Laboratory of Malaria & Vector Research

Xin-zhuan Su Research Group

The Malaria Functional Genomics Section develops and uses genetic and genomic approaches to study host-malaria parasite interaction and molecular mechanisms of the interaction using the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium yoelii as a model. We have characterized large numbers of microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from several P. yoelii parasites and performed many genetic crosses to identify parasite genes linked to parasite development, virulence, and drug resistance. We are studying host immune signaling pathways in response to parasite infections, focusing on innate signaling and regulation of type I interferon production and inflammatory responses after malaria infection. We are mapping and characterizing parasite molecules that interact or modulate host responses. We are also interested in screening for new antimalarial drugs, particularly compounds that can block malaria transmission and/or modulate host immune responses and studying mechanisms of drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum.

Photo of Su Research Group Members

Malaria Functional Genomics Section, 2022: (left to right) Dr. Brajesh K Singh, Dr. Jian Wu, Dr. Xin-zhuan Su, Dr. Yu-chih (Jeff) Peng, Dr. Fangzheng Xu, and Ms. Maricarmen Fernandez.

Credit: NIAID

Xin-zhuan Su, Ph.D.

Chief, Malaria Functional Genomics Section

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Education:

Ph.D., 1990, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

Dr. Su received his Ph.D. in parasitology from the University of Georgia in 1990. He joined the NIAID Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases in 1992 and became an investigator in the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research in 2001 and a senior investigator in 2006.

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Photo of Xin-zhuan Su Ph.D.

Maricarmen Hernandez (She/Her/Hers)

IRTA Postbac Research Fellow

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Education:

M.S., University of Southern California, Experimental and Molecular Pathology 
B.A., University of California, Berkeley, Molecular and Cellular Biology 

Languages Spoken: Spanish

Ms. Hernandez’s research goal is to further understand signaling pathways in malaria parasite infections under the guidance and mentorship of scientists Dr. Jian Wu and Dr. Xin-zhuan Su in an environment devoted exclusively to biomedical research in the Laboratory of Malaria Research.

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Portrait of Maricarmen Hernandez, M.S.

Yu-Chih Peng, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)

Visiting Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., Georgia State University 

Languages Spoken: Chinese

Dr. Peng is working on the project that how olfactory receptor plays a role in host immune response on malaria infection, especially in type I interferon pathway. Dr. Peng conducts experiments include dissecting the molecular signaling pathways and identification of parasite ligands of specific Olfrs. This study reveals previously unknown functions of Olfrs in regulating host immunity during...

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Brajesh Kumar Singh, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)

Visiting Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., CSIR-IITR, Lucknow and Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi

Languages Spoken: Hindi

Dr. Singh is exploring protein ubiquitylation in human malaria parasites which has been shown to be necessary for life cycle progression and survival of parasites. He created an inducible knockdown system of E3 ubiquitin ligases (E3s), a key player in protein ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation.

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Brajesh Kumar Singh, Ph.D. headshot

Jian Wu, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)

Staff Scientist

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Education:

PH.D., Hunan Normal University

Languages Spoken: Mandarin

Dr. Wu conducts basic research related to malaria. Taking advantages of rodent malaria model, Dr. Wu combines plasmodium genomics, host immunology as well as host cell signaling to explore potential immune regulation ways for malaria intervention.

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Portrait of Jian Wu, Ph.D.

Fangzheng Xu, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)

Visiting Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., University of Goettingen

Languages Spoken: Chinese

Infections of different rodent malaria parasite strains induce varied host responses. Dr. Xu is interested in genetic mapping and investigating the molecular mechanisms of parasite genes in modulating the host responses including IFN-I response and malarial anemia.

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Portrait of Fangzheng Xu, Ph.D.

Former Research Group Members

Deirdre Joy, Program Officer, NIAID
Xiaorong Feng, Research Scientist, Walter Reeds Army Medical Center, USA
Tetsuya Furuya, Associate Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology 
Fangli Lu, Professor, Sun Yat-sen University, China
Dipak Kumar Raj, Assistant Professor, Brown University, Rhode Island
Hongying Jiang, General Health Science Fellow; Review Scientist, FDA/USA
Jing Yuan, Professor, and Chair, Dept. of Biology, Xiamen University, China
Jianbing Mu, Staff Scientist, LMVR/NIAID
Maria Jose Lopez Barragan, Principal Scientist Malaria DPU, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Spain; FDA now
Sittiporn Patardilokrat, Assistant Professor, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Pedro Moura, Senior Scientist, Merck, USA
Martine Zilversmit, Investigator, American Museum of Natural History, New York
Xiangyu Yao, Group Leader of Biochemistry Laboratory, Roche, China
Sethu Nair, John Hopkins University (postdoc)
Rich Eastman, Scientist, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Norinne Lacerda-Queiroz, INEM – CNRS/University of Orleans, France (Second Postdoc)
Cui Zhang, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
Xiao He, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Immunology, TU Dresden, Germany
 

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