Dr Md Saiful Islam is an infectious disease social epidemiologist and Lecturer at UNSW Sydney. His work bridges epidemiology and the social sciences to elucidate the dynamics of disease transmission, inform public health interventions, and advance epidemic preparedness. His research expertise spans emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, zoonoses, One Health, environmental and wastewater-based surveillance, infection prevention and control (IPC), and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Dr Islam completed his PhD in Public Health at UNSW Sydney, where his research on tuberculosis IPC in low- and middle-income countries earned the Dean’s Award for Outstanding PhD Thesis. He subsequently undertook postdoctoral training at the Australian National University, contributing to COVID-19 response efforts in the Indo-Pacific region, with a focus on contact tracing and quarantine strategies.
He currently serves on the World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Working Group on social and behavioural research for community protection in public health emergencies. In this role, he contributes to global guidance on infectious disease threats and preparedness. He is also a member of the Human–Animal Spillover and Emerging Diseases Scanning (HASEDS) Group—Australia’s national forum for collaborative horizon scanning of disease threats to enable early warning, informed decision-making, and strategic risk mitigation.
With over 18 years of international research experience across Australia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Africa, Dr Islam leads and contributes to multidisciplinary projects on avian influenza spillover risk, wastewater surveillance for emerging pathogens, Nipah virus and anthrax transmission, and antimicrobial stewardship.