Richard Novak's Internship Experience
Malaria, especially that caused by Plasmodium falciparum, is one of the leading killers in tropical and sub-tropical countries worldwide. Many efforts are currently underway to arrive at an economical, safe, and effective treatment for the debilitating and often lethal disease.
My work at the laboratory of Geoffrey McFadden, PhD at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia focused on the application of existing antibiotics, disinfectants, and herbicides in inhibiting P. falciparum in human cell cultures. This path of drug discovery avoids many of the pitfalls of traditional de novo drug development. I tested selected compounds at varying concentrations for their ability to kill a malarial infection by measuring the amount of P. falciparum DNA after 48 and 96 hours post-exposure to determine their effective dose. Those compounds that worked at biologically achievable concentrations then were analyzed via confocal fluorescence microscopy to determine the mechanism of inhibition at a cellular level. Parasites expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the apicoplast, an organelle used for many vital metabolic processes, were used for this experiment. Most of the drugs tested fell under one of two known mechanisms of inhibition, immediate disruption of apicoplast division or post-division inhibition of apicoplast metabolic processes. However, novobiocin exhibited what may potentially be a new mechanism altogether. P. falciparum cells were arrested in a state intermediate to the other treatments, with the apicoplast showing partial division. Drug trials such as this are an important first step towards a practical and inexpensive treatment for malarial infections.
Outside of the lab, I enjoyed everything that Australia had to offer, from trying local wines from vineyards just outside the city to eating unusual foods like kangaroo to hiking and climbing in the incredible wilderness. I made friends extremely easily, and everyone without an exception tried hard to make my stay a great experience. I rented a room in a nearby house shared by two Tasmanian people to get a complete cultural immersion. They often took me along for concerts by local artists and other events, and I ended up making many friends through them. The lab members, too, were available outside of the work environment; on several occasions we rented a car and visited nearby national parks. In short, I cannot fully describe how fulfilling my three months were. I can only enthusiastically recommend it.