Developing strategies for the purification of a stalled ribosomal complex linked to the ABCF translation factor, EttA, to further characterize the structure and role of this protein in translation regulation.

Project I: Role of NadD in heat-stress protection and protein aggregation regulation in M. tuberculosis. Contributed to study structure-function of NadD to identify novel mechanisms of action.Project II: Transmission biology of M. tuberculosis during respiratory infection. Contributed to validate stress conditions and a synthetically developed media that chemically recreates the different steps of Mtb transmission (granuloma release, aerosolization, and healthy lung), to identify genes… Show more Project I: Role of NadD in heat-stress protection and protein aggregation regulation in M. tuberculosis. Contributed to study structure-function of NadD to identify novel mechanisms of action.Project II: Transmission biology of M. tuberculosis during respiratory infection. Contributed to validate stress conditions and a synthetically developed media that chemically recreates the different steps of Mtb transmission (granuloma release, aerosolization, and healthy lung), to identify genes necessary for transmissibility. Show less

Characterization of Vinculin oligomerization and actin reorganization induced by the Shigella T3SS-mediated effector IpaA, by TIRF microscopy.

Rotation III: Functional proteomics of the quorum sensing receptor VpsS of Vibrio Cholerae. Performed a random mutagenesis screen of the receptor and evaluated the downstream effect of the mutations on a reporter strain, for the identification of amino acid sequences necessary for signal transduction.Rotation II: Evaluation of the implications of the metabolism of alpha-ketoglutarate in the tolerance to reactive oxygen species by Legionella pneumophila. Engineered knockout strains of… Show more Rotation III: Functional proteomics of the quorum sensing receptor VpsS of Vibrio Cholerae. Performed a random mutagenesis screen of the receptor and evaluated the downstream effect of the mutations on a reporter strain, for the identification of amino acid sequences necessary for signal transduction.Rotation II: Evaluation of the implications of the metabolism of alpha-ketoglutarate in the tolerance to reactive oxygen species by Legionella pneumophila. Engineered knockout strains of candidate genes necessary for survival in the absence of a-KTG from a Tn-seq pool, and evaluated their tolerance to ROS.Rotation I: Refolding of the Cytomegalovirus fusion protein gB by temperature kinetics, from an engineered structure-disrupted hypothetical prefusion form to post-fusion conformation, and evaluation by negative staining electron microscopy Show less

Project: Mechanisms of action of transcription factors in Mycobacteria. CarD and RbpA interactions with the RNA polymerase sigma sub-units.Genetically engineered strains of M. smegmatis to evaluate the phenotypical and transcriptional effect of mutations in CarD and RbpA that disrupted their binding ability to the RNA polymerase, based on published crystal structures and the analysis orthologus genes.

Isolation and biochemical characterization of bacterial isolates from drinking water samples of rural andean households in Peru. Assesment of antimicrobial resistance of the strains by disk-diffusion.

Project: Mechanisms of red blood cell targeting and lysis by leukocidins of Staphylococcus aureus. Designed, expressed, and purified the recombinant mutant Leukocidinds HlgA and LukED, toxins of Staphylococcus aureus, to determine the mechanism of binding and pore formation in red blood cells, based on the crystal structures available of both of the subunits that conform the different leukocidins. Isolated red blood cells from whole blood samples from donors. Performed FACS assays of red… Show more Project: Mechanisms of red blood cell targeting and lysis by leukocidins of Staphylococcus aureus. Designed, expressed, and purified the recombinant mutant Leukocidinds HlgA and LukED, toxins of Staphylococcus aureus, to determine the mechanism of binding and pore formation in red blood cells, based on the crystal structures available of both of the subunits that conform the different leukocidins. Isolated red blood cells from whole blood samples from donors. Performed FACS assays of red blood cells challenged with fluorecent-labelled subunits of the toxins. Show less

Project I: Effect of three different types of bovine lactoferrin on the growth of the principal Gram-negative enteric pathogensProject II: Prevalence of serine-protease autotransporters of Enterobacteriaceae (SPATEs) encoding genes in E. coli isolates from patients with urinary tract infection

Training in gene cloning and recombinant protein expression in E. coli and Pichia Pastoris.

Laboratory classes assistantship in Microbial Genetics, Microbiology in Health, Fundamentals of Microbiology, and General Microbiology.

Project I: Identification of Rhodotorula sp proteins involved in the resistance to heavy metals.Role: determined the growth kinetics and tolerance to heavy metals by Rhodotorula . Standardized a protocol of sonication for protein extraction.Project II: Assessment of resistance levels to quinolones in Uropathogenic E. coli isolates from Lima, Peru.Role: Biochemical characterization of E. coli isolates, and antimicrobial sensitivity screenings by the Kirby-bauer (disk diffussion)… Show more Project I: Identification of Rhodotorula sp proteins involved in the resistance to heavy metals.Role: determined the growth kinetics and tolerance to heavy metals by Rhodotorula . Standardized a protocol of sonication for protein extraction.Project II: Assessment of resistance levels to quinolones in Uropathogenic E. coli isolates from Lima, Peru.Role: Biochemical characterization of E. coli isolates, and antimicrobial sensitivity screenings by the Kirby-bauer (disk diffussion) method. Show less