Academic Projects
My primary research goal is to understand how infectious pathogens successfully colonize their hosts using complex and tightly regulated mechanisms. To this end, I seek to characterize the key molecules and events that function together to enhance the survival of infectious pathogens. The knowledge generated from my research effort will be important in developing intervention strategies against important human diseases. Please have a look at some of the projects I have been involved.
Working with the Tackling Infection to Benefit Africa (TIBA) team, I participated in the design of a multiplex micro-array chip which will be used to screen plasma samples of populations for rapid diagnosis of protozoans, bacterial, and viral infections. My role was to identify, rank and prioritize unique peptides within the amino acid sequence of immunogenic proteins reported as biomarkers which were used to construct the microchip. I used online threading programs including B-cell epitope mapping as well as Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis to identify and rank 5 unique peptides for the 28 different pathogens used for the study. Click here for details.
We identified a protein (hereafter referred to as Plasmodium falciparum Armadillo-Type Repeat Protein-PfATRP). We expressed soluble recombinant PfATRP in bacteria and used it to screen plasma samples from malaria-endemic areas in Ghana. The results revealed that malaria-infected children have naturally acquired, PfATRP-specific antibodies, with prevalence varying across transmission areas. Dual immunofluorescence assays showed that PfATRP overlaps with IMC components, consistent with its differential solubility in carbonate extraction. In my hands, PfATRP is not palmitoylated, but geranylgeranyl transferase inhibitor (GGTI) impacted its localization. We performed size exclusion chromatography and the results showed that PfATRP forms part of a protein complex, the composition of which could potentially play a role in its subcellular distribution.
Here, we identified an exported Plasmodium falciparum protein (50-kDa) that harbour a PEXEL motif. We used B-cell epitope mapping and screening for coiled-coil signatures to identify peptides for which antibodies were generated. Protein-protein interaction experiments were also performed to substantiate initial evidence suggesting that the protein forms a 200-kDa multi-protein complex in trophozoite lysates. Our result revealed an association of this protein with parasite-induced structures.
Functional Characterization of Plasmodium falciparum Surface-Related Antigen as a Potential Blood-Stage Vaccine Target.
I was involved in characterizing a novel P. falciparum surface-related antigen (PfSRA). PfSRA binds normal human erythrocytes with different sensitivities to enzyme treatments and anti-PfSRA antibodies potently inhibited erythrocyte invasion of both sialic acid-dependent and -independent parasite strains. Our analysis suggests that PfSRA has the structural and functional features of a very promising target for vaccine development.
GC-MS and NMR analysis of the bioactive compounds from the crude extracts of Waltheria indica and the histopathological changes induced in albino rats challenged with Naja nigricollis venom
During my undergraduate project, I identified an array of bioactive compounds present in W. indica using GC-MS and NMR analysis. I studied the ethno-botanical use of W. indica in the treatment of a wide range of medical exigencies and showed scientific evidence of the detoxification of N. nigricollis venom by W. indica
