Darwin meets the antibiotic crisis

ISAC is delighted to invite you to its next free webinar, organised by the ISAC Early Career Working Group.

Darwin meets the antibiotic crisis: how to use evolutionary principles to optimise antibiotic therapy

2 May @ 12.00 (CET) 

This webinar explores 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 aim 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.

* Find your start time by time zone
** Certificates of attendance are available for those attending the majority of the webinar.

Prof. Hinrich Schulenburg

Professor 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.

Dr Jinxin Zhao (ISAC Early Career Chair, Moderator)

Dr Jinxin Zhao 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 under the mentorship of Prof. Jian Li, 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.