Dr. Arakelov is particularly interested in structural bioinformatics and computer-aided drug design. He received his PhD from Russian-Armenian University in 2015.

Pyrin protein is the product of the MEFV gene, mutations in which cause the manifestation of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), the most common autoinflammatory syndrome affecting more than 100000 people worldwide. FMF is an autosomal recessive disease, which occurs predominantly in individuals from certain ethnic groups of the Mediterranean region, including Armenians, Sephardic Jews, Arabs, Turks, etc. By 2019, 342 mutations of MEFV gene have been described.

The basic treatment of patients with FMF is colchicine, microtubule-targeting mitotic poison which stops the process of cell dividing and doesn't influence directly on the FMF.

Pyrin plays a key role in apoptotic and inflammatory signaling pathways through the formation of pyrin inflammasome - cytosolic macromolecular assembly complex of pyrin dimer with ASC and pro-caspase-1 monomers. FMF associated mutations and bacterial toxins affect to pyrin activation/inactivation and pyrin inflammasome formation processes which activate cascade of autoinflammatory reactions and apoptosis.

The aim of this research was the in silico study of the pyrin inflammasome macromolecular complex and influence of FMF associated mutations on its formation, with the purpose of clarifying its functions in the autoinflammatory processes and in the pathogenesis of FMF.

For the first time a model of complete structure of pyrin inflammasome was obtained, further studies of which, including the exact identification of its orthosteric or allosteric sites and molecule modulators that can modulate interactions between its protein components, will provide important information to assist in the improvement of current therapies, as well as in the development of new therapeutic approaches.