Zombies Versus Trypanosomatids

by Greg Crowther

This is a quasi-punk rock song based somewhat on the efforts of University of Washington professor Fred Buckner and his team to find compounds that can cure late-stage Human African Trypanosomiasis (a.k.a. African sleeping sickness), in which T. brucei has invaded the central nervous system (CNS). As noted in the lyrics, the famous Lipinski rules for orally bioavailable drugs are not especially useful as predictors of CNS penetration.

Lethargic zombie not feeling right:
It’s not your diet; it’s a parasite.
Exhausted zombie can’t run around.
Trypanosoma has shut you down...

CHORUS:
Wake up, zombie -- it's far too early to slip into a reverie.
The Buckner lab is gonna find a drug for late-stage H-A-T.

Infected zombie needing a cure:
Eating brains of others will not save yours.
But C-N-S work demands new tools.
We can’t just follow Lipinski rules...

CHORUS

The H in H-A-T stands for Human,
But zombies are a vector too, I’m presumin’...

CHORUS

• music video (by Ranae Ranade)

• sheet music (with melody play-back)