Kristel Tjandra, PhD

Kristel Tjandra is a science journalism intern at Drug Discovery News. She earned a PhD in chemistry from the University of New South Wales, Australia. Kristel is currently a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University where she develops rapid diagnostics for multidrug-resistant bacteria. Her research focuses on therapeutics and diagnostics for cancer and infectious diseases. When not writing, she enjoys spending time outdoors playing tennis, cycling, and swimming.

Articles by Kristel Tjandra, PhD

Image showing two sample bottles and syringes containing oil and gelling agents used to make the oleogel formulation.

Feb 15, 2023|4 min read

By Kristel Tjandra, PhD

A spoonful of oleogel helps the medicine go down

Scientists developed a gel formulation that makes swallowing medicines easier.

Headshots of two research scientists involved in studying bacterial-phage interaction

Feb 01, 2023|3 min read

By Kristel Tjandra, PhD

Martyr microbes protect the pack by sensing a viral attack

Bacteria can stop a viral infection by an act of altruistic suicide.

Image of a willow tree leave, three ibuprofen pills and a bottle of aspirin with the chemical structure drawn on it.

Dec 09, 2022|3 min read

By Kristel Tjandra, PhD

The paradox of anti-inflammatory drugs

New data suggest that an alternative mode of action may be at play for NSAIDs

An orange rod-shaped bacterium with blue flagella.

Oct 14, 2022|3 min read

By Kristel Tjandra, PhD

A potential new target for developing antibiotics

A new understanding of one enzyme’s role in assembling a key macromolecule in the bacterial cell wall takes a step toward overcoming antibiotic resistance.

An image of a person is shown with attention drawn to fat accumulated in his liver, a feature of the liver disease non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Next to the person is a blue circle with an image of a liver with kisspeptin hormone receptors depicted on the surface of the liver and arrows pointing downward to indicate a decrease in fatty liver and NASH.

Aug 19, 2022|3 min read

By Kristel Tjandra, PhD

A sex hormone may help reverse liver damage

Scientists found that the Kisspeptin hormone activates enzymes that stop lipid formation in the mouse liver, suggesting that it has potential as a drug target for treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.