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

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

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

Jian Wu, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)
Staff Scientist
Education:
PH.D., Hunan Normal University
Languages Spoken: Mandarin

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