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BULProf Sanjib Bhakta — no licensed photograph is available, so the academic plate is shown instead.

Academic

Prof Sanjib Bhakta

Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Biochemistry, Birkbeck, University of London (Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, joint with UCL)

Birkbeck, University of London (Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, joint with UCL) is based in Holborn and St Pancras (London) — the organisation’s base, not a personal address.

Press citations

1

Topic

1

Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Last quoted

Aug 2026

Prof Sanjib Bhakta: key facts

Kind of voice
Academic
Role
Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Biochemistry
Organisation
Birkbeck, University of London (Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, joint with UCL)
Organisation based in
Holborn and St Pancras
Quoted on
Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
Tracked press citations
1
Most recently quoted
27 Aug 2026

Who Prof Sanjib Bhakta is

Professor Sanjib Bhakta is Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Biochemistry at the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (ISMB), a joint research institute between Birkbeck, University of London and UCL, where he heads the ISMB Mycobacteria Research Laboratory. His research focuses on developing novel therapeutics and repurposing existing drugs to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and persistence in tuberculosis (TB) and TB-like respiratory diseases including COPD, cystic fibrosis and asthma. He completed a DPhil in Pharmacology at The Queen's College, University of Oxford — receiving the Sir William Paton Prize — after a Wellcome Trust Fellowship in the Oxford University Division of Medical Sciences. He has published over 120 research articles, with a 2018 Nature Scientific Reports paper on tackling AMR in TB ranking in the journal's top 100 most-read articles and being featured in BBC Health News. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, a Cipla Distinguished Fellow in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Chief Editor of Frontiers in Antibiotics. In 2025 he led a Birkbeck research initiative awarded significant funding from UKRI and the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education to accelerate drug discovery against drug-resistant TB.

“The WHO report revealed an alarming escalation in resistance, particularly among gram-negative bacteria. Combating AMR required tailored global action from strengthening surveillance and diagnostics to ensuring equitable access to narrow-spectrum antibiotics.”

References for this biography

  1. 1.Professor Sanjib Bhakta – Birkbeck, University of London staff profile — Role title, department, ISMB affiliation, career history, DPhil at Oxford, Sir William Paton Prize, Wellcome Trust Fellowship, Microbiology Society Outreach Prize, BBC Health News feature
  2. 2.Sanjib Bhakta | About | University College London — UCL honorary professor status, ORCID, LinkedIn link, publication count, Nature Scientific Reports top-100 article, BBC Health News coverage, ISMB Steering Group and UCL-TB membership, Chief Editor of Frontiers in Antibiotics
  3. 3.Birkbeck-led research secures grant to combat drug-resistant tuberculosis and respiratory diseases – Birkbeck, University of London — UKRI and MOHE funding award for TB drug discovery research initiative led by Prof Bhakta (2025)
  4. 4.Professor Sanjib Bhakta's Inaugural Lecture – TB or Not TB? – Birkbeck, University of London — Over 25 years of research focus on AMR and infectious bacteria; training in India then Oxford and London; Mycobacteria Research Laboratory at ISMB; over 120 published research articles
  5. 5.Prof. Sanjib Bhakta | The Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck, University of London – SciProfiles — Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology; CIPLA Distinguished Fellow in Pharmaceutical Sciences; Mycobacteria Research Laboratory research focus on TB and AMR

Notable achievements

  • 2018 Nature Scientific Reports paper on AMR in TB ranked in the journal's top 100 most-read articles and featured in BBC Health News Source ↗
  • Awarded the Microbiology Society Outreach Prize (October 2020) for the charity project 'Joi Hok', which uses educational intervention to spread awareness of tuberculosis Source ↗
  • Led Birkbeck research initiative awarded significant funding from UKRI and the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) to combat drug-resistant tuberculosis and respiratory diseases (2025) Source ↗
  • Received Sir William Paton Prize from the Oxford University Division of Medicine on completing DPhil in Pharmacology at The Queen's College, University of Oxford Source ↗
  • Winner of 'I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here' Drug Resistance Zone (June 2017), a RCUK/Wellcome Trust funded Science Outreach Programme Source ↗

Where Prof Sanjib Bhakta has been quoted

  1. Sharp global rise in antibiotic-resistant infections in hospitals, WHO findstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

Contact & links

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Professors, researchers and think-tank analysts quoted on the strength of their research rather than a clinical role. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 5 Oct 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.