Rate My Professor Christopher Mullally

Dr. Christopher Mullally serves as an Associate Lecturer in Microbiology and Immunology within the School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences at Murdoch University. He is also a postdoctoral researcher and research fellow affiliated with both Murdoch University and the Kids Research Institute. Mullally earned his BSc in Microbiology, Master of Infectious Diseases (MInfectDis), and PhD in Microbiology in 2020 from the University of Western Australia’s Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases. His doctoral thesis focused on identifying virulence-associated genomic differences in Neisseria meningitidis and validating small-molecule inhibitors of the EptA enzyme, which contributes to antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Mullally’s research specializes in sepsis diagnostics, microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, and early-life infections, with a particular emphasis on neonatal sepsis. He leads an innovative project developing a PCR-based molecular diagnostic test capable of detecting sepsis-causing bacteria in preterm infants in under eight hours, significantly faster than traditional culture methods that take up to five days. This initiative, supported by collaborations with Professor Andrew Currie’s Sepsis Diagnostics Research Group, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Fiona Stanley Hospital, and the Kids Research Institute, aims to enable prompt treatment decisions, reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, and improve patient outcomes. Additionally, his work explores coconut oil’s antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties for neonatal sepsis prevention and other applications. Key publications include “Characterising commensal and pathogenic staphylococcal interactions with neonatal and adult blood” (Scientific Reports, 2025, with Isabella Anna Joubert et al.), “Dual RNA isolation from blood: an optimized protocol for host and bacterial RNA purification for dual RNA-sequencing analysis in whole blood sepsis samples” (Microbial Genomics, 2025, with Isabella Anna Joubert et al.), “Bacterial transfer during sexual intercourse as a tool for microbiome research” (iScience, 2025, with Ruby Dixon et al.), “Non-faecium non-faecalis enterococci: a review of clinical microbiology and genomics” (2024, with Marhami Fahriani et al.), and “Anti-Virulence Therapeutic Approaches for Neisseria gonorrhoeae” (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2021, with Katherine Y.L. Lim et al.). Through these contributions, Mullally advances the fields of infectious disease diagnostics and neonatal health.