Voorhees professor presents at the IUMS Virtual Congress on CRISPR analysis of MDR pathogens

December 11, 2020

Professor Dr. Zhabiz Golkar recently presented at The International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) 2020 Virtual Congresses led out of Daejeon, Korea.

The IUMS 2020 Congress incorporated three major international congresses: the 16th International Congress of Bacteriology and Applied Microbiology, the 16th International Congress of Mycology and Eukaryotic Microbiology, and the 18th International Congress of Virology. These separate congresses connected each other with all current issues and different topics of microbiology in the bridging sessions.

Golkar said the virtual congress was truly interesting and scientifically stimulating. “It was an opportunity to participate in an international virtual arena to exchange knowledge and ideas among professionals from academia, clinical practice, industry, and research institutions to foster cross-discipline collaboration.”

Her current project focused on E.coli as an antibiotic-refractory pathogen with a large genome and extensive genotypic diversity. Historically, E.coli, has been a major model system for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying type I clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated protein based bacterial immune system function. She worked to dislocate a gene to determine its effect on an organism’s phenotype, which is an indispensable tool in molecular biology and genetics.

The understanding of genomic, comparative genomics, evolutionary prediction, and sequencing tools combined with current advances in analytical techniques has raised the potential of genetic discovery in numerous organism resistance and CRISPR analysis could be critical in assessing the evolutionary potential of E.coli sub-lineages and aid in design the new antimicrobial drugs.

In Golkar’s lab, more than 800 sequenced E.coli genomes is studied and interns have carried out the comprehensive comparative analysis of this species. She said she is thankful to the University of Chicago for providing technical support to her lab and the Career Pathway Initiatives -Undergraduate Research and Creative Project program which allowed senior Biology major Denise Freeman to gain knowledge and experience during her internship.