Apicomplexan parasites are responsible for several prevalent infectious diseases including malaria. Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido and colleagues identified a protein complex that the parasites require for a critical step in invading host cells.
Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido and colleagues identified key parts of the pathway that enables apicomplexan parasites to exit one host cell, and travel to infect others, including the important role of a molecule they called HOOK. This finding illuminates how signals can move in cells and could inform drug development against the parasites.
Research from Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido finds an RNA-binding protein that is key to helping the parasite Toxoplasma gondiicommit to its dormant stage.
Climate change and economic development are increasing our risk of being infected by parasites and harmful viruses and bacteria. Whitehead Institute researchers are leveraging their expertise to better assess where pathogens will spread and evaluate their risk to humans.
Whitehead Institute Founding Member Harvey Lodish was co-recipient of the 2021 MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning in MOOCs, and Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido has been named as one of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s 2021 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease.
Whitehead Institute researchers unravel the unique biology of apicomplexans — the parasites responsible for malaria, toxoplasmosis, and other diseases impacting global health.
In this episode of AudioHelicase Podcast, Whitehead Fellow Silvi Rouskin discusses her research on solving the structure of the novel coronavirus's RNA genome, with the goal of revealing weak points in the virus’s gene regulation that new drugs could potentially target.
Our researchers are working to understand the biology underlying infectious diseases and the microbes and viruses behind them, using innovative genetic approaches and new tools and methods.