N. Pillay

Negative impact of mild arid conditions in natural rodent populations revealed using markers of physiological condition in natura

The study examines how mild arid conditions affect two rodent species, finding that physiological stress markers indicate malnutrition and contrasting adaptations to water conservation.

Machine learning approaches identify chemical features for stage-specific antimalarial compounds

The paper uses machine learning to identify chemical features associated with stage-specific antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum asexual blood stages and gametocytes.

Bacterial Microbiome and Host Inflammatory Gene Expression in Foreskin Tissue

The paper analyzes the foreskin microbiome and host gene expression in adolescents from South Africa and Uganda, finding no treatment effect on bacterial communities but inverse correlations between bacterial abundance and inflammatory gene expression.

Genomic patterns of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST) evolution correlate with clinical outcome and are detectable in cell-free DNA

This study identifies genomic patterns in MPNST evolution linked to clinical outcomes and shows these patterns are detectable in cell-free DNA.

Mutation Rate Evolution Drives Immune Escape In Mismatch Repair-Deficient Cancer

The paper shows that mutation rate adaptation in MMRd cancers drives immune escape by modulating neoantigen diversity and subclonal mutation rates.

Signatures of copy number alterations in human cancer

This paper identifies 19 copy number signatures in 9,873 cancers, explaining 93% of TCGA samples, and reveals diverse mechanisms underlying copy number alterations in human cancer.

Therapeutic vulnerability to PARP1/2 inhibition in RB1-mutant osteosarcoma

This study shows RB1-mutant osteosarcoma is hypersensitive to PARP1/2 inhibitors, with sensitivity linked to replication checkpoint activation rather than homologous repair defects.

Epigenetic inactivation of oncogenic brachyury (TBXT) by H3K27 histone demethylase controls chordoma cell survival

This study shows that inhibiting H3K27 demethylases reduces TBXT expression and kills chordoma cells by altering epigenetic marks and gene expression.