14/04/2026
Fighting Fungal Resistance with Data 💻
Meet Ramisa Khan Kousar, one of our 2025 summer placement students at the University of Birmingham! Ramisa spent her internship tackling a critical global health challenge: antifungal resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus.
Moving from the traditional lab bench to the digital one, Ramisa’s computational research focused on the cyp51A gene—the primary target for azole drugs. Her work involved:
Bioinformatics: Using R programming to map geographic and temporal trends in resistance.
Phylogenetic Analysis: Mapping the evolutionary "family tree" of resistant isolates to understand how they spread globally.
Scientific Contribution: We are thrilled to share that Ramisa’s findings will be included in a future peer-reviewed publication, with Ramisa credited as a co-author! 📝
A message from Ramisa:
"I am sincerely grateful to the Foundation for supporting this internship. It gave me the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in computational biology and to apply programming and analytical tools to a real-world research question. This experience strengthened my confidence in independent research, improved my technical skills, and gave me valuable insight into the process of contributing to a future publication. I truly appreciate the Foundation’s support in helping me develop both academically and professionally."
By supporting these placements, we are ensuring that vital research into fungal pathogens continues while providing talented students with the platform to make a measurable impact on global health.
Well done on a fantastic placement, Ramisa!
📍 The beautiful Edgbaston Campus at the University of Birmingham. (Image: Mingkai Zhang/Wikimedia)
