Speakers Announced for 25th Annual Molecular Parasitology/Vector Biology Symposium

Please join us on April 28 & 29 for the 25th Annual Molecular Parasitology/Vector Biology Symposium inMahler Hall at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. For more information and to register click here.

Please note we will have a reception on Tuesday, April 28 at 6:00 pm at the Coverdell Center’s Rotunda.

Schedule of Talks

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

8:30 am      Registration and Poster Set-up

9:00 am      Opening Remarks: Daniel Colley, CTEGD and Dept. of Microbiolgy, UGA

9:10 am      Amy Styer, CTEGD and Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UGA

Trypanosome Lytic Factor-1 Causes Peroxide-induced Osmotic Lysis of Trypanosoma brucei brucei

9:30 am      Eizo Takashima, Proteo-Science Center, Ehime university, Japan

Identification of Plasmodium falciparum PfMAS170 as Novel Blood-stage Malaria Vaccine Candidate

9:50 am      Courtney Murdock, Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Odum School of Ecology, UGA

Diverse Environmental Drivers of Malaria Infection in Anopheles Mosquitoes

10:10 am     Break – Poster Viewing

10:50 am     Susanne Warrenfeltz, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, UGA

EuPathDB: Basic Functions and Expanding Roles

11:10 am     Kumiko Nakada-Tsukui, Dept. of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan

Conservation and Uniqueness of the Lysosome Traffic in the Enteric Protozoan Parasite Entamoeba histolytica

11:30 am     Ciaran McCoy, CTEGD and Dept. of Infectious Diseases, UGA

RNA Interference in Adult Ascaris suum is Potent, Persistent and Reproducible

11:50 am     Demba Sarr, CTEGD and Dept. of Infectious Diseases, UGA

Tempol Delivery via Drinking Water Does Not Rescue Poor Pregnancy Outcomes in Plasmodium chabaudi AS-infected pregnant mice

12:10 pm     Lunch – Poster Viewing

1:20 pm      Satyanarayana Lagishetty, EPIC and Dept. of Genetics & Biochemistry, Clemson University

Regulation of Cryptococcus neoformans XFP1 Activity by Phosphorylation of Serine454

1:40 pm      Masayuki Morita, Proteo-Science Center, Ehime University, Japan

Genome-wide Immunoscreening to Identify Blood-stage Malaria Vaccine Candidates of Plasmodium falciparum

2:00 pm       Rudo Kieft, Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UGA

Escape from Allelic Exclusion Expands the Antigenic Repertoire and Allows Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense to Infect Humans Upon Tsetse Fly Transmission

2:20 pm      Shungo Kano, Dept. of tropical Medicine & Malaria, National Center for Global Health & Medicine, Japan

A New Shuttle Vector system to Evaluate Potential Mutagenic Risks of Anti-malarial Drugs

2:40 pm      Break – Poster Viewing

3:10 pm       Koji Watanabe, Dept. of Infectious Diseases & International Health, University of Virginia

The Impact of E. histolytica Infection on Acute Appendicitis Among HIV-1 Infected Individuals in Japan

3:30 pm      Pooja Saraf, Dept. of Microbiology, University of Tennessee

Transmission and Expansion of Major Clonal Lineages of Toxoplasma gondii

3:50 pm      Sumiti Vinayak, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, UGA

Genetic Engineering of the Diarrheal Pathogen Cryptosporidium parvum

4:15 pm      Introduction of Keynote Speaker

4:20 pm      James Kazura, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Paradoxes on the Road to Malaria Elimination

5:20 pm      Adjourn

6:00 pm      Reception at the Coverdell Center Rotunda

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

8:30 am       Takeshi Annoura, Dept. of parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan

New Members of the Plasmodium 6-Cys Family-related Proteins have Distinct and Critical Roles in Liver Stage Development

8:50 am       Carmen Dickinson-Copeland, Dept. of Microbiology, Biochemistry & Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine

Heme-mediated Induction of CXCL10 and Depletion of CD34+ Progenitor Cells is Toll-like Receptor 4 Dependent

9:10 am       Introduction of Keynote Speaker

9:15 am       Takafumi Tsuboi, Proteo-Science Center, Ehime University, Japan

WGCFS: An Innovative Technology for Post-genome Malaria Vaccine Research

10:15 am     Break – Poster Viewing

10:45 am     Ciara McKnight, CTEGD and Dept. of Cellular Biology, UGA

The Inositol Phosphate and Calcium Signaling Pathways of Toxoplasma gondii

11:05 am     Grace Kisirkoi, Dept. of Genetics & Biochemistry, Clemson University

Investigating the Role of Acetate Transport in Cryptococcus neoformans

11:25 am     Daisuke Kimura, Dept. of molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Japan

IL-27-producing CD4+ T Cells Regulate Protective Immune Responses During Malaria Infection

11:45 am     Elena Suvorova, Dept. of Molecular Medicine & Global Health and the Florida Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation, University of South Florida

A Novel Bipartite Centrosome Coordinates the Apicomplexan Cell Cycle

12:05 pm     Lunch – Poster Viewing

1:05 pm       Yijian Evan Qiu, EPIC and Dept. of Genetics & Biochemistry, Clemson University

Evidence for a Novel Function of Hexokinase 2 in the Flagellum of Trypanosoma brucei

1:25 pm       Daniel Inaoka, Dept. of Biomedical Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Trypanosoma brucei Alternative Oxidase Inhibitors are Promising Candidate for Development of New Anti-trypanosomal Drug

1:45 pm       Tara Bracken, CTEGD and Dept. of Infectious Diseases, UGA

Minimal Tissue Factor Expression Reduces Blood Brain Barrier Permeability and Susceptibility to Neurological Symptoms in Experimental Cerebral Malaria

2:05 pm       Break – Poster Viewing

2:20 pm       Kanako Komaki-Yasuda, Research Institute, National Center for Global Health & Medicine, Japan

Identification of a Novel Transcription Factor Which Works in the Intraerythrocytic Stage of Plasmodium falciparum

2:40 pm     Keats Shwab, Dept. of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

The Impact of Sylvatic and Domestic Environments on the Evolution of Virulence in Toxoplasma gondii

3:00 pm      John Harrington, Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UGA

Trypanosoma brucei Extracellular Vesicles Cause Host Anemia

3:20 pm       Concluding Remarks