Discovery in full BLOOM

Introducing new AIBN Group Leader – Dr Zeinab Khalil.

For Dr Khalil, every day holds a new discovery – it might be a student finding a promising new molecule, a collaborator with an unexpected result or a new clue from the microbial world, hot off the press.

For a scientist searching nature’s smallest organisms for solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges, it is those daily discoveries that keep her motivated.

Dr Khalil explores the potential of microbes to produce molecules that could help tackle problems in human health, agriculture and the environment.

Dr Khalil heads up BLOOM (Biosustainable Life Out Of Microbes), an integrated research platform dedicated to unlocking the potential of microbes collected from diverse environments including soils, marine ecosystems, plants and microbiomes.

Newly appointed as an AIBN Group Leader, she now has the springboard to grow her team, pursue new grants and strengthen industry partnerships.

An untapped biodiversity

Her projects span many fields, but Dr Khalil says they all begin with the same question: what problems can microbes solve?

“Microbes have enormous potential to help us solve many different problems"

“Their importance has been overlooked even though most antibiotics and many other medicines originated from microbes, for example penicillin and streptomycin," she said.

“The biodiversity of microbes is still largely untapped and that biodiversity could lead to a new antibiotic, antifungal agent, insecticidal agent or anti-parasitic.”

A library of answers

Dr Khalil and her team have created a library consisting of approximately 1,500 unique microbes.

She provides collaborators with extracts, concentrated pools of molecules produced by each microbe.

They can use the panel of extracts to identify candidates for new antibiotics, antifungals, insecticides, analgesics, or other therapeutic agents.

“The library is a shared opportunity that all researchers can benefit from, to find solutions for different problems.”

“The extracts from the library are rich in bioactive molecules – researchers can test them against models of disease, cancer cell lines or drug-resistant bacteria.”

“If they find an extract which has an interesting effect, for example, has antibiotic properties, we perform further analysis (metabolomics and genomics) to characterise the active compounds.”

Real-world applications

Looking ahead, Dr Khalil aims to translate microbial discoveries into real-world applications by increasing her links with industry.

“My goal is to discover a new molecule that can be translated into a useful solution, whether it is an antibiotic, agrochemical or insecticidal agent."

“And to do that I want to build stronger relationships with industry so that we understand their needs from the beginning,” she said.

“Having industry on board early helps us understand how our discoveries can be translated into real-world applications, for example scaling up chemical production and ensuring stability and safety of agrochemicals.”

To facilitate this, BLOOM brings together not only academia and industry, but community groups and policymakers too.

“Each group has complementary strengths and knowledge to bring to the table which can help us speed up the discovery to application process.”

Collaboration is key

Dr Khalil highlights AIBN’s collaborative culture, emphasising the Institute’s supportive environment, equity and infrastructure.

That culture has already opened unexpected doors, including conversations with researchers from fields far outside her own.

“I appreciate AIBN’s focus on solving problems and developing useful technologies and the people here are genuinely willing to work together to achieve that.”

Growing the team

Dr Khalil is excited to grow her team and build a new generation of independent researchers.

The breadth of her projects gives PhD and master’s students room to explore.

They could be investigating a new antibiotic against Gram-negative bacteria, anti-inflammatory agents to treat inflammatory bowel disease, studying soil microbiomes or the scale-up of a new antibiotic for urinary tract infections.

“I want people in my group to feel safe, supported and excited to come to work.

“People do their best science when they feel comfortable sharing ideas and trying new things.”

“I’ve always wanted to be a scientist and I’ve never regretted that decision.”