![Discovering How a Parasite Forms Cysts]()
The single-cell parasite Toxoplasma gondii cause toxoplasmosis, one of the world’s most common parasitic diseases. It’s contracted by ingesting contaminated food or water, and symptoms can range from fever and body aches to serious complications such as brain damage and eye infections. Understanding how the parasite builds a protective cyst wall within its host may reveal how this infection persists causing chronic disease. With a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Louis Weiss, M.D., M.P.H., will use molecular, immunologic and genetic techniques to investigate how the cyst wall forms and develops. He and his colleagues will identify the cyst wall’s components and determine how they interact. The findings may reveal new strategies for suppressing the parasite’s reactivation following infection. Dr. Weiss is professor of pathology and of medicine at Einstein, and co-director of Einstein’s Global Health Center. He is also an attending physician in infectious diseases at Montefiore Health System. (1R01AI134753-01A1)
Posted on: Friday, July 06, 2018