Dr. Belen Cassera is the featured guest on Episode 4 of the People, Parasites & Plagues Podcast. She discusses the development of new drugs to treat and prevent malaria, one of the deadliest diseases afflicting humankind.
People, Parasites & Plagues is a podcast aimed at delivering information about the fascinating pathogens among us from the impressive professionals who study them.
Join hosts Dr. David Peterson and Dr. Liliana Salvador, two infectious disease researchers from the University of Georgia, as they explore the past, present, and future of science.
Tune in every other week for a new and enlightening episode as they unpack the details surrounding some of Earth’s most perplexing diseases. Look for the People, Parasites & Plagues Podcast on your favorite Podcast service!
University of Georgia faculty member Tania Rozario has received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award Program, which supports early-career investigators of exceptional creativity who propose high-risk, high-reward research projects.
Among the study of tropical diseases worldwide—and particularly among the parasites that cause disease—worms are a largely neglected disease agent, despite being a source of widespread problems that affect both health and economic output. Even within the study of worms, parasitic flatworms like tapeworms represent an understudied group. However, free-living flatworms like planarians are the focus of significant research because of the organism’s dynamic regenerative capacity, which presents intriguing parallels to their parasitic cousins.
Planarian flatworms cut in two will make two new worms, and cut into 10 pieces will result in 10 worms. They are the Ferrari of regenerators, according to Rozario.
“As part of its normal life cycle, a tapeworm sheds large parts of its body and then regrows this lost tissue,” Rozario said. “It has this natural regenerative-like ability, which is very promising from a basic biology standpoint, to understand how stem cells and regeneration functions in these worms.”
Taking advantage of both extensive past research and the much more sophisticated tools of today, Rozario envisions a melding of developmental biology with parasitology as a new approach to understand the parasite. She is using the rat tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta, to re-establish a model organism that had been a favorite model among parasitologists in the early-mid 20th century but was left behind by the molecular biology revolution.
Flatworms have incredible capacity for regeneration, according to Tania Rozario, who studies them as agents of parasitic disease. For example, this rat tapeworm is capable of growing thousands of segments and can regenerate segments following amputation.
“One of the major drivers is trying to understand the diversity of the stem cell milieu in these tapeworms,” Rozario said. “We’ll try to parse out the interaction between the diversity of stem cells present and the local signals that then allow the worms to regenerate and make thousands of segments. These interactions are likely crucial for development of both female and male reproductive structures, which exist in each segment of the animal.”
“Dr. Rozario brings a new and exciting area of research to UGA, and her enthusiasm for her research is phenomenal,” said Nancy Manley, Distinguished Research Professor and department head for genetics. “Her success in getting this prestigious award speaks to her talent and the quality of her science. We are enthusiastic to have her as our newest colleague.”
“I am excited that Dr. Rozario has joined us at UGA,” said Dennis Kyle, GRA Eminent Scholar in antiparasitic drug discovery and director of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. “Her pioneering work is ushering in a new era whereby tapeworms can serve as model organisms. The prestigious NIH Director’s Pioneer Award is evidence of the creative approach she is undertaking to better understand these interesting parasites.”
“It’s important that we study the monsters in our midst so that we can learn from organisms in our environment that have these really out-there, unique physiological capabilities,” Rozario said. “We can learn about how they have evolved strategies to thrive in their specific niche, but they can also teach us something more fundamental about biology that could be broadly applicable.”
In these Hymenolepis diminuta tapeworm necks, dividing cells—including stem cells—are depicted through color-marking in the image. (Image courtesy of Tania Rozario)
Nathan Chasen is a post-doctoral fellow in Drew Etheridge’s laboratory (submitted photo)
Nathan Chasen, a postdoctoral fellow in Drew Etheridge’s laboratory, is originally from Richmond, Virginia. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Emory University, he worked as a research technician at UGA. He then decided to attend UGA for graduate school. Under the mentorship of Silvia Moreno, Chasen received two American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship Awards and earned his Ph.D. in December of 2017.
Why did you choose UGA?
I chose UGA because it is one of the best places in the world to study parasites for both the quality of the work and the collaborative research environment.
What is your research focus/project and why are you interested in the topic?
My current research focus is the poorly understood endocytic organelle of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is the causal agent of Chagas disease.
What are your future professional plans?
I plan to establish an academic lab that continues to unravel the nature of this neglected parasite, using state-of-the-art molecular tools and microscopy methods.
What is your favorite thing about UGA and Athens?
The area is a great low-cost living area, with little traffic and essentially everything you need within a 15-minute drive, including great food and a lively downtown area. The ability to live affordably within a short bike ride of campus is also a plus.
Support trainees like Nathan by giving today to the Center for Tropical & Emerging Global Diseases.
University of Georgia researcher, a member of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases and a Distinguished Research Professor in cellular biology, has been elected as a 2021 American Academy of Microbiology Fellow. Holding courtesy appointments in microbiology and infectious diseases, Silvia N. Moreno also serves as director of the NIH-funded Training in Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases program.
“This is an honor that represents the hard work and commitment of the members of my lab, past and present,” said Moreno.
Her research focuses on the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which can cause encephalitis and cardiogenic shock in immunocompromised patients and can result in devastating birth defects in children born from infected pregnant women. Almost a third of the human population is infected. The parasite also infects cats, dogs and cattle.
In particular, Moreno’s laboratory is interested in discovering unique metabolic differences that can be used as targets for chemotherapy as current treatment options are for only one phase of the disease and have harmful side effects.
Under Moreno’s leadership the program has expanded to provide fellowships to seven graduate students and two post-doctoral fellows, a mini-sabbatical program for faculty members of local colleges with a higher proportion of diversity students to offer undergraduates and faculty research experience, and organize a number of professional development workshops.
Moreno joins more than 2,500 AAM fellows who are elected through a highly selective, peer-reviewed process, based on their record of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced the field of microbiology. Of the 150 researchers nominated this year, only 65 were elected to the 2021 Fellowship Class.
We invite recent and soon-to-graduate students (from any biological discipline) to apply for funded postdoctoral fellowships and positions to study parasitic diseases at the University of Georgia. Selected applicants will present their research to the CTEGD community on May 3, 2021 via Zoom at CTEGD Emerging Fellows Symposium. The applicants will get to meet with several faculty at CTEGD, as well as former and current trainees of the T32 program. We strongly support and encourage scholars from historically excluded or underrepresented groups to apply.
To apply, please send a cover letter and your CV by April 2, 2021 to ctegdt32@uga.edu
Program Goals
Since 2004, the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases at UGA has received funding from the NIH for an institutional training grant with the purpose of training researchers to become independent scientists who study parasitic diseases in the context of global health.
Eligibility
US citizen or permanent resident (if applying for T32 fellowship)
PhD received on or before August 1, 2021
Program Highlights
The Training in Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases program seeks fundamental insights into protozoan and helminth parasites and their interactions with mammalian hosts and invertebrate vectors. The CTEGD is an exceptional place to do a postdoc with an invigorating and supportive environment. Athens is a quirky, fun, and affordable city to live in.
Tarleton is a Regents Professor in the Department of Cellular Biology and UGA Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences.
“It is indeed an honor to be acknowledged in this way – it reflects the strong efforts of many past and present members of the lab,” stated Tarleton, founder of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases.
Since his undergraduate days, Tarleton’s research has focused on Trypanosoma cruzi infection, which causes the potentially fatal illness Chagas Disease. Historically, Tarleton’s research has attempted to answer broad questions such as how is immune control initiated and maintained during the infection, how does T. cruzi manage to avoid immune clearance and maintain an infection of decades in host, and what is the relationship between immunity, parasite persistence, and disease development. In an effort to answer these questions and more, Tarleton’s research group has developed tools to better study T. cruzi. They pioneered the use of the gene editing tool CRISPR in T. cruzi. Recently, they applied light sheet fluorescent microscopy to view infection in whole mouse organs. The Tarleton Research Group is also actively pursuing drug discovery for T. cruzi infection in a number of animal models including rodent, dog, and nonhuman primates. Their recent discovery of a dormancy stage in T. cruzi infections has revolutionized their drug treatment research, bringing them one step closer to finding a cure for this infection that affects at least 6 million people.
Tarleton’s work has largely been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and partnerships with several pharmaceutical groups.
In addition to establishing the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases at UGA, he has been instrumental in organizing the Chagas Drug Discovery Consortium, which brings together U.S.-based laboratories with international groups. Tarleton is also the founder and current president of The Chagas Disease Foundation. He has been honored with a number of awards, including the Lamar Dodd Outstanding Researcher Award and being named a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Scholar in Molecular Parasitology. In 2017, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
“Rick’s election as a Fellow of AAAS is recognition of his immense contributions to the study of T. cruzi,” said Dennis Kyle, director of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. “His research has advanced our understanding of immune response to the pathogen, has developed new molecular approaches to study the parasite, and has accelerated drug discovery for Chagas Disease.”
“I value belonging to a society that is focused on global health and lessening the burden of tropical infectious diseases, and I am truly honored to be recognized as a Fellow at a time when a focus on public health, science and climate change is so important for all of us,” said Kissinger.
Kissinger’s research focuses on parasite genomics and the biology of genome evolution. Her research group is trying to answer big questions such as how genomes evolve, what is the fate of horizontally transferred genes, which genes are phylogenetically restricted, and how do organellar genomes evolve? The answers to these questions will increase the understanding of parasite biology and help researchers identify potential drug and vaccine targets.
Kissinger’s research mainly focuses on Apicomplexan parasites, a group of parasites that include species that cause malaria, toxoplasmosis and cryptosporidiosis. Projects in her laboratory include the development of tools for data integration, data mining, comparative genomics and assessing the phylogenetic distribution of genes. Her research group oversees integrated genomic database resources, which are part of the Eukaryotic Pathogen, Vector and Host Informatics Resources (VEupathDB.org), funded by the National Institutes of Health. This resource provides the international research community with open access to data for many pathogenic and related organisms.
Kissinger’s research has been funded by the NIH, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Wellcome Trust, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. Notably, she is the joint principal investigator of a $38.4 million (if all options are exercised) NIH contract that supports VEupathDB.
Kissinger joined the faculty of UGA in 2001. She was a founding member of the Institute of Bioinformatics at UGA to facilitate cutting-edge interdisciplinary research in bioinformatics/computational biology and its applications. Kissinger has been recognized many times for research and leadership. She has been awarded a Creative Research Medal, Faculty Excellence in Diversity Leadership Award and the Richard F. Reiff Internationalization Award from UGA. In 2014, she was awarded a Special Visiting Professorship from Brazil’s national science research agency, and most recently, she was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to teach and conduct research at Makerere University in Uganda.
“Being elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene is recognition of a scientist that has made significant contributions to global public health,” said Dennis Kyle, director of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. “Dr. Kissinger richly deserves this award, and I look forward to her continued leadership in tropical medicine research.”
