The Australian Society for Microbiology Names Associate Professor Johanna Kenyon as Nominee for the Prestigious IUMS Member Society Research Excellence Award

The Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM) is proud to announce Associate Professor Johanna Kenyon as its selected representative for the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) Member Society Research Excellence Awards.

This international award initiative, launched as a highlight of the upcoming IUMS 2026 Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, celebrates early-to-mid-career researchers who are driving groundbreaking developments in the microbial sciences.

A/Prof Kenyon is a Fellow of the ASM, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and leader of the Bacterial Polysaccharides Research Laboratory at Griffith University’s School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Health Group. She is an internationally recognised leader in bacterial genomics and surface structures. Her research focuses on decoding the complex polysaccharide capsular genetics of the WHO priority pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii.

By unraveling the genetic and biosynthetic pathways of these surface sugars, A/Prof Kenyon’s work provides crucial framework data for global public health surveillance, clinical tracking, and the targeted development of novel therapeutics.

As the ASM nominee, A/Prof Kenyon will represent Australia’s scientific community on the international stage at the IUMS 2026 Congress in Lisbon, where awardees will deliver oral presentations during a featured plenary session.

Congratulations to A/Prof Kenyon on this prestigious honour!

For more information about the IUMS 2026 Member Society Research Excellence Awards, visit https://iums2026.com/iums-member-society-research-excellence-awards/.

To learn more about A/Prof Kenyon’s research team and publications, visit https://experts.griffith.edu.au/45350-johanna-kenyon.

A/Prof Johanna Kenyon