SFU student’s honours project leads to BC-CfE job

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.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below