Protists
Protists are complex, nucleated organisms, evolutionarily very distant from animals, plants and fungi, with unique adaptations to their habitat.
Members of the Protist research area study unicellular protists in their roles as pathogens (e.g., Plasmodium or toxoplasma), commensals (the microbiome) and environmental microbes (e.g., diatoms). We want to understand the relationship of these organisms with their environment and ask questions such as:
- How does an intracellular pathogen interface with its host cell?
- What unique adaptations do complex unicellular organisms have?
- How can we exploit those unique features to treat disease or improve our environment?
Above: Cryo-ET of Toxoplasma conoid, modified by Grigore Pintilie with AI interpretation of data published in PMCID: PMC8832990
Elizabeth Egan
Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases)
The Egan Lab seeks to understand how host factors from red blood cells influence the biology and pathogenesis of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. We are addressing a number of exciting questions in the lab, ranging from molecular parasitology to hematology to evolutionary biology, all with the long-term goal of understanding host-pathogen interactions in malaria.
Matthias Garten
Assistant Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
We aim to understand the ability of parasites to interface with their host-cell to a point at which we can exploit the mechanisms not only for finding cures against the disease the parasites cause but also to make parasite mechanisms a tool that we can use to engineer the host’s cells. By developing approaches that allow a quantitative understanding and manipulation of molecular transport our research transforms parasites from agents of disease to tools for health.
Michael Howitt
Assistant Professor of Pathology
The Howitt Lab is broadly interested in how intestinal microbes shape our immune system to promote both health and disease. Elucidating the interactions between the microbiota and immune system.
Prasanna Jagannathan
Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases)
The Jagannathan Lab focuses on human immunology of infectious diseases. The main objectives of our group are to study naturally acquired immunity to malaria in childhood, the immune response to Pf infection during pregnancy, novel interventions to prevent malaria in endemic settings, and the immunologic benefits of malaria control interventions.
David Schneider
Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
We study innate immunity and microbial pathogenesis. We have been studying models for a variety of bacterial infections including: Listeria, Mycobacteria, Salmonella and Streptococcus as well as some fungi, malaria and viruses. Our current focus is to determine how we recover from infections.
Justin Sonnenburg
Alex and Susie Algard Endowed Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
The goals of our lab are to elucidate the basic mechanisms that underlie dynamics within the gut microbiota and devise and implement strategies to prevent and treat disease in humans via the gut microbiota. We investigate the principles that govern gut microbial community function and interaction with the host using experimental systems ranging from gnotobiotic mice to humans.
Ellen Yeh
Associate Professor of Pathology
The Yeh Lab studies environmental microbiology, ecology, algal biotechnology, and sustainable agriculture and food systems, focusing on understudied microbial ecology as a solution for human and planetary health.