Exploring mitochondrial enzymes as target for anti Toxoplasmosis and anti malaria drugs
Supervisors:
Lilach Sheiner, School of Infection and Immunity, University of Glasgow
David Palmer, Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde
Summary:
Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is life threatening in immunocompromised people and responsible for huge economic losses annually in the sheep industry due to ewe miscarriage. T. gondii’s ability to survive, infect, cause disease and spread relies on its mitochondrial functions, which depends on its mitoribosome. We recently showed that the Toxoplasma mitoribosome is highly divergent from the mammalian one yet our understanding of how it works and what opportunities does its divergent structure provides for drug discovery remains incomplete. This project will follow up on the observations from our recently generated structure and focus on the divergent peptide exit tunnel.
The student will be trained in techniques suitable for a variety of biological research jobs: molecular biology and genetic manipulation; cell biology and imaging; parasite and mammalian cell culture; and working with biomolecular modelling, chem- and bioinformatics, and AI and machine learning tools.
The student will further acquire transferable skills relevant to numerous job types: critical thinking; project design and troubleshooting; team work; presentation and communication; time management; data analysis; supervision and leadership skills and more.