Amy Cain

Amy Cain is an Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow at Macquarie University's School of Natural Sciences, affiliated with the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Facilitated Advancement of Australia's Bioactives (FAAB). Her research focuses on antibiotic resistance mechanisms in bacteria like Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae, emphasizing genomic analysis, functional genomics, and novel antimicrobial development. She leads projects such as 'Microbial Junk Food: Developing Synthetic Platforms for Plastic Degradation' and 'Investigating Regulatory Circuits Controlling Drug Efflux Pumps.'

Key research areas include bacterial virulence factors, horizontal gene transfer, and the evolution of multidrug resistance. Cain's work spans lab-based experiments and clinical applications, with contributions to understanding secondary effects of antibiotics and developing rapid diagnostic tools like the Hydrophobic Agent Permeability Assay (HAPA).

• Education: Not explicitly detailed in profile
• Grants/Projects: 14 active/completed projects including FAAB and MQRIS facilities

Her awards include the ASM Frank Fenner Award (2022) and David Syme Research Prize (2024). Cain collaborates extensively, leveraging transposon mutagenesis and flow cytometry techniques to advance microbial research. Her lab's innovations in microfluidics and antimicrobial peptide design address global health challenges posed by drug-resistant pathogens.