Molecular Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases

Faculty in the Molecular Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases group conduct research into the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis of different protozoan and bacterial infectious agents. These include several emerging infectious diseases of animals and humans and other diseases with a high impact on tropical livestock production and human development. Faculty expertise is in the areas of molecular biology, genomics, immunology and pathology.

Faculty

Faculty in this group also organize an interdisciplinary journal club with participants from different Colleges within the University and teach graduate and professional didactic courses in this specialty.

Current collaborative interest group projects are:

Dame and Abbott: host-pathogen interactions/pathology of plasmepsin knockout mutants of Plasmodium berghei.

Barbet, Abbott and Alleman: host-pathogen interactions/diagnosis/immunology of infections caused by Rickettsiales.

Allred and Barbet, molecular mechanisms of antigenic variation.

Courses/Seminars taught by group faculty:

Thursday Noon Journal Club (VME6934): Current topics in Microbial Pathogenesis

VME6464 Molecular Pathogenesis. Molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis and persistence.

VEM5131 Veterinary Molecular Biology