Dr Apoorva Bhatt of the School of Biosciences describes his research into finding a vaccine for tuberculosis.
60 seconds with Dr Apoorva Bhatt
I’m Apoorva Bhatt, a lecturer in molecular microbiology at the School of Biosciences in the University of Birmingham.
I’m involved in research on tuberculosis, a disease that kills millions every year. I’m particularly interested in the cell wall, a shell that covers the TB causing bacterium.
Why am I interested in the cell wall? First, parts of the cell wall are vital for the survival of the TB bacterium and thus understanding how they are made helps us in identifying new drug targets. Secondly, these components also fool our immune system and thus understanding the interactions with the human host aids in the design of a better vaccine.
While we study the basic biology of the TB bacterium, the long-term impact of this work is in the identification of new drug targets and also the design of a better vaccine for TB.
Dr Apoorva Bhatt's profile