Linda Blackall

• Linda Blackall has been a Professor at the University of Queensland, Australian Institute of Marine Science (Townsville), Swinburne University of Technology and at Melbourne University, where she is Director of the Environmental Microbiology Research Initiative. She has a strong international reputation in the field of biological wastewater treatment, marine and coral microbiology, mammalian microbiomes and molecular method development in microbial ecology. She has gained several Aus$m in competitive funding. In 2001, Linda won the prestigious Frank Fenner Research Award from the Australian Society for Microbiology, in 2004 she was the Lisa Meitner Visiting Professor, Lund University, Sweden (Biotechnology and Water Engineering) and in 2005, she won the Ardern-Lockett award from the International Water Association for lifetime contributions to wastewater research. Linda is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.