Grant: Project Grant

Infectious disease caused by pathogenic microbes causes millions of deaths every year. One type of especially prevalent and vicious parasite are those that grow exclusively inside of host cells. These types of pathogens infect millions of humans every year, but they have been difficult to study, because they only grow inside of their hosts. We propose to study one of these pathogens, microsporidia, that infects immunocompromised patients as well as other animals such as honeybees, fish, and shrimp. We will study this pathogen by using the roundworm, which is a very convent and powerful model system. Using the roundworm, we will identify the molecules that microsporidia is using to infect its host. This will lead to a better understanding of how microsporidia and other pathogens are able to infect humans, and lead to methods to be able to treat these diseases.