Hadj Mehdi Hiba

Biography:

Hadj Mehdi Hiba is a 4th-year PhD student at the Biochemistry Institute in the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Hungary. Born in Algeria in 1999, She completed her MSc in Microbiology in 2021 before joining Dr. Bálint Kintses' research group to pursue her PhD. Her research focuses on combating the antimicrobial resistance crisis through bacteriophage-based therapies. Specifically, she isolated and characterized phages targeting multidrug-resistant pathogens, with a focus on Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae. She designed phage cocktails and evaluated their host range, infectivity, and efficacy against diverse bacterial strains. This work was complemented by testing in in vivo infection models to ensure therapeutic potential. By integrating phage isolation, characterization, and testing in biological systems, she aims to develop innovative, targeted treatments for drug-resistant infections, offering an alternative to traditional antibiotics.