Molecular parasitology

Parasitic infections heavily affect global human and animal health. Indeed, half of the world population is at risk of contracting malaria, and one in four people on the planet suffer from soil-borne helminthic infections. Further, a variety of parasites also infect livestock, causing tremendous impact on animal health and significant economic losses.

Parasites can be transmitted by an insect vector, or simply present in water, soil or food, so infection rates can be very high. However, there are very few anti-parasitic vaccines available, and virtually none for human parasitic diseases. Treatment options can be limited and inefficient, and drug resistance is an increasing problem. Therefore, the rise of drug resistance and a plateau in new therapeutic trials, create an urgent demand for new treatment options.

Our laboratory studies Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent of human malaria parasites. From a fundamental perspective, we aim to understand the biological and genetic mechanisms that allow the parasite to survive inside its human host and cause disease. Ultimately, we use this knowledge to identify new molecules or re-purpose existing compounds used to treat other human diseases, to prevent parasite growth and design novel treatments for malaria.

Our research team also has a keen interest in animal parasites, and in particular in parasites of wildlife. Wild animals are well known to act as reservoir hosts of identified and emerging pathogens that can be transmitted to domestic animals, livestock and humans. We aim to characterise the diversity of parasites that infect Australian wildlife, in particular in hosts such as wild deer and wild dogs. Wild deer and wild dogs have become increasingly prevalent in Australia in recent years and contact with livestock and human populations has increased. We aim to evaluate if these animals constitute a pathogen reservoir populations and pose a risk of pathogen transmission.