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The Fellowships are awarded following a rigorous two-stage competitive process and are determined by a Chancellery panel, comprised of esteemed academics from across the University. 

Dr Ahmed is jointly appointed in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, through the Doherty Institute. His multi-disciplinary approach enables him to tackle the complexities of developing designs for new RNA-based antivirals. 

His project, “Automated CRISPR-Cas13b Drug Design for RNA Viruses: Methods and Platforms,” addresses the challenge of creating antiviral drugs for RNA viruses, such as Ebola and MERS, which mutate rapidly and are difficult to target. 

Dr Ahmed aims to use advanced engineering techniques to improve antiviral drug design with the newly discovered CRISPR-Cas13b technology, which targets and cuts specific RNA sequences. He plans to apply machine learning to help ensure the Cas13b protein can accurately target viruses with low drug dosages. 

Dr Ahmed described being awarded the Fellowship as ‘a tremendous honour’. 

“My approach to antiviral drug design using the CRISPR-Cas13b technology has the potential to enhance antiviral drug design and bolster pandemic preparedness by enabling rapid responses to emerging viral threats,” he said.  

The McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme, established in 2010, provides outstanding early career researchers with concentrated research time to strengthen their research, generate new projects and collaborations, develop research leadership capabilities, and contribute to the University's overall research objectives.