Assistant Professor
Center for Vaccine Research
Department of Computational and Systems Biology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine 

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The focus of our laboratory is on defining genomic characteristics of human parasites and other pathogens. Our research is multidisciplinary and draws upon the tools of genomics, molecular parasitology/virology, and computational biology.

Parasite projects include the genomics of the parasitic filarial nematode Brugia malayi; mapping the interactome between B. malayi and its Wolbachia endosymbiont; functional characterization of filarial proteins responsible for host immunomodulation.

B. malayi is a member of a family of filarial nematodes that infect a wide spectrum of vertebrate species that includes amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. B. malayi is one of three filarial species — along with Wuchereria bancrofti and B. timori – that infect humans causing diseases termed lymphatic filariases. Over 150 million people in at least 80 countries throughout the tropics and sub-tropics are infected by filarial parasites, and more than 1 billion people live in areas where they are at risk of acquiring infection. A majority of infections are caused by W. bancrofti; most of the remaining by B. malayi. A majority of filarial nematodes, including B. malayi, carry an alphaproteobacterial endosymbiont. The alphaproteobacterium is of the genus Wolbachia.