UOC Deputy Dean Professor Vicky Cameron presents Chris Kaldor with the 2018 UOC 3 Minute Thesis Master's Category Winner Award.
Chris Kaldor won the Master's category of the UOC heat of the 3 Minute Thesis Competition yesterday afternoon with his short presentation, Trapping Pathogens with Weaponised DNA.
He explained that Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cell in the body, and the first to respond in diseases like pneumonia, a condition characterised by the inflammation of the lungs due to infection.
Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are chromatin structures that neutrophils release to trap and kill pathogens, though some microbes like the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae have been shown to evade NETs through a number of ways.
Chris is investigating whether S. pneumoniae can survive NETs by producing hydrogen peroxide, and the subsequent consequences for neighbouring lung and immune cells due to this oxidant production.
He says that S. pneumoniae is important in a clinical setting because it is the leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia, and still remains a problem in many inflammatory diseases.
Chris is undertaking his Master of Science in the Centre for Free Radical Research under the supervision of Professor Mark Hampton, Dr Heather Parker and Professor Greg Cook.