaborations spanning academia, industry and healthcare. In recognition of his research leadership and expertise, he was later appointed Microbiology Academic Lead for MTIF. He now leads microbiology research and commercial innovation activities spanning academic, industrial and healthcare sectors.
Publications:
James B., Fairbanks S.D., Horton M., Craske D., Thomas J.A., McLean S. and Varney A.M. (2026) Broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of a ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complex against multidrug-resistant uropathogens and biofilms. ACS Omega.
Afolayan J.S., Varney A.M., Thomas J.C., McLean S. and Perry C.C. (2025) A rapid microwave approach for ‘one-pot’ synthesis of antibiotic conjugated silver nanoparticles with antimicrobial activity against multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces.
Hall J., Mekapothula S., Coxhill R., Craske D., Varney A.M., Cave G.W.V. and McLean S. (2024) Surface-functionalised copper oxide nanoparticles: a pathway to multidrug-resistant pathogen control in medical devices. Nanomaterials.
Varney A.M., Smitten K.L., Thomas J.A. and McLean S. (2024) In vitro and in vivo studies on a mononuclear ruthenium complex reveals it is a highly effective, fast-acting, broad-spectrum antimicrobial in physiologically relevant conditions. ACS Infectious Diseases.
Varney A.M., Mannix-Fisher E., Thomas J.C. and McLean S. (2024) Evaluation of phenotypic and genotypic methods for the identification and characterisation of bacterial isolates recovered from catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Journal of Applied Microbiology.
Varney A.M., Smitten K.L., Thomas J.A. and McLean S. (2020) Transcriptomic analysis of the activity and mechanism of action of a ruthenium(II)-based antimicrobial that induces minimal evolution of pathogen resistance. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science.
View all of Dr Varney’s publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=S7KJMCIAAAAJ&hl=en
