Abolfazl Dashtbani Roozbehani, mentee in the 2018 MedTech-Pharma program in SA (Flinders University)
I started my research career at Pasteur Institute of Iran where I spent several years working as a medical microbiologist. I was awarded the Singapore International Graduate Research Award (SINGA) and moved to Singapore where I obtained a Master of Research degree at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2016. I had the opportunity to gain valuable research experience which I found exciting and rewarding. Then, I was awarded the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship (AGRTPS) and relocated to Australia to commence my PhD in microbiology at Flinders University, South Australia in 2017.
My PhD research work is in the area of multidrug efflux mediated antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. Resistant bacteria pose a major threat to human health with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. A main mechanism in development of bacterial resistance is drug efflux pumps which are membrane proteins with ability to extrude antimicrobial agents. As an enthusiastic and highly motivated molecular microbiology researcher, my goal is to contribute to improving our knowledge about the function of these remarkable proteins for advancing global health. I have recently presented my research at the Gordon Research Conferences on Multi-Drug Efflux Systems held in Italy on 28 April-3 May 2019. I also present my research at the 2019 Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM) Annual Conference on 30 June-3 July 2019.