“Sleeping with the Enemy: Getting Rid of a Latent Brain Parasite”
Bill Sullivan, Ph.D.
Monday, April 29, 12 noon
1261 Vet Med Basic Sciences Bldg., 2001 S. Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, Ill.
Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite transmitted by cats that infects all animals, including a staggering one-third of the human population. The parasite evades immunity and persists in the host for life, posing a serious threat to congenitally infected and immunocompromised patients. Typically residing in the brain, this chronic infection has been associated with behavioral changes in rodents and linked to schizophrenia in humans. In this seminar, I will discuss our research into the molecular mechanisms that allow Toxoplasma to persist in a latent state in the host, as well as promising new treatments that target the latent stage.
Dr. Bill Sullivan is the Showalter Professor in the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind., in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology and the Department of Microbiology & Immunology. He is also co-founder and writer for The 'Scope, highlighting the science in pop culture, an editor/writer at PLOS SciComm, and a member of the editorial board of mSphere. He is the author of “Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs, and the Curious Forces That Make Us Who We Are.”
This lecture is made possible by the Norman D. Levine and Jorge and Mary Anne Guerrero Lecture in Veterinary Parasitology Series.
