Lourido Lab

Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Loiurido has been awarded the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering’s 2025 Science and Engineering Outstanding Alumni Award for Professional Excellence.

Researchers at Whitehead Institute are employing cutting-edge techniques that combine layers of data — from the function of individual genes to the interactions of all molecules within a living organism — to investigate biological phenomena with unprecedented depth and breadth. Their efforts are yielding a richer understanding of the mechanisms involved in health and disease.

Whitehead Institute graduate student researchers Christopher Giuliano and Julian Roessler have been awarded the 2024 Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation. In addition, postdoctoral researcher Chen Weng was selected as a finalist in the postdoctoral fellows competition.

Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido and colleagues performed the first genome-wide screen of Toxoplasma gondii in live hosts, uncovering genes that are important for infection but had been undetected in cell culture experiments. Their results demonstrate the importance of studying parasites in live hosts and point to a possible new drug target.

Endowed chairs are generally created through philanthropic gifts from individual donors, organizations, or groups of donors honoring a specific person. The chairs — of which Whitehead Institute currently has five — provide steady, predictable funding to support investigations in Members’ labs.

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 gondii commit 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.

A new study from the lab of Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido uses a method called thermal profiling to determine which proteins are involved in calcium signaling, an essential process that parasites use when invading host cells.