The Invisible Arms Race: Why Microbes Evolve Faster Than We Can Invent Antibiotics - Prof. Oren Tzfadia

Each time you take antibiotics, bacteria are given a chance to adapt. Most die. Some mutate—and become resistant. This talk unpacks how that process works, and why it’s accelerating.

We’ll cover the fundamentals of mutation and natural selection, then explore how scientists use multi‑omicsto track resistance as it develops—across DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites. Multi-omics is the integration of data from different molecular layers—like genes, RNA, proteins, and metabolites—to understand how biological systems function as a whole.

You’ll also learn why finishing your prescription matters, how wastewater can be used to spot outbreaks early, and why plant research might hold the key to our next major antibiotic.

🔬Prof. Oren Tzfadia is a bioinformatician at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. His work focuses on using computational tools to uncover how genes function, with a strong focus on drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. With expertise in multi-omics, regulatory networks, and AI—including large language models—he bridges biology and data science to accelerate clinical research. Author of 40+ peer-reviewed papers, he brings a hands-on, data-driven perspective to the fight against microbial resistance.

Doors open at 18:30 – Arrive early, grab a seat, and settle in.

Talk starts at 19:30 and runs until around 21:00.

Drinks and snacks can be ordered throughout the talk, so no need to choose between thinking and sipping.

Stick around afterward—good conversations don’t have closing times.