Sheila Nathan
Professor Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia Email: sheila@ukm.edu.my Tel: +60-8921 3862
VALIDATE Role: Network Investigator
Research Keywords: Melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei, pathogenesis, host-pathogen interaction Biography: My research focusses primarily on the Gram negative tropical pathogen, Burkholderia pseudomallei, and its mechanism of pathogenesis as well as how it interacts within the infected host. To address these issues, we have utilised a number of approaches such as different infection models, transcriptome analysis of the infected host and transcriptome analysis of the pathogen when infecting macrophages or whole animals as well as more recently, the dual RNA-sequencing approach to dissect both host and bacteria expression profiles, simultaneously. We have also looked at transcriptome level changes when the bacteria transitions from its natural soil habitat into the host milieu. With my international partners, we have been using structural biology to elucidate the function of key B. pseudomallei proteins as well as adopting the transposoninsertion sequencing approach to identify the pathogen’s essential genes under different conditions. Collectively, these research efforts have identified new mechanisms by which the pathogen subverts the host defence mechanisms and revealed bacterial proteins that play key roles in pathogenesis, some of which have been evaluated as potential vaccine candidates and or diagnostic biomarkers.
In addition to this, my secondary focus has been on other bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) or parasites (Eimeria tenella), the search for anti-infectives and immunomodulators derived from natural products using the Caenorhabditis elegans animal model. |
