Aaliyah Khan, a Master’s student in Biotechnology at the Durban University of Technology DUT, has earned second place for her oral presentation at the first African Metabolomics Conference, marking an impressive achievement in her growing academic journey.
She expressed her honour at being part of the conference, which brought together high quality scientific work from across the continent.
Being creative, innovative and adaptive is what Khan espouses, not only in her academic studies but also in her social life. The dynamic student is currently pursuing her Master’s degree with a strong focus on computational drug discovery and bioinformatics.
She recently delivered an oral presentation as part of the first African Metabolomics Conference MSA, which sought to gather researchers in the field of metabolomics to share their research and discoveries.
“My presentation was titled Machine learning driven bioprospection of South African plants for modulators of SGLT 2 for interventive diabetes care. I presented my findings in which I compiled a library of compounds derived from South African medicinal plants, and using computational and machine learning approaches, screened the compounds for the identification of potential modulators of SGLT 2, a key target in diabetes management,” she shared.
Khan further discussed the subsequent metabolic analysis the compounds underwent for the assessment of their binding affinity to the target, drug likeness, and stability over time. She concluded by discussing the implications of the findings and how the machine learning approach would greatly aid in accelerating the identification of novel therapeutic candidates.
“I feel both exceptionally grateful and humbled by placing second at such a remarkable conference. Above all, I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to have presented alongside such distinguished fellow researchers. The experience as a whole was both inspiring and insightful, and I am truly honoured to have been part of a platform that brings together such high quality scientific work,” she said.
Khan indicated that she is particularly interested in integrating bioinformatics with natural product research for the discovery of novel therapeutic candidates. “My research centres around the identification of potential antidiabetic compounds targeting SGLT 2 and aldose reductase using molecular modelling techniques and machine learning approaches,” she shared.
Khan, who heard about the conference through the university’s call for submissions, was eager to participate primarily for the opportunity to witness firsthand the innovative ideas and approaches being explored by others working in similar areas of research.
“Additionally, I aimed to network with fellow researchers and gain exposure to potential collaborations within the field,” she said.
In terms of role models, the first person that came to mind was Kary Mullis, whose invention of the polymerase chain reaction PCR has immensely contributed to the development of molecular biology and biotechnology. “His invention was so profoundly important that, despite having been created in 1983, it still represents a key tool for many research endeavours today,” she said.
Going forward, Khan is contemplating pursuing her doctoral studies, where she hopes to discover therapeutic compounds to treat diseases affecting the central nervous system CNS.
Imparting her advice to fellow students wanting to follow in her footsteps, Khan said they should not hesitate to take any opportunity that presents itself.
“Even more so than being an attendee at such events, go out of your comfort zone. Aim to surpass your own internal limits by reaching beyond what you believe is possible for yourself. Never be afraid to seek knowledge and the advice of your peers, for they are there to support you and provide constructive criticism and recommendations that would help you achieve much more than you could as an individual,” she said.
Khan relayed that she personally attributes much of her success at this conference to both her supervisor Professor Sabiu Saheed and her co supervisor Dr Gideon Gyebi for their continuous support and efforts in aiding her understanding of complex techniques that she has recently been introduced to.
“A very important lesson that I have learnt during the course of this conference was that as a scientific community, we truly do travel further together,” she said.
Pictured: Aaliyah Khan, a Master’s student in Biotechnology at DUT.
Waheeda Peters
