Desirel Ng BACPATH 2022

Desirel Ng

Desirel Ng is a postdoctoral researcher at the Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) who specialises in understanding host-pathogen dynamics during gut infections. Her work explores the interactions of Clostridioides difficile infection with the internal body clock and the brain, with the aim of identifying tractable extraintestinal targets for improving infectious gut disease outcomes. Prior to her postdoctoral role, she completed her PhD in microbiology from Monash University (Australia) and graduated with the highest distinction across three degrees in biomedical science and psychology, receiving the Dean’s List Science Award in each consecutive year. Beyond research, she is passionate about facilitating cohesion between art, literature and science by engaging the wider community in university settings, public events and underrepresented groups. She produced tactile artwork with a legally blind artist to teach autoimmunity to the low-vision community and animated her research as the second runner-up in the Monash University-wide Visualise Your Thesis competition. She has also created promotional material for science outreach events as Australia’s Pint of Science Annual Digital Artist and Australian Microbial Ecology Conference (AusME24) T-shirt designer. At the BDI, she was the in-house designer for the BioEYES K-12 science education program, BDI Early Career Researcher symposium and produced slides for the Director and Dean of the BDI. She is a current member of the Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM) and was selected as a finalist speaker for the state-wide ASM Dena Lyras Early Career Researcher Award in 2026.