Parasitology

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITION:
• Associate Professor, Medicine - Infectious Diseases
• Associate Professor, Microbiology & Immunology

EDUCATION:
• Fellowship: University of Virginia School of Medicine VA (1998)
• Residency: University of Virginia Health System VA (1995)
• Internship: University of Virginia Health System VA (1993)
• Medical Education: Ohio State University OH (1992)
• BS: Ohio State University, Biochemistry (1987)

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Our lab studies the molecular basis of pathogenesis of two medically important parasites, Toxoplasma gondii and Entamoeba histolytica. The work is aimed at understanding the virulence determinant that each parasite uses in causing disease, specifically how T. gondii evades the human immune response by converting to a dormant bradyzoite stage and how E. histolytica causes invasive colonic and hepatic disease. In the recent past our efforts have been split evenly in studying both parasites, but we are now switching exclusively to the investigation of Entamoeba biology.

The work on E. histolytica is focused at identifying unique virulence mechanisms that the parasite has developed for causing invasive disease using a combination of genetic and genomics based approaches.

F1000:
Various members of the group assist me with making evaluations for Faculty of 1000: Richard Pearson, Gretchen Ehrenkaufer and Hanbang Zhang.