Meet Melinda Ashcroft, a Computational Microbiologist interested in scicomm!
Melinda uses the computer to study the DNA of bacteria to try to understand their virulence mechanisms and overcome antimicrobial resistance. She completed her undergraduate degree in Applied Science (Biotechnology) and a Master of Biotechnology in 2013. Mid-way through her masters, Melinda realised it was possible to combine her two passions, computers and biology and in 2014 decided to undertake a PhD in computational microbiology at the University of Queensland in Australia. In addition to her research, Melinda is both a tutor and mentor and is an Australia Society of Microbiology communications ambassador. Melinda is most passionate about science education and communication.