Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, are increasingly resistant to antibiotics. By 2050, it is expected we will have 10 million deaths globally per year, due to untreatable infections. In 2019, WHO issued a warning that around 2.4 million people could die in high-income countries like Australia if AMR is not contained.
Dr. Zeinab Khalil leads the Antimicrobial Research and Development program and the first Australian citizen science program Soils for Science, focusing on soil microbes for drug discovery. Her work has yielded unprecedented benefits, including finding new chemical compounds and potential solutions for drug resistance.
Zeinab has connected with over 3000 people through talks, tours, school visits, radio/TV interviews (e.g. ABC and channel 10) and science expos, motivating thousands of Australians to dig up dirt in the name of scientific discovery.
Recognized for her contributions, Zeinab was the only Australian to receive the prestigious Falling Walls award (2023). Awarded her PhD in July 2013 at the University of Queensland, Zeinab is currently an Australian Research Council Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland.