Simona did her PhD at WEHI looking to understand host-pathogen interactions of chronic Toxoplasma gondii before moving to Dundee, Scotland in 2021 to undertake her Postdoctoral studies. Simona worked on drug development for Cryptosporidium parvum, learning the newest techniques on making and propagating genetically modified parasites. In 2024 Simona returned to WEHI to set up the first molecular Cryptosporidium program with the capacity to make transgenic parasites in Australia.
Abstract:
Cryptosporidium is an intracellular apicomplexan parasite that infects the small intestines causing cryptosporidiosis, a severe diarrhoeal disease. A recent Global Enteric Multicentre Study (GEMS) identified Cryptosporidium as a leading agent of diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality in children under 5, predominately in low- and middle-resourced regions of the world. Despite its immense global health impact, there remains no effective therapies (drugs or vaccines) for the most vulnerable patients. The development of new therapeutics has been restricted by our limited understanding of Cryptosporidium biology, driven by the lack of laboratory techniques available to study the parasite. However, the recent development of genetic manipulation of Cryptosporidium has revolutionised the field and we are now primed to expose the molecular basis of disease to rationally identify therapeutic targets. Simona will give an introduction on the complexities of working with transgenic Cryptosporidium in the laboratory and share the molecular resources (nanobodies, Cas12a, immune mouse models) she has been developing to help understand host-Cryptosporidium interactions.
