Rate My Professor Layla Mahdi

Dr. Layla Mahdi is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology in the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, College of Health, at Adelaide University. She holds dual degrees in Molecular Microbiology and Tertiary Teaching and Learning Practices. Following completion of her PhD, she served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Al-Nahrain Medical College in Iraq. In 2006, she joined the University of Adelaide after being awarded an Endeavour Postgraduate Fellowship and took up the position of Senior Research Fellow, which she held until 2015. She subsequently served as Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland from 2015 to 2018 and at the University of Adelaide from 2018 to 2019. Since 2019, she has been Senior Lecturer at the University of South Australia, now part of Adelaide University. She is passionate about the quality of teaching and research to achieve impacts that make a visible difference.

Dr. Mahdi's research specializations include antimicrobial resistance, bacteriology, clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, medical bacteriology, and medical microbiology. Her work centers on molecular analysis of bacterial pathogenesis, vaccine development for human and animal pathogens, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and testing new classes of antibiotics. Key publications include "Teaching third-year students MALDI-TOF using a combination of online interactive simulation and face-to-face practical inquiry" (Mahdi, Denyer, & Costabile, 2026, Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education); "Leveraging computer-based simulations and immersive software technologies for enhanced student learning in laboratory medicine" (Costabile et al., 2025, Advances in Physiology Education); "First Emergence of Resistance to Macrolides and Tetracycline Identified in Mannheimia haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida Isolates from Beef Feedlots in Australia" (Alhamami et al., 2021, Microorganisms); "Spotty Liver Disease: A review of an ongoing challenge in commercial free-range egg production" (Courtice, Mahdi, Groves, & Kotiw, 2018, Veterinary Microbiology); "The pneumococcal alpha-glycerophosphate oxidase enhances nasopharyngeal colonization through binding to host glycoconjugates" (Mahdi et al., 2017, eBioMedicine); and "A lipoglycopeptide antibiotic for Gram-positive biofilm-related infections" (Blaskovich et al., 2022, Science Translational Medicine). In 2022, she received the UniSA Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning. Dr. Mahdi teaches courses such as Specialised Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Health and Society, and is eligible to co-supervise Masters and PhD students.