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In case you missed the webinar organised by the ISAC Early Career Working Group, watch the on demand recording.
Darwin meets the antibiotic crisis: how to use evolutionary principles to optimise antibiotic therapy
This webinar explored how principles from evolutionary biology can inform innovative strategies to combat antibiotic resistance. Currently, antibiotic-resistant pathogens are directly responsible for an estimated 1.3 million deaths annually and contribute to nearly 5 million deaths worldwide each year. Despite significant advances in basic research, the evolutionary dynamics that drive resistance have been largely underutilised in the design of clinical treatment strategies. Integrating evolutionary thinking into antimicrobial therapy holds promise—but its practical implementation remains a significant challenge.
Through this session, we aimed to foster closer collaboration among evolutionary biologists, mathematicians, clinical pharmacists, and clinicians. Such interdisciplinary efforts are critical to translating these novel, evolution-based approaches into real-world clinical practice.
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Speaker
Professor Hinrich Schulenburg is a renowned evolutionary biologist and a Fellow of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology. He leads the Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics Group at the University of Kiel, where his interdisciplinary research spans experimental evolution, genomics, and mathematical modelling. His work is at the forefront of applying evolutionary theory to address real-world challenges in medicine, particularly antimicrobial resistance. With a distinguished record of high-impact publications and leadership in collaborative, cross-disciplinary research, Professor Schulenburg is a driving force in shaping how we understand and manage the evolution of resistance in clinical settings.
Moderator
Dr Jinxin Zhao (Early Career Working Group Chair) completed his PhD in 2020 at the Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI), Monash University. His doctoral research was dedicated to the development of computational models and novel therapeutic strategies aimed at combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a critical global health issue. Post-PhD, Dr Zhao has continued his research focusing on innovative antimicrobial therapies to tackle drug-resistant infections, which remain a significant threat to global health.
His current work deepens his exploration of computational biology and systems pharmacology, with the goal of refining therapeutic strategies against critical pathogens.
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