As a curious, keen problem solver who works to better understand HIV molecular virology, Hanwei Sudderuddin’s experiences with the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) have prepared him for his current work with the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE). After becoming intrigued with FHS professor Zabrina Brumme’s research upon listening to her speak as a guest for his FHS immunology class, Sudderuddin decided to enroll in her HSCI 478 class (Molecular Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases).
“This was arguably one of the best classes I took during my undergraduate career. The class was very engaging and the content was original and interesting. We learned about everything from DNA sequencing and phylogenetics, to HIV, influenza and neglected tropical diseases,” says Sudderuddin. “After taking the class, I expressed my interest to pursue an honours research project with Dr. Brumme in her molecular virology research laboratory in FHS.”
“He did extremely well in my HSCI 478 class,” Brumme recalls. “At the semester’s end, he asked whether I would be willing to serve as his BSc honours supervisor, and I was very happy to do so.”
His honours research project with FHS involved studying Nef, an HIV protein that plays an important role in HIV pathogenesis. During the course of his honours research project, he longitudinally characterized the genetic and functional evolution of Nef in a single HIV-infected individual (studying 50 unique HIV sequences over the span of more than 10 years) to gain a better understanding of how the HIV Nef protein evolves within an HIV-infected host.
Sudderuddin’s fascination with the public health dimension of molecular biology research, and studying the HIV Nef protein allowed him to help gain a better understanding of the limits of HIV’s adaptability. His hard work led to the publication of his research work in the journal Retrovirologyin early 2020.