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Project 1. Investigating the Link Between Infectious Agents & Cancer Development
The major challenge of trying to directly link the presence of infectious agents with tumor development is that
infectious agents are often present at very low levels in the tissue (below detection limit) or may have been
cleared from infected tumor tissue at the time of testing. In the later ‘Hit-and-Run’ case the effects of
infections are very difficult to link back to cancer development. Thus, the contribution of infections to the
etiology of cancers remains unclear. To overcome this challenge, we propose to switch the focus from the
detection of infectious agents in tumor tissue to the detection of the epigenetics and proteomics changes
induced by infection, which persists long after the viruses or bacteria have been cleared from the infected
tissue. We propose to use molecular signatures to establish the contributory role of infections in cancer
development as an alternative approach to the detection of the infectious agents itself. In this project, you
will learn: 1) cancer signaling networks, 2) host-microbe interaction, 3) high-end analytical instrumentation
(mass spectrometry), and 4) molecular and computational modeling.
Project 2. Molecular Mechanisms of Bioactive Plant-based Compounds in Neglected Tropical Diseases Trachoma
Trachoma results from infection of the conjunctiva with Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) and is the most common
infectious cause of blindness worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 1.3
million people are blind from trachoma and 40 million have active disease. We recently discovered that C.
trachomatis infection is highly susceptible to a bioactive compound – AC221.34 from an important medicinal
plant distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions around the world. In this project, you will learn: 1)
medicinal chemistry, 2) therapeutic protein-drug interactions, 3) structure-based drug design, and 4) working
with animal models.