Introducing Quratulain Qureshi from the department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry!

Full name: Quratulain Qureshi
Year: Fourth
Major: Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Supervisor: Dr. Ralph Pantophlet

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: I hope to enter the field of medicine, either clinical or experimental. I have always enjoyed learning about pathology and hope to pursue it as part of my career.

Q: How did you get involved in research?
A: Very early into my degree, I became fascinated by all the scientific research taking place at SFU and availed every opportunity to attend research seminars and thesis defenses to learn more. During my first year, I joined the Injury Prevention and Mobility Lab as a volunteer where we analyzed the biomechanics of fall events in older adults. I then took MBB322 and became exposed to and developed an interest in immunology topics. I did some research on SFU’s Immunology group and was fascinated with the research being done in the Pantophlet Lab. Seeing an opening, I decided to apply, and I was thrilled when I got an interview and a subsequent internship.

Q: What are you researching?
A: Research in our lab involves HIV-1 vaccine immunology and molecular vaccine design. Historically, vaccines modeled after conserved components of an infectious agent have proven to be an effective way of priming the individual’s immune system with the right tools in case of an infection. Finding these components for HIV has been a challenge due to the high mutation rate of the virus. Our lab has identified a sugar molecule (glycan) on the viral surface that exhibits a lower level of variability and is a potential candidate. My project involves probing molecules designed to mimic this glycan for binding affinity using a class of antibodies that elicits a neutralizing effect for the HIV virus. I am also studying the efficacy of these mimetics when model organisms are immunized with them.

Q: What is a typical “day in the life” in the lab for you?
A: It depends on the day, most days I perform binding assays using ELISAs or Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). These experiments usually take some time and have long incubations, so I try to keep myself organized and plan my day first thing when I come in (I realized how important this step is the hard way). I also carry out protein purifications using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and perform various recombinant DNA techniques.

Q: What’s your favorite course that you have taken so far in your degree?
A: My favorite course so far has been MBB309W. It was my first Biochemistry Lab experience. I loved being able to perform the techniques we learned about in textbooks and it was always thrilling to analyze data after lab to see if our hours of work yielded good results.

Q: Favorite science joke or meme from your field?

Q: What scares you the most in the lab or the field?
A: Centrifuges. I still check multiple times to make sure everything is balanced.