Skip to content Skip to navigation

Anna Cunningham

Anna Cunningham

Anna Cunningham

About

G6PD deficiency afflicts over 400 million people worldwide, and is a risk factor for many diseases such as diabetes, bipolar disorder, Huntington’s disease, and jaundice. Over 160 different mutations in the protein glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) can cause G6PD deficiency, but the ways in which these mutations disable the function of G6PD are poorly understood. I plan to use a bioinformatic method to study the evolution of G6PD, learn more about the effects of known G6PD mutations, and predict the effects of new mutations. This project will advance the understanding of this essential protein and guide the identification of a drug that could rescue G6PD mutations and possibly treat G6PD deficiency.