Page 70 - University of Pretoria RESEARCH REVIEW 2018

Genetic and epigenetic
variation in non-
communicable diseases
Alisa Phulukdaree, Department of Physiology
Genetic and epigenetic variations may explain the alterations in biochemical pathways that lead to pathology of diseases with persistent chronic oxidative stress, inflammation and hypercoagulation. These changes vary between continents, races, ethnicities and individuals and therefore identifying such differences is a key step towAard precision medicine.
lisa Phulukdaree, an associate professor in the Department of Physiology, is using her knowledge of
medical biochemistry to understand ways in which genetic and epigenetic differences influence the pathology in heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, asthma and other non-communicable diseases. Published in Current
Diabetes Reviews and Biomedicine
and Pharmacotherapy in 2018, her group demonstrated the relationship between genetic differences (single nucleotide variations) and enzyme activity, which affects drug metabolism and effective blood clotting.
The altered breakdown of the commonly used immunosuppressant,
Azathioprine, causes side-effects when a gene variation in the thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) gene is present. Professor Phulukdaree and her research group strongly support ‘early warning’ SNP testing to ensure that patients are able to tolerate the medicine. The risk of heart disease and strokes is higher in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and this
In 2018, Alisa Phulukdaree became the third Next Einstein Forum (NEF) fellow from the University of Pretoria. Sanushka Naidoo and Vinet Coetzee, both in the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, were the first two researchers selected from UP to become NEF fellows. This unique pan-African forum connects science, society and policy in Africa, with the goal of leveraging science for global human development. Alisa is one of the research leaders at the Future Africa Institute, and a mentor on the Africa Science Leadership Programme.
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