Laboratory of Malaria & Vector Research

Vega-Rodriguez Research Group

The research goals in the Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit (MPEU) are to study the biology of the malaria parasite by characterizing essential vector-parasite and host-parasite interactions shaping malaria transmission. The long-term goal is to identify new targets that could be exploited for malaria interventions including chemotherapy, vaccine development, and transgenic mosquitoes.

Photo of Vega-Rodriguez Research Group Members
Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit, May 2022: (left to right) Joel Vega-Rodriguez, Principal Investigator; Medard Ernest Kaiza, Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow; Zarna Rajeshkumar Pala, Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow; Francis Monique de Souza Saraiva, Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow; Thiago Luiz Alves e Silva, Research Fellow; and Brendan Sweeney, Postbaccalaureate trainee.
Credit
NIAID

Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit, May 2022: (left to right) Joel Vega-Rodriguez, Principal Investigator; Medard Ernest Kaiza, Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow; Zarna Rajeshkumar Pala, Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow; Francis Monique de Souza Saraiva, Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow; Thiago Luiz Alves e Silva, Research Fellow; and Brendan Sweeney, Postbaccalaureate trainee.

Credit: NIAID

Joel Vega-Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Earl Stadtman Investigator, NIH Distinguished Scholar
Chief, Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit

Contact: For contact information, search the NIH Enterprise Directory.

Education:

Ph.D., 2008, Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, San Juan

Dr. Joel Vega-Rodriguez received his Ph.D. in molecular biology in 2008 at the Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan. In 2009 he joined the laboratory of Dr. Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, where he did his postdoctoral training and later became a research associate. In 2018, Dr. Vega-Rodriguez became a Stadtman tenure-track investigator in the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research.

Learn more about Joel Vega-Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Joel Vega-Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Kelly N. Hanner, B.S. (She/Her/Hers)

Postbaccalaureate trainee

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Education:

Bachelor of Science, Biology, University at Fredonia, The State University of New York

Kelly’s research at the Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit focuses on implementing conditional knockdown/knockout systems to study essential genes in the mosquito midgut stage of Plasmodium falciparum.

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Portrait of Kelly N. Hanner, B.S.

Medard Ernest Kaiza, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)

Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Contact: For contact information, search the NIH Enterprise Directory.

Languages Spoken: Japanese, Swahili, Haya

My research work is to investigate the mechanisms by which the human malaria parasite evades host immunity, specifically the complement system. Findings from my work might inform on novel ways of developing effective antimalarial therapeutics

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Portrait of Medard Earnest Kaiza, Ph.D.

Heather Michelle Kudyba, Ph.D. (She/Her/Hers)

Postdoctoral fellow

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My research focuses on implementing various conditional knockdown/knockout systems to study essential genes in the mosquito midgut stage of Plasmodium falciparum.

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Portrait of Heather Michelle Kudyba, Ph.D.

Zarna Rajeshkumar Pala, Ph.D. (She/Her/Hers)

Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Contact: For contact information, search the NIH Enterprise Directory.

Languages Spoken: Hindi, Gujarati

I am a trained molecular biologist with specific interest in metabolic pathways functional in the apicoplast of Plasmodium. In the Vega-Rodriguez lab, I am interested in the biochemical/functional characterization of mosquito salivary proteins and their role in Plasmodium infection and transmission.

Learn more about Zarna Rajeshkumar Pala, Ph.D.

Zarna Pala, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow in the Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit of the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Biology

Francis Monique de Souza Saraiva, Ph.D. (She/Her/Hers)

Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Contact: For contact information, search the NIH Enterprise Directory.

Education:

Ph.D., Biosciences, emphasis in Biochemistry, 2019, Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil

M.Sc., Biosciences, emphasis in Biochemistry, 2015, Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil

B.Sc., Biology, 2012, Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil

Languages Spoken: Portuguese

Since her B.Sc., Dr. Francis M. de Souza Saraiva developed projects about vector-borne diseases and the role of blood byproducts on the parasite-vector interaction. In 2022 she joined the laboratory of Dr. Joel Vega-Rodriguez in the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research as a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow where she investigates the role of blood byproducts on the malaria parasite interaction...

Learn more about Francis Monique de Souza Saraiva, Ph.D.

Portrait of Francis Monique de Souza Saraiva, Ph.D., B.Sc., S.Sc.

Thiago Luiz Alves e Silva, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)

Research Fellow

Contact: For contact information, search the NIH Enterprise Directory.

Education:

Ph.D., Microbiology and Immunology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Languages Spoken: Portuguese

Thiago is a Research Fellow in the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIH, since 2019. His research interests span vector-borne diseases, host-pathogen interactions, confocal microscopy, transcriptomics and proteomics. Currently, he works at Dr. Joel Vega Rodriguez's laboratory, where he studies the development of Plasmodium parasites in the midgut, hemolymph, and salivary glands of A...

Learn more about Thiago Luiz Alves e Silva, Ph.D.

Portrait of Thiago Luiz Alves e Silva, Ph.D.

Former Research Group Members

Tales Pascini, Ph.D., Former Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow, currently at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

Yeong Je Jeong, MS, Former Postbaccalaureate, currently at George Washington Medical School.

Janet Olivas, Bs, Former Postbaccalaureate, currently a Graduate Student at New York University.

Brendan Sweeney, Bs, Former Postbaccalaureate, currently at George Washington Medical School.

Malika Saxena, Bs, Former Postbaccalaureate

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