Dr Poonam Mudgil's research areas are ophthalmology, microbiology and infectious diseases. Her research aims to address major public health issues in eye and infectious diseases using research approaches in microbiology, biophysics, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Her research in ophthalmology has revealed new structural features of the tear film on the ocular surface, discovered antimicrobial role of tear lipids, and found causative mechanisms and treatments for the dry eye disease which affects millions of people worldwide. Her research in microbiology and infectious diseases has investigated antibiotic resistance in bacteria and explored lipids and other biomolecules as alternatives to antibiotics for addressing the problem of antimicrobial resistance which is a crucial global public health issue.

She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed research articles (>80% as first/corresponding author; >900 citations; h-index 15) and her research has been funded through government, industry and university grants. She has active research collaborations with national and international organizations including University of Louisville USA, University of Colorado USA, University of Texas USA, University of New South Wales, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, and South-West Sydney Local Health District. She has peer-reviewed for 18 international journals, served on 5 committees of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, USA, and mentored 22 early career researchers from 12 countries. She has a track record of supervising Undergraduate, Honours, Master’s, PhD, and MD research projects in ophthalmology, microbiology and infectious diseases.