A5009057593- Malaria Research and Control
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Immune Cell Function and Interaction
- Insect Resistance and Genetics
- Trypanosoma species research and implications
- RNA Research and Splicing
- Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies
- RNA modifications and cancer
- CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
- T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Optical Coherence Tomography Applications
- HIV/AIDS drug development and treatment
- Advanced Optical Sensing Technologies
- Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques
- Complement system in diseases
- Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
- interferon and immune responses
- Drug Transport and Resistance Mechanisms
- vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches
- HIV Research and Treatment
- Research on Leishmaniasis Studies
- DNA Repair Mechanisms
Pennsylvania State University
2016-2025
Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University
2025
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
2023
Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy
2010-2022
Millennium Engineering and Integration (United States)
2019-2022
Thermo Fisher Scientific (United States)
2020
Center for Infectious Disease Research
2010-2018
Infectious Disease Research Institute
2017-2018
University of Pennsylvania
2017
University of Wisconsin–Madison
2006-2011
Malaria parasite infection is initiated by the mosquito-transmitted sporozoite stage, a highly motile invasive cell that targets hepatocytes in liver for infection. A promising approach to developing malaria vaccine use of proteins located on surface as antigens elicit humoral immune responses prevent establishment Very little P. falciparum genome has been considered potential targets, and candidate vaccines have almost exclusively based single antigens, generating need novel target...
Malaria parasites must respond quickly to environmental changes, including during their transmission between mammalian and mosquito hosts. Therefore, female gametocytes proactively produce translationally repress mRNAs that encode essential proteins the zygote requires establish a new infection. While release of translational repression individual has been documented, details global have not. Moreover, changes in spatial arrangement composition DOZI/CITH/ALBA complex contribute control are...
Malaria infections of mammals are initiated by the transmission Plasmodium salivary gland sporozoites during an Anopheles mosquito vector bite. Sporozoites make their way through skin and eventually to liver, where they infect hepatocytes. Blocking this initial stage infection is a promising malaria vaccine strategy. Therefore, comprehensively elucidating protein composition will be invaluable in identifying novel targets for blocking infection. Previous efforts identify proteins expressed...
Abstract Plasmodium sporozoites are transmitted from infected mosquitoes to mammals, and must navigate the host skin vasculature infect liver. This journey requires distinct proteomes. Here, we report dynamic transcriptomes proteomes of both oocyst salivary gland in rodent-infectious yoelii parasites human-infectious falciparum parasites. The data robustly define mRNAs proteins that upregulated (UOS) or infectious (UIS) within glands, including many essential for sporozoite functions vector...
Abstract Background Malaria remains a major human health problem, with no licensed vaccine currently available. infections initiate when infectious Plasmodium sporozoites are transmitted by Anopheline mosquitoes during their blood meal. Investigations of the malaria sporozoite are, therefore, clear medical importance. However, can only be produced in and isolated from mosquitoes, isolation results large amounts accompanying mosquito debris contaminating microbes. Methods Here is described...
Plasmodium falciparum and vivax cause the majority of human malaria cases. Research efforts predominantly focus on P. because clinical severity infection associated mortality rates. However, affects more people in a wider global range. Furthermore, unlike falciparum, can persist liver as dormant hypnozoites that be activated weeks to years after primary infection, causing relapse symptomatic blood stages. This feature makes unique difficult eliminate with standard tools vector control...
Malaria's cycle of infection requires parasite transmission between a mosquito vector and mammalian host. We here demonstrate that the Plasmodium yoelii Pumilio-FBF family member Puf2 allows sporozoite to remain infectious in salivary glands while awaiting transmission. mediates this solely through its RNA-binding domain (RBD) likely by stabilizing or hastening degradation specific mRNAs. traffics cytosolic granules, which are negative for several markers stress granules P-bodies, disappear...
The malaria parasites in the genus Plasmodium have a very complicated life cycle involving an invertebrate vector and vertebrate host. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are critical factors involved every aspect of development these parasites. However, few RBPs been functionally characterized to date human parasite falciparum. Using different bioinformatic methods tools we searched P. falciparum genome list annotate RBPs. A representative 3D models for each RBD domain identified was created using...
Effector T cells exhibiting features of either helper 1 (Th1) or follicular (Tfh) populations are essential to control experimental Plasmodium infection and believed be critical for resistance clinical malaria. To determine whether Plasmodium-specific Th1- Tfh-like effector generate memory that contribute protection, we developed transgenic parasites enable high-resolution study anti-malarial CD4 in models. We found both persist. Unexpectedly, Th1-like exhibit phenotypic functional Tfh...
ABSTRACT Multiple vaccines have been developed and licensed for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). While these reduce disease severity, they do not prevent infection. To infection limit transmission, must be that induce immunity in the tract. Therefore, we performed proof-of-principle studies with an intranasal nanoparticle vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. The candidate consisted of self-assembling 60-subunit I3-01 protein scaffold covalently decorated SARS-CoV-2...
Malaria parasites scavenge nutrients from their host but also harbour enzymatic pathways for de novo macromolecule synthesis. One such pathway is apicoplast-targeted type II fatty acid synthesis, which essential late liver-stage development in rodent malaria. It likely that acids synthesized the apicoplast are ultimately incorporated into membrane phospholipids necessary exoerythrocytic merozoite formation. We hypothesized these being utilized phosphatidic phospholipid precursor....
Transmission of the malaria parasite occurs in an unpredictable moment, when a mosquito takes blood meal. Plasmodium has therefore evolved strategies to prepare for transmission, including translationally repressing and protecting mRNAs needed establish infection. However, mechanisms underlying these critical controls are not well understood, whether changes its repressive complexes mRNA targets different stages. Efforts understand this have been stymied by severe technical limitations due...
Malaria remains a major global health issue, affecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands people annually. Efforts to break the transmission cycle causal Plasmodium parasite, cure those that are afflicted, rely upon functional characterization genes essential parasite's growth development. These studies often based manipulations parasite genome disrupt or modify gene interest understand its importance function. However, these approaches can be limited by availability selectable...
With relatively few known specific transcription factors to control the abundance of mRNAs, Plasmodium parasites may rely more on regulation transcript stability and turnover provide sufficient gene regulation. transmission stages impose translational repression transcripts in part accomplish this. However, proteins are participate this process, those that characterized primarily affect female gametocytes. We have identified yoelii (Py) CCR4-1, a putative deadenylase, which plays role...
Abstract Millions of individuals who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection may be eligible to participate in convalescent plasma donor programs, yet the optimal window for donating high neutralizing titer COVID-19 immunotherapy remains unknown. Here we studied response trajectories antibodies directed surface spike glycoprotein and vitro live virus titers (VN) 175 donors longitudinally sampled up 142 days post onset symptoms (DPO). We observed robust IgM, IgG, viral neutralization...
Malaria remains a major global health burden, causing over 247 million cases and 619,000 deaths in 2021 [1].This disease is caused by eukaryotic, apicomplexan parasites the species Plasmodium, with majority of Plasmodium falciparum.With drug resistance on rise, it crucial to identify exploit specific essential features parasite.One these differences temporally restricted expression two types ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), Asexual A-type Sporozoite S-type.These rRNA are conserved across have...