Parasite Cell Biology

Group Leader 

Associate Professor Malcolm Jones

Summary

The Parasite Cell Biology Laboratory researches three specific parasite: schistosomes (human blood flukes), the hydatid tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus and the malaria parasite Plasmodium. A range of molecular, protein and advanced microstructural characterisation technologies are employed to study the cell biology of these parasites, particularly in relation to their host interactions – an aspect which can be exploited in control strategies.

Disease in schistosomiasis arises from host responses to parasite eggs that have been entrapped in tissues. Research in this newly formed laboratory has focused on the biology of the egg, investigating how it provokes the immune response that leads to chronic disease and how it is equipped for survival both within and outside of the human host.

Laser microdissection microscopy has recently been used by this laboratory in work to isolate and examine gene expression in different tissues and organ systems of schistosomes, enabling for the first time an important gene atlas of the schistosome.

Conditions researched

• Schistosomiasis
• Hydatid disease
• Malaria

Current research

• Role of iron in schistosomes development and embryogenesis
• Surface maintenance in schistosomes
• Investigating the molecular determinants of early hydatid parasite development (in collaboration with QIMR’s Molecular Parasitology Laboratory)
• Pathways to emrbyogenesis in schistosomes
• Identifying novel parasite molecules for vaccine targets

Staff

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following funding agencies:

• National Health and Medical Research Council
• Australian Research Council
  
• Sandler Foundation
• World Health Organization
  

Collaborators

Professor Alex Loukas, James Cook University

Dr Jason Mulvenna, James Cook University

Professor Smarn Tesana, Khon Kaen University, Thailand

Professor Paul Brindley, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA

Associate Professor Robert Trengove, Murdoch University, WA

Dr Bayden Wood, Monash University, Vic