Bioinformatics
When I get tired of humans, I deal with computers
Even though I am not a formally educated bioinformatician, I participated in a couple of projects investigating genetic data.
✤ Investigating the Plasmodium falciparum proteins
Among the many genes in Plasmodium falciparum, some are more likely than others to allow the pathogen to successfully infect its host and escape the immune system. We were interested in understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that drive changes in these genes that allow plasmodium to be a very effective pathogen. Once these mechanisms are known, we may be able to manipulate these genes to improve drug and vaccine success against malaria.
✤ Investigating the Coronaviridae genomes
I participated in a study of human and non-human Coronaviridae genomes hoping to spot patterns in their low complexity regions that could potentially help us understand COVID-19 better.
✤ Investigating the BTNL2 and PKDREJ genes
I analysed single nucleotide polymorphisms in BTNL2 and PKDREJ genes that could be responsible for problems with proteins coded by these genes. I was working on FASTA files, analyzing them with BLAT – searching for genetic correlations between humans and non-human apes.