Employing institution: Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies, Cameroon
Host institution: University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Project title: Transcriptomic analysis and antimicrobial response models development
Dr Kemegne Gislaine Aurelie is a biologists with a Master’s degree in Biochemistry, and a PhD in Medical Microbiology from the University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon and the University of Montpellier in France. For her PhD research, she evaluated the interaction between essential oils/solvent extracts and antibiotics against bacteria involved in infectious diarrhea. Presently she works as a Research Officer at the Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies at Yaoundé, where she conducts research on the optimisation of bioprospecting approaches for antimicrobial natural substances.
AREF Fellowship:
Pathogenic bacteria affecting people and animals evolve to resist the action of the host immune response and antimicrobial treatment. There is a need to understand Medicinal Plant Extract (MPE) mechanisms of action on clinically important pathogens, to determine whether their exposure emm5.23 Streptococcus pyogenes and Klebsiella pneumonia can change their transcriptome and RNA expressed from the genome.
With the AREF fellowship, Dr Kemegne will quantify the differential expression of selected candidate genes, by extracting total RNA and prepare transcriptome libraries for Illumina deep sequencing. She will use her time to perform statistical analysing and through that develop a strains-antimicrobial response model that will be used in future research on drug formulation and treatment of bacterial infections. She also hopes to acquire hands-on skills in phenotypic testing, quantification by RT-qPCR, biofilm formation/removal, generation of transcriptome libraries, transcriptomic data analysis, and the development of antimicrobial response models.
“The Fellowship will strengthen my research interest in molecular bacteriology and model development, as I will able to provide a One Health context.”
Gislaine will work with Professor Daniel Haydon and Doctor Katarina Oravcova at the University of Glasgow, along with a team of experts in RNA-seq data analysis and genomics. After her fellowship, she will use her acquired skills to co-supervise interns, masters and PhD students that come to complete their placements at IMPM in Cameroon.