Dr. Munawwar Ali Khan is an Associate Professor of Natural Science and Public Health at the Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He received his PhD in 2001 from the Department of Urban Engineering at University of Tokyo, Japan. His research work is in the general area of environmental microbiology and biotechnology. His specific focus is on developing and applying in situ (direct) molecular biological methods (PCR, FISH and immunofluorescence) to detect pathogenic microorganisms in water, wastewater, food and clinical samples. He is also working on the use Quantum dots/nanocrystals linked antibodies, DNA/ RNA gene probes for the identification and characterisation of the microbial communities (including pathogenic microorganisms of public health relevance) in food, water and wastewater systems.