Alyaa Mohamed defends her Phd Thesis

Alyaa Mohamed, a Ph.D. candidate under the supervision of Professor Takashi Gojobori, defended her Ph.D. dissertation.

Alyaa Mohamed, a Ph.D. candidate under the supervision of Professor Takashi Gojobori, defended her Ph.D. dissertation "Comparative metabolic modeling and analysis of human pathogens" on March 4, 2019.

Alyaa's research interests are focused on integrating different levels of high throughput data for a better understanding of biological systems. 

Abstract:

My Ph.D. thesis focused on the use of genome-scale metabolic models to predict druggable targets that would be of the broader spectrum against human pathogens. Specifically, I worked on reconstruction and analysis of genome-scale metabolic models of multiple stages and species of Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, to prioritize druggable targets that could be used to simultaneously treat and block transmission of the parasite. In addition, I also demonstrated how using species-specific models can aid in translating findings from non-human experimental disease models to human-infecting species. Further,  deploying constraint-based models, I predicted druggable targets that would be effective whether a pathogen is causing the infection as an individual or as a member of a community in cases of polymicrobial infections using V. cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, as an example. 

Bio: 

Alyaa's research interests are focused on integrating different levels of high throughput data for a better understanding of biological systems. She has a M.Sc in pharmacology and toxicology and a B.Sc. in pharmacy and biotechnology, both from the German University in Cairo, Egypt. 
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