Heavy Chain - Daniel Muema
Dr Daniel Muema: Post-doctoral fellow at Africa Health Research Insitute, SANTHE Fellow, Qualified pharmacist.
His Research: Daniel’s work is focused on antibodies that are made against HIV. Your immune system creates antibodies against most infections and this protects you the next time that same pathogen (virus, bacteria or fungus) gets past your body’s defences. Antibodies are made against specific proteins of the invading pathogen. They latch on to that protein and then trigger an immune response that kills or inactivate the invader. When a person is infected with HIV your body makes antibodies but they aren’t effective enough to stop the virus from doing it’s damage because the virus has already established itself. What if we could make the body make those antibodies before an HIV virus shows up?
In Daniel’s research, he tests the blood of HIV+ people that have chosen to participate in medical research to find people who have a strong antibody response. He can then clone (copy) the DNA that codes for those antibodies, create those antibodies in the lab, test them to see if they block HIV from infecting cells and then determine how they are working. The hope is that a vaccine could be develop that would cause the same antibody response in HIV- people and neutralise it quickly. The best antibodies can also be used as drugs. #Bcells, #antibodies, #HIV
His Heroes: “Leonardo da Vinci, he had an all-rounded creative mind, both scientifically and artistically.”
His Top Tip: Science teaches us the unknown; keep your mind open!
We asked scientists to rank in order, what matters most to succeed in science. For Daniel: Curiosity, creativity, hard work and lastly communication
What else do you need? cooperation and simplicity (the simplest answer and approach to solving a problem is often the most correct - see Occam’s razor)
Scientific Strengths: collaboration, multitasking
His Superpowers: Daniel can pull out a single B cell from blood (flow cytometry), cut copy and duplicate DNA (cloning), and make antibodies, arguably the most amazing family of proteins – without them would there be multicellular life as we know it? - in a petri dish.
Connect: Twitter @MuemaDM
In isiZulu
UDkt Daniel Muema: Uzakwethu ngemuva kokuthola ubudokotela e-Africa Health Research Insitute, u-SANTHE Fellow, usokhemisi oqeqeshiwe.
Ucwaningo Lwakhe: Umsebenzi kaDaniel ugxile kumasosha omzimba enziwe ngokumelene ne-HIV. Amasosha akho omzimba adala amasosha omzimba amelana nezifo eziningi futhi lokhu kukuvikela ngesikhathi esilandelayo lapho leli gciwane (igciwane, amagciwane noma ukhunta) lidlula izivikelo zomzimba wakho. Ama-antibodies enziwa ngokumelene namaprotheni athile e-pathogen ehlaselayo. Zinamathela kulelo phrotheni bese ziqala ukusabela komzimba okubulala noma ukuvimbela umhlaseli. Uma umuntu etheleleke nge-HIV umzimba wakho wenza amasosha omzimba kodwa angasebenzi ngokwanele ukuvimba igciwane ukuthi lilenze kuwumonakalo ngoba igciwane selivele lazinza ngokwalo. Kuthiwani uma singenza umzimba wenze lawo masosha omzimba ngaphambi kokuba kuvele igciwane le-HIV?
Ocwaningweni lukaDaniel, uhlola igazi labantu abane-HIV+ abakhethe ukubamba iqhaza ocwaningweni lwezokwelapha ukuze bathole abantu abane-antibody eqinile. Angakwazi-ke ukuhlanganisa (akopishe) i-DNA efaka amakhodi kulawo masosha omzimba, enze lawo masosha omzimba elebhu, awahlole ukuze abone ukuthi ayayivimba yini i-HIV ukuthi ithelele amaseli bese ethola ukuthi asebenza kanjani. Ithemba liwukuthi kungase kusungulwe umgomo ongadala impendulo efanayo yamasosha omzimba kubantu be-HIV futhi uwuqede amandla ngokushesha. Amasosha omzimba angcono kakhulu angasetshenziswa njengezidakamizwa. #Ama-Bcell, #amasosha omzimba, #HIV
Amaqhawe akhe: "ULeonardo da Vinci, wayenengqondo yokudala ephelele, ngokwesayensi nangobuciko."
Ithiphu Lakhe Eliphezulu: Isayensi isifundisa okungaziwa; gcina ingqondo yakho ivulekile!
Sacela ososayensi ukuthi bahlele ngokulandelana, okubaluleke kakhulu ukuze uphumelele kwezesayensi. KuDaniel: Ilukuluku, ubuhlakani, ukusebenza kanzima kanye nokuxhumana okokugcina
Yini enye oyidingayo? ukusebenzisana nokuba lula (impendulo elula nendlela yokuxazulula inkinga ngokuvamile iyona elungile - bheka insingo ka-Occam)
Amandla Esayensi: ukusebenzisana, ukwenza izinto eziningi
Amandla Akhe Amandla: UDaniel angakhipha i-B cell eyodwa egazini (flow cytometry), asike ikhophi futhi aphindaphinde i-DNA (i-cloning), futhi enze amasosha omzimba, ngokungangabazeki umndeni omangalisayo wamaprotheni - ngaphandle kwawo bekungaba khona ukuphila kwamangqamuzana amaningi njengoba sazi. ? - esitsheni se-petri.
Xhuma: Twitter @MuemaDM