Mathura Thirugnanasampanthar is a second year PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University. She completed her undergraduate degree in Honors Biology before pursuing graduate studies. Currently working in a cross-disciplinary team: her main advisor, Dr. Zeinab Hosseinidoust, is a Canadian Research Chair in Bacteriophage Bioengineering, and her co-advisor, Prof. Myrna Dolovich, is associated with the Firestone Institute of Respiratory Health at St. Joseph’s Hospital, McMaster University, with decades of experience in aerosol technology.
Research conducted using a custom-built aerosol exposure platform, a design based on the ASTM F2101-19 standard, to generate and analyze infectious aerosols, namely those containing bacteria and viruses. Bacteriophages are important model organisms for her research – these viruses can physically and chemically resemble SARS-CoV-2, but they are innocuous enough to be handled in level 1 laboratories. Significantly, biologic aerosols containing bacteriophages or bacterial viruses can also combat multi-drug resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), is an important pathogen, responsible for recurrent and difficult-to-treat airway infections in cystic fibrosis patients. Her most recent work examines lung delivery of bacteriophages to combat PA infections. Mathura’s current research interests include airborne disease transmission, respiratory infections, and aerosolized therapeutics delivery to the lungs.