Molecular Parasitology

Group Leader

Professor Don McManus

Summary

The Molecular Parasitology Laboratory researches the biology and epidemiology of parasitic worms of humans and works on developing new interventions and diagnostic procedures that will lead to their elimination.

The lab researches parasitic worms of humans, particularly schistosome blood flukes, which are responsible for the potentially debilitating disease schistosomiasis (Bilharzia), and dog tapeworms (Echinococcus), which are the cause of hydatid disease.

Conditions researched

• Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia)
• Hydatid disease

Current research

• Extensive human schistosome field studies in Hunan Province (Dongting Lake region), Jiangxi Province (Poyang Lake) and other provinces in China.
• Characterising nuclear and mitochondrial genomes and investigating molecular variation both in the genomes and in key molecules that may be the targets of new anti-schistosome and anti-Echinococcus vaccines.
• Dissecting the molecular and immunological mechanisms involved in human disease caused by schistosomes and Echinococcus.
• Identifying novel drugs and vaccine targets for schistosomiasi.
• Development of new diagnosis methods for hydatid diseas.
• Development of a vaccine against Echinococcus for use in dog hosts.

Staff

Group Leader: Professor Don McManus
 
Senior Research Fellow: Dr Geoff Gobert 
 
Senior Research Officers: Dr Yuesheng Li, Dr Wenbao Zhang
 
Postdoctoral staff: Dr Magda Ellis, Dr Jun Li, Dr Melissa Burke, Dr Hong You, Dr Darren Gray, Dr Barrie Anthony

Scientific Technical Officer: Mary Duke

PhD students: Patrick Driguez, Franziska Bieri, Adebayo Molehin, Xiaoping Cai, Catherine Gordon, Carly Perry

Visiting scientists: Dr Paul Bartley, Professor Guo Jiagang, Dr Yurong Yang, Professor Gail Williams, Dr Giovanna Raso

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge support from the following organisations and funding bodies:

• UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases
• The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia
• The Australian Research Council
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA
• The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [Tropical Medicine Research Center (TMRC) Grant]
• ACITH
• IDP/AUSAID China/Australia Institutional Links Program
• Wellcome Trust
• Dana Foundation
• The Sandler Foundation
• The University of Queensland
• The Ramaciotti Foundation
• Australian Centre for Vaccine Development

Collaborations

Feng Zheng and Professor Guo Jiagang, WHO Collaborating Centre for Malaria, Schistosomiasis and Filariasis, Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, PR China.

Dr Charles Bix Shoemaker, AgResearch Ltd, Wallaceville Animal Research Centre, Upper Hutt, New Zealand.

Professor Honggen Chen, Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Nanchang, Jiangxi, PR China.

Professor Alain Dessein, INSERM U399, Faculte de Medecine, Marseille, France.

Dr Weiqing Pan, Department of Etiologic Biology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, PR China.

Professor Paul Brindley, Dept Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Professor Marcel Tanner, Director, Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel, Switzerland.

Professor Philip Craig, Biology Dept, Salford University, Salford, United Kingdom.

Dr Thanh Hoa Le, Hanoi Institute of Biotechnology, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Dr David Blair, Biology Dept, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.

Professor Remi Olveda, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Manila, Philippines.