Advances in Immunology and Microbiology Seminar Series: Andrea Gomez
- Optional after-seminar social: Please feel welcome to join us for an informal social gathering following each seminar at Trailside Taproom, 505 SE Riverview, Pullman.
About the event
Featuring research in the areas of:
Epidemiology | Infectious Disease | Disease Ecology | Drug Discovery | Virology |
Global Health | Vector-Borne Disease | Pathology
The Advances in Immunology & Microbiology seminar series is a weekly forum that brings together scientists from diverse fields and disciplines across the College of Veterinary Medicine to discuss research advances in the broad areas of immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases, and global health. Seminars feature student speakers from the Immunology & Infectious Disease (IID) doctoral program, IID-affiliated postdoctoral researchers and faculty, intramural speakers from across the university, and extramural speakers.
PRESENTER: Andrea Gomez, graduate student, Baylink Lab
TITLE: Developing narrow-spectrum antibacterial medicines against Helicobacter pylori through inhibition of redox homeostasis
ABSTRACT: Helicobacter pylori is a widespread bacterial pathogen that infects the human stomach causing gastritis, ulcers, and stomach cancers. Novel antibacterial medicines against this pathogen are needed to combat the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains. H. pylori’s pathogenesis strategy requires a thiol-based peroxidase known as alkyl hydroperoxide reductase C (AhpC) which the bacterium uses to eliminate reactive electrophilic species (RES), such as hydroperoxides generated by neutrophils through the oxidative burst, and thereby resist clearance by the innate immune system. We are using a structure-based drug design (SBDD) approach to employ structural knowledge of AhpC to seek chemicals that could bind the protein and inhibit its catalytic function. During this seminar, I will share our approach and results that lay the foundation for future cell culture and in vivo studies to develop compounds, and chemical derivatives, as antibacterial medicines for H. pylori infections.