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| Isabelle Coppens' program is focused on a little-studied area in malaria research - identifying factors in the hepatic environment that are crucial for the successful replication of Plasmodium. This line of investigation may provide new therapeutic approaches against malarial infections by blocking the nutrient uptake pathways or usurping these pathways for delivery of parasiticidal compounds.
Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena's team has developed a genetically-modified mosquito that is impaired for parasite transmission. They are currently investigating the molecular mechanisms by which the malaria parasite moves in the mosquito to allow transmission from one vertebrate host to another.
A major focus in Nirbhay Kumar's laboratory is investigating molecular mechanisms involved in the differentiation and development of sexual stages of the parasite leading to mosquito infection and malaria transmission with the goal of developing a transmission-blocking vaccine.
Sean Prigge is focusing his research on essential metabolic pathways in the malaria parasite with the ultimate goal of designing drugs to block them and kill the parasite. He and his team are working on six enzymes that are essential to the parasite's ability to make fatty acids. Their results show how these enzymes catalyze the steps of fatty acid biosynthesis and which steps are sensitive to antibacterial drugs.
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