Sahal Sabilil Muttaqin is a PhD researcher in Medicine at Adelaide University whose academic and research trajectory has focused on synthetic biology, bioinformatics, molecular biology, and applied biotechnology. His work is driven by a strong interest in genome engineering, computational biology, and biotechnology innovation, with the broader goal of translating biological research into practical applications for human health and sustainable development.
 
He began his research career at the Biotechnology Laboratory, Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. During this period, he was involved in experimental studies on local microalgae and Euglena strains. His undergraduate research examined the biomass composition of mixed local microalgae cultured in palm oil mill effluent medium. He also served as a research assistant in one of the first studies focused on the isolation and cultivation of local Euglena strains in Indonesia.
 
Building on this foundation, Sahal later expanded his research experience into bioinformatics and genomics consultancy, including the analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes in Indonesia. His publication record developed across a range of interdisciplinary topics, including SARS-CoV-2 bioinformatics, malaria drug candidate screening, microalgal biotechnology, biotechnology innovation, and anti-CRISPR protein discovery. His work in structural bioinformatics on malaria drug candidates was recognised with a Best Paper award at the BioMIC Conference in 2018.
 
Sahal subsequently pursued an MSc in Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology at The University of Edinburgh under the Indonesian LPDP Scholarship. During his master’s training, he completed his dissertation at the Edinburgh Genome Foundry, where he contributed to the automation of the SpeedyGenesXL workflow for the high-throughput generation of variant libraries for directed evolution. This work provided him with valuable experience in laboratory automation, synthetic biology workflows, and liquid-handling robotics. He also worked as a research intern in the School of Engineering at The University of Edinburgh, contributing to the development of standardised methods for colour analysis in the open-source software AInsectID.
 
His recent research has further extended into advanced genome engineering and protein discovery. In particular, his work on novel AcrIIA5 variants integrated artificial intelligence-based AlphaFold prediction to support anti-CRISPR design. This project was recognised with a Silver Medal at the 2024 Global Open Genetic Engineering Competition.
 
Technically, Sahal combines strong wet-lab and computational expertise. His laboratory experience includes molecular biology techniques, microbial and cell-based experimental workflows, and automation platforms such as the Opentrons OT-2. Complementing this, he has computational expertise in structural bioinformatics, molecular docking, next-generation sequencing analysis, and data analysis using Python, R/Bioconductor, MATLAB, and Excel.
 
He is currently undertaking a PhD project titled Cutting-edge CRISPR therapies targeting a wide range of DMD mutations. Through this work, Sahal aims to contribute to the development of innovative biotechnologies that bridge fundamental science and translational medicine, particularly in the field of genome editing for human disease.