Professor Isaac Dobbs was a member of the Society of Psychical Research in the late 19th century.
He and Alistair Gaddis came to Middletown after Lord Urton asked the Society to investigate unusual events in town. When they arrived, though, they were not welcomed by Lord and Lady Urton. This was because they had been possessed by the fire elemental.
After Gaddis was murdered by Lord Urton, the Eighth Doctor and Dobbs investigated Urton's mining operation. The possessed Devlin incited the workers to attack, so they fled into the mine. They found the source of the memory metal and the fire elemental. When the Doctor told Dobbs to run, the Professor did not manage to escape and was incinerated. (PROSE: The Burning)