Associate Professor Karl Hassan completed his PhD at the University of Sydney, and held Research Fellowships at Macquarie University, and the University of Leeds, UK, before joining the University of Newcastle as a Senior Lecturer in late 2017.
Associate Professor Hassan was an ARC Future Fellow from 2019–2023, and is now an Associate Professor in microbiology.
Associate Professor Hassan has always been fascinated by the incredible diversity of microorganisms on Earth and the impact they have on our lives. They underpin our existence, maintaining the health of individuals and the planet, but some can make us sick. He got into research to understand the mechanisms behind the activities of microbes, so that we can better manipulate them for good and for the prevention of disease.

Associate Professor Hassan’s primary research interests are in bacterial infections. To a bacterial pathogen, the human body is just another niche, rich in nutrients, and an infection occurs when the pathogen tries to access these nutrients in ways that harm us. Ultimately, he and his team hope to understand the complex processes that allow bacteria to infect and develop new therapies that interfere with these processes.