Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Our laboratory is researching on tuberculosis (TB), the leading cause of mortality due to a single infectious agent. We have identified a specific pathogenic mechanism by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB, secretes a protein, Protein tyrosine phosphatase A (PtpA), during infection in order to facilitate evasion of the host immune system. Our results demonstrated that PtpA interacts with multiple host proteins that are essential for the destruction of bacterial pathogens. However, the exact role of these interactions in relation to the intracellular survival of M. tuberculosis is not yet completely understood. Therefore, this study aims to define the role of TB-Host interactions and to identify downstream events that are disrupted by PtpA in the infected macrophages, which ultimately leads to development of TB in patients. Understanding the mechanism by which PtpA promotes the survival of M. tuberculosis will definitely provide important insights regarding the pathogenesis of TB and the response of host macrophages to infections. As PtpA is a potential drug target, the new knowledge may contribute to the development of novel therapeutics against one of the deadliest diseases in the world.