Department of Infectious Diseases
Assistant Department Head, Professor
Expertise
Cell Culture | Disease Pathogenesis | Disease Physiology | Immunology | Infectious Diseases | Parasitology | Pathogenesis
Education
- Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1988
- B.Sc., University of California, Davis, 1979
Teaching
- Veterinary parasitology
- Molecular parasitology
- Research communication
- Bioinformatics
Research Interests
Research in Dr. Peterson’s lab is focused on Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of the most dangerous form of malaria. The parasite uses a protein encoded by the antigenically variant var gene family to bind receptors on host cells lining the vasculature, allowing the parasites to avoid passage through the spleen. One member of this family encodes a protein that mediates binding of infected RBCs with the placenta of infected women, causing a syndrome known as placental malaria that is dangerous for the mother, and particularly for the developing fetus.
My lab is pursuing several projects related to placental malaria, including aspects of the interaction of this protein and its receptor, the sequence diversity of the protein between parasite isolates, and finally the host immune response to this highly variable protein. Current projects are investigating the role of multiple copies of this gene, as well as how the host immune response has selected polymorphic variants of the protein.
I’m also the co-host of the People, Parasites and Plagues podcast along with Dr. Kim Klonowski. Tune in every other week for a new and enlightening episode as we unpack the details surrounding some of Earth’s most perplexing diseases. The People, Parasites and Plagues Podcast is available on your favorite Podcast service!
Publications
