Visualising and Interpreting Mutations
The word ‘mutations’ became a buzzword during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is a factor behind the changing nature of contagions. This workshop, facilitated by Professor Saurabh Mahajan and postdoctoral fellow Meenakshi Iyer, asked participants to critically analyze the definition and concept of mutations in the context of its ability to transform any contagion. Using publicly accessible bioinformatics tools, participants explored mutations through genetic sequences, learnt to detect mutations using sequencing technology, and finally mapped them on the sequence/3D structures of the spike protein.
About the Academic
Saurabh Mahajan is an Assistant Professor of Basic Sciences at Atria University in Bangalore. He is an evolutionary biologist with a fascination and curiosity for the biological past, which he tries to study using the computational analysis of DNA and protein sequences. He is also passionate about teaching undergrads using interactive pedagogical tools, and likes to involve undergraduates in research.
About the Postdoctoral Fellow
Meenakshi Iyer is a postdoctoral fellow in the Indo-Africa consortium for dengue sequencing, vaccine development and capacity building with Prof. Sudhir Krishna at NCBS, TIFR in Bangalore. She works on pathogen genomics and metagenomics studies and genome-wide sequence and structural analysis of viral family proteins. She is broadly interested in application of computational biology to translational health science like pathogen surveillance, evolution and vaccine design.
