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, 2024. Left to right: Trinity Obiorah, Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow; Awet A. Teklemichael, Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow; Rachel Stadler, Postdoctoral IRTA Fellow; Xin-zhuan Su, Senior Investigator; Jian Wu, Staff Scientist; Fangzheng Xu, Visiting Fellow.
Xin-zhuan Su, Ph.D.
Chief, Malaria Functional Genomics Section
Education:
Ph.D., 1990, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Languages Spoken: Mandarin and Amoyese Chinese
Trinity Oluebubechukwu Obiorah, B.S.
Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow
Education:
B.S., 2024, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD
Languages Spoken: French, Igbo
Rachel V. Stadler, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral IRTA Fellow
Education:
Ph.D., 2022, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
B.S., 2016, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Awet Alem Teklemichael, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow
Education:
Ph.D., 2021, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
Languages Spoken: Amharic
Jian Wu, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist
Education:
Ph.D., Hunan Normal University
Languages Spoken: Mandarin
Fangzheng Xu, Ph.D.
Visiting Fellow
Education:
Ph.D., University of Goettingen
Languages Spoken: Chinese
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, Postdoctoral
Rich Eastman, Scientist, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Norinne Lacerda-Queiroz, INEM – CNRS/University of Orleans, France (second postdoctoral)
Cui Zhang, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
Xiao He, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Immunology, TU Dresden, Germany
Maricarmen Hernandez , Postbaccalaureate IRTA Research Fellow
Yu-Chih Peng, Ph.D., Visiting Fellow
Brajesh Kumar Singh, Ph.D., Visiting Fellow