Hosam Zowawi – Australian Microbiologist

This Australian was born in Saudi Arabia, and Hosam Zowawi relies on the funding for his Ph.D. from many organizations in the Gulf, from the Kuwait University to the King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Science, even the Oman’s Royal Hospital. Currently, he is about half-way through his degree as a clinical microbiologist, specializing in antibiotic-resistant bacterial diseases.

Zowawi is studying at the University of Queensland’s Center for Clinical Research in Brisbane, attempting to analyze the bacteria – or superbugs – taken from the GCC to see how the predominant genotypes spread in hospitals. He is attempting to track superbugs and promote the importance of surveillance of these multidrug-resistant organisms throughout the Gulf.

He is motivated to pursue superbugs, as he feels a sense of responsibility to help humans and to prevent future infections which are caused by these antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Every single day, he watches pathogens that have scary survival capacity and works to fight the spread of these superbugs.

During his time in university, he was able to create a fast diagnostic tool, which is called the “Rapid Superbug” that can identify any infection faster than ever before. He took home the Young Laureate in 2014, which is the Science and Health award from the Rolex Awards. In 2016, he was named one of the 100 most influential young Arabs in the world by Arabian Business.

The masculine name Hosam is a variant transcription of Husam, which means “sword” in Arabic. The name is derived from the verb hasama that means “to finish, to sever, to decide”.