2005 Young Tall Poppy Science Award Recipient

Dr Mike Manefield
Centre for Marine Biofouling and BioInnovation, School of Biomolecular and Biotechnological Sciences, University of New South Wales

With growing pollution problems across the globe, bioremediation solutions of contaminated sites, using a combination of traditional and contemporary microbiological techniques, is becoming increasingly important. Dr Mike Manefield is an environmental microbiologist who is developing solutions to medical and environmental problems using applications of ecological theories.

After studying environmental microbiology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Mike achieved First Class Honours and the highest mark ever awarded by his department. He then undertook postgraduate studies in microbiology at UNSW exploring novel ways of controlling bacterial infections using compounds extracted from an Australian seaweed to interfere with bacterial communication systems. Mike’s work on disrupting bacterial communication has been patented and has led to the establishment of Biosignal Pty Ltd, a biotechnology company listed on the Australian stock exchange.

As leader of the ‘Bioremediation technology of contaminated sites’ research project within the Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research, Mike is developing methods of harnessing bacteria to clean up polluted land and water environments. He views the microbes as the earth’s liver, by helping to keep our ecosystems clean.

Mike has been invited to teach at Cambridge University, the Danish Technical University in Copenhagen and the Marine Biotechnology Institute in Japan. He has published over 30 peer reviewed research articles in the scientific literature and has attracted over two million dollars worth of research funding domestically and overseas.

“The world is teeming with microscopic organisms that can degrade nearly all chemical compounds ever known…Whilst every polluted environment would end up clean if left for long enough, we can accelerate the natural decontamination process with a better understanding of microbial processes.”

Mike received a Young Tall Poppy Science Award in 2005 and the British Council Eureka Prize for Inspiring Science in 2006.