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.
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.
Xin-zhuan Su, Ph.D.
Chief, Malaria Functional Genomics Section
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.
Maricarmen Hernandez (She/Her/Hers)
IRTA Postbac Research Fellow
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.
Yu-Chih Peng, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)
Visiting Fellow
Education:
Ph.D., Georgia State University
Languages Spoken: Chinese
Brajesh Kumar Singh, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)
Visiting Fellow
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.
Jian Wu, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)
Staff Scientist
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.
Fangzheng Xu, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)
Visiting Fellow
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.
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