February 8, 2018

Science on Tap to discuss using math to ‘debug’ infectious diseases

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Elsje Pienaar, a Purdue University assistant professor of biomedical engineering, will lead the next installment of Science on Tap, with a focus on using math to identify better treatments for infectious diseases.

The talk, “Using math to ‘debug’ infectious diseases,” will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 15) on the top floor of Lafayette Brewing Company, 622 Main St., Lafayette. The talk is free and open to those 21 and older.

Infectious diseases, caused by a variety of organisms, including bacteria and viruses, lead to more than 10 million deaths each year. Some infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, are complicated and difficult to treat, and a worldwide rise in drug resistance is further challenging disease containment. This presentation will outline an approach of using mathematics and computers to help understand the complexity of tuberculosis, and to help identify better treatment options.

Pienaar received her master’s and doctoral degrees in chemical and biomolecular engineering from the University of Nebraska. She was previously a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medicinal Microbiology at Linköping University in Sweden.

Science on Tap, led by graduate students Elizabeth Phillips, Matthew Pharris and Paula Cooper, provides Purdue faculty and collaborating researchers the opportunity to share research activities in an informal setting with presentations designed to appeal to a more general audience. Attendance at the event has averaged 80 during the program’s first five years.

The Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering is part of Purdue’s College of Engineering.  

Writer: Kelsey Schnieders Lefever, kschnied@purdue.edu 

Source: Matthew Pharris, mpharris@purdue.edu

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