John is a Chartered Scientist, Chartered Chemist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has been principal or co-investigator of externally funded research grants with a total value in excess of £1.5M and has published extensively (over 180 papers, book chapters and books) in analytical and environmental science. He has supervised over 26 PhD students. John is a current member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Analytical Division Council as well as a past chair of the North East Region (RSC) Analytical Division.