Daijiworld Media Network – Melbourne (SB)

Melbourne, Dec 11: The University of Melbourne, Australia on December 10 bestowed the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Organic Chemical Synthesis to Dr Pearl Zynia Fernandes felicitated by presiding chancellor Prof Marilys Guillemin for her thesis entitled, 'Design and Synthesis of Substrates and Inhibitors for Mechanistic Insights into α-Mannosidases and α-L-Rhamnosidases'.

Dr Pearl explored approaches to inhibit carbohydrate processing enzymes that act on mannose- and rhamnose-containing glycans. She synthesized mechanism-inspired inhibitors that were used in structural and computational studies, providing deep insight into enzyme catalysis. Her work defined new molecular strategies to control enzyme function and new insights into glycosidase catalysis.

Pearl is the daughter of Rupert Fernandes and Victoria Fernandes (Windsor, Bondel), wife of Vivian Sequeira and daughter-in-law of Richard Sequeira and Florine Sequeira (Valencia). In 2012 she graduated with a BSc in Life Sciences securing overall first rank at St Agnes Autonomous College, Mangaluru and in 2014 she was awarded a gold medal at National Institute of Technology Karnataka for an outstanding record in MSc Chemistry. She was then selected on merit to pursue her dream research in cancer and AIDS therapeutics at the University of Melbourne. Pearl aspires not only to contribute toward research and development in health advancements, but also toward improving learning outcomes for young minds.