2023 SCEP Symposium
Keynote Speaker
Boris Striepen, PhD.
Mark Whittier and Lila Griswold Allam Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Researcher and Educator in the Fields of Parasite Biology, Parasitic Diseases, and Global Health
Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
Researcher and Educator in the Fields of Parasite Biology, Parasitic Diseases, and Global Health
Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
"The Biology of Parasite Sex"
Biography
Boris grew up in the harbor neighborhood of Ruhrort, at the confluence of the rivers Ruhr and Rhein, an industrial area of Germany, then dominated by coal and steel. He studied biology at the universities of Bonn and Marburg, and conducted undergrad research on liver flukes in Bonn, and trypanosomes in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Boris earned a PhD for work on parasite biochemistry with Ralph Schwarz, was a postdoc with David Roos, studying parasite cell biology, and started his own laboratory at the University of Georgia in 2000. In 2017 he moved to the University of Pennsylvania. Boris studies the cell and molecular biology of apicomplexan parasites. His current research focus is the parasite Cryptosporidium, a leading global cause of severe diarrhea and mortality in young children. His lab pioneered molecular genetics and mouse models for this important infection and leads a range of interdisciplinary efforts to understand fundamental parasite biology, and to advance translation towards drugs and vaccines. Boris is also engaged in education and training. He taught undergraduate and graduate classes, directed NIH training grant programs in parasitology, served as faculty and director of the Biology of Parasitism summer research course at the MBL for 20 years, and he hosts the online Global Parasitology Seminar Series. Boris is married to a social worker with remarkable patience for scientists, and has three children, two are research scientists – all are awesome.
Research Summary
The Striepen lab studies the cell and molecular biology of parasites and how they interact with their mammalian host.
In recent years the Striepen lab has focused on the apicomplexan Cryptosporidium, a distant cousin to the parasite that cause malaria. Cryptosporidium is an important pathogen for which neither prophylaxis nor effective treatment are available. Cryptosporidium was first recognized in the 1980s as an AIDS-defining opportunistic infection, however, immunocompetent individuals are susceptible, and today Cryptosporidium accounts for 50% of all U.S. waterborne disease outbreaks.
Most recently, Cryptosporidium was identified as a leading cause of diarrheal disease and death in infants. Beyond acute disease, asymptomatic cryptosporidiosis causes stunting and environmental enteropathy with lasting impact on the development and health of children. Malnutrition and cryptosporidiosis are intimately linked. Cryptosporidium has long been difficult to study, but a series of recent advances has made the organism and the disease tractable. We developed genetic manipulation of the parasite and mouse infection models which has opened this important pathogen to sophisticated mechanistic studies.
Currently, the Striepen lab research is exploring three areas of Cryptosporidium biology: 1) how does the parasite invade and manipulate the intestinal epithelial cells in which it develops, 2) how does the sexual part of the parasite’s lifecycle unfold and 3) how does the host immune system recognize and restrict Cryptosporidium infection?
Trainees in the lab use a broad range of modern approaches including single cell sequencing, super-resolution and live-cell microscopy, genetic engineering, flow cytometry, cryo-electron tomography and a variety of cell, organoid and animal model systems.
In recent years the Striepen lab has focused on the apicomplexan Cryptosporidium, a distant cousin to the parasite that cause malaria. Cryptosporidium is an important pathogen for which neither prophylaxis nor effective treatment are available. Cryptosporidium was first recognized in the 1980s as an AIDS-defining opportunistic infection, however, immunocompetent individuals are susceptible, and today Cryptosporidium accounts for 50% of all U.S. waterborne disease outbreaks.
Most recently, Cryptosporidium was identified as a leading cause of diarrheal disease and death in infants. Beyond acute disease, asymptomatic cryptosporidiosis causes stunting and environmental enteropathy with lasting impact on the development and health of children. Malnutrition and cryptosporidiosis are intimately linked. Cryptosporidium has long been difficult to study, but a series of recent advances has made the organism and the disease tractable. We developed genetic manipulation of the parasite and mouse infection models which has opened this important pathogen to sophisticated mechanistic studies.
Currently, the Striepen lab research is exploring three areas of Cryptosporidium biology: 1) how does the parasite invade and manipulate the intestinal epithelial cells in which it develops, 2) how does the sexual part of the parasite’s lifecycle unfold and 3) how does the host immune system recognize and restrict Cryptosporidium infection?
Trainees in the lab use a broad range of modern approaches including single cell sequencing, super-resolution and live-cell microscopy, genetic engineering, flow cytometry, cryo-electron tomography and a variety of cell, organoid and animal model systems.
Featured Publications
SCEP Speaker
Veronica Jimenez, PhD.
Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
U-RISE Program Coordinator
California State University, Fullerton
U-RISE Program Coordinator
California State University, Fullerton
"Touchy-feely parasites: mechanosensation in Trypanosomes"
Biography
Dr. Jimenez is an Associate Professor in the Biological Science Department at California State University Fullerton, CA. She holds a B.S. and Pharmacy degree and M.S. in Biochemistry from the University Juan Agustin Maza and obtained her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Chile. Her doctoral work was focused on the effect of natural products as potential therapeutics against parasites. Then, she discovered the power of electrophysiological studies and started exploring the physiological role of ion channels in Trypanosoma cruzi. In 2007, she became a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, under the mentorship of Dr. Roberto Docampo. In 2013 she joined the Biological Science Department at CalState Fullerton where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses. Since 2023, Dr. Jimenez is the coordinator of the URISE at CalState Fullerton training program, dedicated to increase preparedness and diversity in the Biomedical research fields.
