Computational study of the effect of gene deletion (synthetic lethal) on cellular growth in pathogenic organisms

Infectious diseases kill millions of people each year. For example, according to World Health Organization’s estimate, 10 million people contracted tuberculosis in 2017 resulting in 1.6 million deaths, which is approximately one death every twenty seconds . Increasingly, the pathogenic organisms, responsible for these diseases, are evolving to be resistant to drugs already in use to tackle them. Due to cost and time involved in developing new drugs, researchers around the world are developing mathematical models to understand the cellular processes of these organisms and use them to rapidly develop new drugs. This research project will use Genome-scale mathematical models for cellular metabolism in a pathogen to identify proteins and genes essential for the survival of a pathogen responsible for a disease. Results from this research are essential to addressing the twin problems of evolution of drug resistance in pathogens and drug side effects, while developing drugs.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kathryn Grandfield

Student:

Partner:

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Biotechnology; Life Sciences (not health)

University:

McMaster University

Program: