Structure and function of essential proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a route towards new TB therapeutics and diagnostics

Tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Treatment of tuberculosis requires a lengthy, complicated drug regimen, which means that many patients fail to comply with the recommend course of treatment. Poor compliance, in turn, has led to the evolution of multi-drug resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB and XDR-TB). In the case of XDR-TB, few, if any, effective therapeutic agents remain. In conjunction with HIV infection, this deadly infection now presents us with a global time bomb that could devastate societies across the globe.

This project will work involve biochemistry, structural biology and molecular microbiology to understand essential processes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and will involve collaborative work between the groups of Dr Elizabeth Fullam and Dr Alex Cameron.

If interested please contact Dr Elizabeth Fullam
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/lifesci/people/efullam/