He is a microbiologist, biochemist and molecular geneticist. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Biofilm Microbiology and Genomics, and is the Chair of the University of Calgary Biofilm Research Group. Harrison studies signal transduction, a process that all living cells use to sense external stimuli and trigger a chain of chemical events inside the cell, resulting in physiological adaptation to the environment. He is particularly interested in signal transduction that allows bacteria to build biofilms, which are slime-covered communities of microorganisms that resist drugs, evade immunity and cause infection.Harrison currently leads the University of Calgary “Bugs-to-Drugs” initiative, which seeks to build breakthrough tools and technologies for discovering microbial natural products that can be used as new medicines to thwart chronic diseases.