Linda Blackall

Professor Linda Blackall is a Professor of Environmental Microbiology in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne, where she directs the Environmental Microbiology Research Centre. She obtained her Bachelor's degree with Honours, Master's degree, and PhD from the University of Queensland in 1981, 1982, and 1987, respectively. Her PhD thesis addressed actinomycete scum problems in activated sludge plants. Throughout her career, Blackall held the position of Professor of Microbiology at the University of Queensland from 1992 to 2008, during which she acted as Scientific Director of the Advanced Water Management Centre and Director of Research at the Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre. She also served at the Australian Institute of Marine Science from 2008 to 2010, was Head of Biosciences at Swinburne University of Technology from 2012 to 2016, and joined the University of Melbourne in 2017. Additionally, she chaired Australia's Antarctic Science Advisory Committee starting from 2005.

Blackall's research focuses on environmental microbiology, particularly microbial communities in natural and engineered environments. She has pioneered techniques to identify microbes and their roles in wastewater treatment, leading to enhanced treatment efficiency and energy savings. Her studies have clarified host-microbe interactions causing gut disorders in equines and ruminants, and explored microbial influences on coral health, including larval settlement and bleaching. Key publications include "Advances in enhanced biological phosphorus removal: from micro to macro scale" (Water Research, 2007), "Identification of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms and design of 16S rRNA-directed probes for their detection and quantitation" (Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2000), "Metagenomic analysis of two enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) sludge communities" (Nature Biotechnology, 2006), "Shifting paradigms in restoration of the world's coral reefs" (Global Change Biology, 2017), and "Coral microbiome dynamics, functions and design in a changing world" (Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2019). Her contributions earned her the Frank Fenner Research Award from the Australian Society for Microbiology in 2001, the International Water Association's Ardern-Lockett Award in 2005, and election as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2020. Blackall has also contributed to science communication through co-authoring children's books on microbial themes.

Professional Email: linda.blackall@unimelb.edu.au