If clinical microbiologists were Hollywood superheroes, Hosam Zowawi would undoubtedly be Superbug Fighter.

In reality, Zowawi is more accustomed to wearing a white lab coat or, when playing his favorite sport, a polo uniform—his team is the Superbug Slayers.

But in the cloistered venues of bacterial research and the broader arena of health awareness, the Rolex Laureate is a leader in the combat against superbugs, the often deadly strains of bacteria and microbes immune to antibiotics.

Superbugs already claim an estimated 700,000 lives globally each year, but they could unleash a far deadlier health crisis. By some estimates, superbug-related deaths could mushroom to 10 million deaths annually by 2050, more than cancer.

Superbugs have made a swelling number of infections—including