Barbara Chang

Professor Barbara Chang is a Senior Honorary Fellow at the School of Biomedical Sciences, Marshall Centre, University of Western Australia. She serves as Director of the Master of Infectious Diseases course and has contributed extensively to bacteriophage research and bacterial genetics. Her academic journey includes a BSc (Hons) from the University of Adelaide, a PhD in Bacterial Genetics from Monash University, and postdoctoral work at the University of Calgary.

• Education:
  • BSc (Hons), University of Adelaide
  • PhD, Monash University

Research Interests: Dr. Chang specializes in bacteriophage biology for biocontrol applications, molecular studies of bacterial pathogens (Aeromonas hydrophila, Clostridium difficile, Moraxella catarrhalis), and discovery of novel anti-quorum-sensing agents from marine bacteria. Her work on house dust mite bacterial endosymbionts explores lytic enzyme production mechanisms.

Recent Publications: Her 2025 article on the Minga-mokiny 4 WAERP phage highlights lytic phage engineering for Pseudomonas infections. The 2024 review on aerosolized phage delivery addresses clinical challenges in treating antimicrobial-resistant respiratory infections. Earlier works focus on genomic profiling of Clostridioides difficile and Streptococcus agalactiae, with applications in public health and maternal diagnostics.

Scientific Contributions: Dr. Chang’s accolades include Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology (FASM) and leadership in grants from MRFF, NHMRC, and Department of Health (Western Australia). Her collaborative projects span bacteriophage therapy trials, microbiome workflows, and therapeutic pipelines for antibiotic-resistant infections in children.