Meet 2025 Infection Science Award winner: Oluwatosin Orababa

Posted on November 25, 2025   by Microbiology Society

The Microbiology Society Infection Science Award aims to support the exchange of ideas and the career development of promising early-career and trainee researchers, helping to translate microbiological research to the clinic.  

In this blog, meet one of this year’s winners, Oluwatosin Orababa, who will present in the Microbiology Society - Infectious Disease Futures Session at FIS on 4 December 2025.

What are your current research interests? 

I am interested in understanding antimicrobial resistance in chronic infections and how they can be effectively treated. My PhD research was based on using high-validity chronic biofilm models (especially models that mimic in vivo chronic wounds and cystic fibrosis lung infection environments) to explore the antibiofilm efficacy of a natural product formulation derived from a historical remedy, which I presented at Annual Conference 2025. I am also exploring the mechanisms of action of this historical remedy against Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using gene expression profiles. Currently, my postdoctoral research aims to better understand the interplay between antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in chronic S. aureus infections. This understanding will help to effectively treat these difficult-to-treat infections. 

How would you explain your research to a GCSE student? 

Antibiotics are important drugs for treating infectious diseases. However, it is currently becoming more difficult for us to treat infections with antibiotics because the pathogens (germs) responsible for many of these infections have found ways to protect themselves from antibiotics. As a result, scientists are searching for new treatments. My research is focused on developing a new and effective treatment for difficult-to-treat infections from a remedy that was used more than 1000 years ago (before the discovery of antibiotics). I have remade this old remedy into a modern drug that can be used to treat infections like chronic, non-healing wounds and cystic fibrosis lung infections. 

As an early career microbiologist, what goals do you have for your career? 

My most important career goal as an early-career microbiologist is to become renowned for my contribution to the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Personally, this would mean doing research with translational impact and reaching the peak of my career as a distinguished Professor of Microbiology. I also hope that the natural product formulation developed during my PhD will be used to treat chronic bacterial infections someday. This is why I am passionate about doing research that aims to better understand antimicrobial resistance in chronic biofilm infections and discovering effective treatment strategies against these types of infections. 

How has getting involved with Microbiology Society activities benefited your professional development?  

My first Microbiology Society conference was Annual Conference 2023, and I have attended every Annual Conference since then. I am also currently a Microbiology Society Champion. All these have provided me with a platform to effectively communicate my research, network with people with similar interests, and develop great research collaborations. Additionally, Annual Conferences were avenues to hear about interesting techniques and ideas that are often helpful in my research. 

What hopes do you have for the future of your research field? 

In the event of scarcity of new antimicrobials, I hope that historical remedies will get more attention, as they have been shown to provide foundational knowledge for the discovery of effective biomolecules. Historically, mouldy bread was used to treat wound infections decades before Alexander Fleming discovered an antibiotic-producing fungus. The Artemisia plant was also used to treat fever many centuries before Artemisinin was discovered by Tu Youyou. These patterns suggest that by carefully studying historical medicine, we may be able to find new molecules (antimicrobials and anti-infectives) or even understand the interactions between natural products, which could improve treatment efficacy in chronic infections. 

You can find and follow Oluwatosin on LinkedIn: Oluwatosin Orababa, Twitter: @Horabz and Bluesky: @tosinorababa.bsky.social