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Dr. Ruqaiya Khalil

PhD in Computer Aided Drug Research (University of Karachi). Currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Cagliari, Italy. Former researcher at CINBIO (Spain) and Center for AI in Health Sciences (Pakistan). Expert in molecular modeling, bioinformatics, drug discovery, and data analysis with 6+ years of postdoctoral research experience.

1 article published

Scientific illustration of HIV protein evolution and molecular modeling, showing an HIV particle, protein structure, DNA, and evolutionary analysis.

Doctoral Studies · AI & Technology

How a New Protein Evolution Model Is Changing the Way We Study HIV

A groundbreaking substitution model of protein evolution now integrates enzymatic activity, binding affinity, structural constraints, and molecular dynamics to better capture how proteins change over time. Applied to HIV-1 protease by Ferreiro, Khalil, Sousa, and Arenas, the study published in Molecular Biology and Evolution (2024) reveals new insights into the molecular mechanisms driving drug resistance. This work sets a new standard for modeling viral protein evolution with direct implications for HIV therapeutics.