Researcher Spotlight: Ahmed Babiker

What is your professional background?
I am an infectious diseases and medical/clinical microbiology physician. I received my MBBS degree at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology back home in Khartoum, Sudan. I completed an internal medicine residency at Providence Hospital in Washington D.C followed by an infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh and a medical microbiology fellowship at Emory. I am also currently enrolled in the Master of Science in Clinical Research degree program at the Emory Laney Graduate School.

In what division do you work, and who is your mentor?
I am an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases with a secondary appointment in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. My primary mentors at Emory include Drs. Colleen Kraft, Michael Woodworth, and Anne Piantadosi. My external mentor is Dr. Sameer Kadri at the Critical Care Medicine department of the NIH.  

Briefly describe your research. Why is it important?
The overarching theme of my clinical and research interests is directly addressing challenges posed by antimicrobial resistance, and high consequence pathogen (e.g., SARS-CoV-2). With collaborators at the NIH, we leverage large electronic medical record datasets for large scale epidemiologic and clinical outcomes investigations on antimicrobial resistance and sepsis. Locally at Emory, my focus is on the molecular epidemiology of multi-drug resistant pathogens and the integration of novel diagnostics and -omics technology into clinical microbiology workflows. During the pandemic, with my mentor Anne Piantadosi and other collaborators, we have begun to investigate SARS-CoV-2 diversity and evolution in the metro-Atlanta area using metagenomic sequencing.  

What do you like most about Emory? 
The patient population which Emory and Grady serve, the comradery and mentorship of my colleagues in the Division of Infectious Diseases, and the innovative science being performed throughout the institution. Also, the Atlanta weather and the food scene are a big plus.  

What is your favorite movie or TV show?
I have recently been down a Japanese/ Persian movie rabbit hole. In particular, I have been indulging in some of the classics by directors such as Yasujirō Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi. All of whom I highly recommend. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Hiking, rock climbing/bouldering, running, biking, watching foreign films, and responding to the many WhatsApp group chats I’m on. 

What is a fun fact about you? 
I have lived on four different continents (Europe, Asia, Africa and now North America) and I’ve spent at least four years (continuously) on each of them.