Sheila Nathan initially trained in transcription-coupled DNA repair but switched to bacterial pathogenesis in 1995. Her research focuses on the tropical pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei and host defence mechanism against the infection. Major research collaborations with Stanford University, University of Sheffield and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have contributed to significant new knowledge on the bacterium’s virulence and failure of the host immune response. The research findings have led to more than 100 research papers, review articles, and book chapters, as well as review grant applications for funders from Malaysia, UK, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. She has successfully trained over 50 graduate students, many of whom are now leading their own research in local and international universities and industries. She is an editor for BMC Genomics and a regular reviewer for international journals in the field. She has been invited to national and international conferences to talk about her research on B. pseudomallei. Member of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, she has received the British Chevening Award and Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology President's Award, among others.