Research Summary
The research in the Jimenez laboratory focuses on studying the role that ion channels play in sensing and adaptation to environmental conditions in protozoan parasites, with particular emphasis in trypanosomatids. They propose that different types of channels integrate a homeostatic network that allows the parasite to detect and respond to changes in osmotic and ionic conditions. Processes like differentiation and invasion can be regulated by modification of the ionic concentrations, determining the success of the parasite in infecting new hosts. Current projects in the Jimenez lab are focused on establishing the role of potassium and mechanosensitive channels in Trypanosomes adaptation to environmental stressors, differentiation, modulation of infectivity and host-parasite interaction. They are interested in understanding the mechanisms of initial sensing, as well as the intracellular events that follow, allowing the successful adaptation of the parasites to rapidly changing environments.
The Jimenez lab seeks to exploit the functional and structural differences between ion channels from the parasites and the ones present in mammalian cells for the identification of new therapeutic targets against protozoan pathogens.
Jimenez lab
The Jimenez lab seeks to exploit the functional and structural differences between ion channels from the parasites and the ones present in mammalian cells for the identification of new therapeutic targets against protozoan pathogens.
Jimenez lab
Featured Publications:
Symposium Schedule
Subject to change
| 8:30-9:00am |
Breakfast and Registration (Genomics Auditorium)
Poster set-up (Entomology Courtyard)
|
| 9:00-9:15am |
Welcome to the 13th annual SCEP symposiumKarine Le Roch, PhD.
Director, Center for Infectious Disease and Vector Research, UC Riverside Peter W. Atkinson, PhD. Interim Dean, College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, UC Riverside |
| 9:15-9:45am |
SCEP Morning Speaker, introduced by Karine Le Roch, PhD., Professor, UC Riverside
|
| 9:45-10am |
Morning Session: Chair, Meera Nair, Ph.D., Associate Professor, UC RiversideArielle Angel, Mercer lab, Cal Poly Pomona "Examining the role of degranulation in neutrophil trogocytic killing of Trichomonas vaginalis"
|
| 10-10:15am |
Thomas Hollin, PhD., Le Roch lab, UC Riverside
"Proteome-wide identification of RNA-dependent proteins: An emerging role for RNAs in Plasmodium falciparum protein complexes"
|
| 10:15-10:30am |
Damia Akimori, Hallem lab, UC Los Angeles
"Chemosensory Behaviors of Skin-Penetrating Nematodes"
|
| 10:30-10:45am |
Chandrasekaran Sambamurthy, PhD., Koshy lab, University of Arizona
"Role of the hypothetical protein, Tg207210 in bradyzoite differentiation" |
| 10:45-11:00am |
Hannah Debray, Lodoen lab, UC Irvine
"TREM-2 is a crucial regulator of the immune response during Toxoplasma gondii infection" |
| 11:00-11:05am |
5-minute stretch break |
| 11:05-11:20am |
Hillel Schwartz, PhD., Sternberg lab, Caltech
"Developing Steinernema hermaphroditum as a molecular genetic system for the exploration of symbiosis and parasitism"
|
| 11:20-11:35am |
James Tirtorahardjo, Andrade lab, UC Irvine
"Elucidating the role of Toxoplasma gondii‘s mitochondrial superoxide dismutase"
|
|
11:35-11:50am
|
Ty'Tianna Clark, Riestra lab, San Diego State Uni
"Investigating the Interaction of Trichomonas vaginalis with the Cervicovavaginal Bacteria Lactobacillus crispatus"
|
| 11:50am-12:00pm |
BREAK and SQUEEZE UP! |
| 12:00-1:00pm |
Keynote Speaker, introduced by Karine Le Roch, PhD., Professor, UC RiversideBoris Striepen, PhD., Mark Whittier and Lila Griswold Allam Professor of Microbiology and Immunology University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
"The Biology of Parasite Sex"
|
| 1:00-2:00pm | Lunch and Poster Viewing (Entomology Courtyard) |
|
2:00-2:15pm
|
Afternoon Session: Chair, Emma Wilson, PhD. Professor, UC RiversideJoshua Kochanowsky, PhD., Johnson lab, UC Los Angeles "Trichomonas vaginalis Extracellular Vesicles Suppress Host Cell IFNε-Mediated Protection" |
| 2:15-2:30pm |
Naina Arora, PhD., Nair lab, UC Riverside
"Lung macrophage and eosinophil activation in helminth parasite infection is regulated by endocannabinoids through the cannabinoid receptor type 1"
|
|
2:30-2:45pm
|
Vandna Sharma, PhD. O’Donoghue lab, UC San Diego
"Unique dimerization mode in Acanthamoeba castellanii CYP51 provides stabilization and protection to its enzymatically active form"
|
| 2:45-3:00pm |
Karla P. Godinez-Macias, Winzeler lab, UC San Diego
"Elucidating drug resistance key features from Plasmodium falciparum evolved clones"
|
| 3:00-3:15pm |
Emily Tabaie, Wilson lab, UC Riverside
"Dysregulation of extracellular vesicles production by Toxoplasma gondii infection"
|
| 3:15-3:30pm |
Justin Quan, Bradley lab, UC Los Angeles
"T. gondii encodes an array of TBC proteins including an essential regulator that targets Rab2 in the secretory pathway"
|
| 3:30-3:45pm |
Michelle Shimogawa, PhD., Hill lab, UC Los Angeles
"The inner junction protein FAP20 is required for flagellum assembly in Trypanosoma brucei" |
| 3:45-6:00pm |
Drinks and Nibbles (Entomology Courtyard)
Poster presentations (odd numbers 3:45-4:30pm; even numbers 4:30-5:15pm)
Announcement of abstract awards and networking (5:15-6:00pm) |