miro-astore.github.io

I am Miro Astore, a final year PhD candidate at the University of Sydney. I study computational biophysics. Or, as I say to my family, I use big computers to learn how cells work. I am also interested in pure mathematics, philosophy and long distance running.

I am in my final year of my PhD. My research has involved helping the team at the Molecular and Integrative Cystic Fibrosis Research Centre (miCF) understand why rare Cystic Fibrosis mutations cause specific phenotypes of disease. To do this I am leveraging large amounts of computational resources to perform molecular dynamics and free energy calculations to model dozens of rare mutations.

On the side I use my computational biophysics skillset to assist a start-up, GenieUS Genomics to assess the pathogenicity of novel ALS causing mutations. They are putting together a machine learning and drug discovery pipeline to target these genes with novel therapeutics, with the goal of curing Motor Neuron Disease.