Parasitic infections continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality each year, and these infections exact a costly socioeconomic burden on the countries where they are endemic. There are about 25 labs at the University of Georgia studying parasitic diseases to help develop new treatments, cures, and interventions with the long-term goal of reducing the global burden of parasitic diseases. Investigators in the Center for Vaccines & Immunology are a part of this effort and perform cutting-edge research to tackle some of the world’s most significant parasitic infections. Core and affiliate faculty have research programs that focus on understanding molecular programs that govern parasite biology, how the host immune system combats infection, and performing preclinical studies in translational models of parasitic infections to evaluate new therapeutics prior to human trials. These research programs are essential for developing new vaccines and therapeutics and provide an opportunity to better understand fundamental immunology in the context of parasitic functions.

Participating Faculty and Labs

Chet Joyner, PhD, Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases, Assistant Director of the Center for Vaccines & Immunology

Molecular biology of Plasmodium vivax | Development of continuous culture for relapsing malaria parasites | Antimalarial drug discovery and preclinical development

Sam Kurup, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology of Parasitism

Mechanism of natural and acquired immunity to malaria | Regulatory T cell biology | T cell antigen discovery