Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Tel: +27 834178660
Email: nastassja@sun.ac.za
VALIDATE Role:
Network Management Board 2022-2024, VALIDATE Fellow 2022-2024, Network Associate
Research Keywords:
TB, ESX Secretion Systems, Transcriptional Regulation, Persistence, Antibiotic Tolerance and Resistance
Biography:
I am a TB researcher at Stellenbosch University, South Africa interested in improving our understanding of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis stress response which promotes the formation of persisters, a sub-population of viable but non-replicating and drug-tolerant mycobacteria. I make use of molecular mycobacteriology and mass spectrometry-based proteomics to study how sub-populations of TB respond to and interact to changes within its environment. Prevention of Mycobacterium tuberculosis persister formation has the potential to shorten anti-TB therapy and decelerate the development of drug resistance. As a VALIDATE Network Fellow (2022-2024), my current research aims to (1) identify viable but non-replicating (VBNR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis secretion substrates for TB vaccine development, and (2) describe the macrophage proteome in response to infection with either actively replicating or VBNR Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Related Websites:
Stellenbosch Profile
Orcid Profile
LinkedIn Profile
Key Publications
Nastassja L. Kriel, Tiaan Heunis, Samantha L. Sampson, Monique J. Williams, Robin M. Warren. Identifying nucleic acid-associated proteins in Mycobacterium smegmatis by mass spectrometry-based proteomics. BMC Molecular and Cell Biology.
James Gallant, Jomien Mouton, Roy Ummels, Corinne ten Haag-Jongman, Nastassja Kriel, Arnab Pain, Rob Warren, Wilbert Bitter, Tiaan Heunis, Samantha Sampson. Identification of gene fusion events in Mycobacterium tuberculosis resulting in novel chimeric proteins. NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics