Presenters:
- Dr Danny Wilson, University of Adelaide
Dr Wilson’s laboratory seeks to identify and characterise novel parasite proteins for their suitability as both drug and vaccine targets. They focus on invasion of the human red blood cell by the small invasive merozoite stage of the parasite lifecycle as a therapeutic target. By developing therapeutics (drugs and vaccines) that inhibit merozoite invasion of the red blood cell we can instantly disrupt the lifecycle of the parasite in the stage that causes all the symptoms of the disease. They apply a breakthrough P. falciparum merozoite purification method (PNAS, 2010) that is superior to alternatives for studying malaria parasite invasion biology, opening up new opportunities to study this previously intractable lifecycle stage