Dr Bopp is a senior research scientist with over 20 years of experience in malaria research ranging from gene expression, virulence factors, host and parasite genetics, to molecular mechanism of drug resistance. Her current interests in the lab focus on the evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasites. She especially works on identifying and describing new targets for antimalarial drugs and characterizing existing resistance in the field.
Kate is using a set of Plasmodium falciparum parasites collected from patients in Senegal over the past 17 years and their corresponding sequencing data to evaluate how antimalarial drug resistance trends in Senegal have changed over time. For her project, Kate is adapting these parasites to in vitro culturing conditions and phenotypically assessing them for drug resistance and fitness. These phenotypic assessments will determine if the changes in drug resistance…
Anna works as part of the Diversity project to investigate plasmodium genetic diversity and surveillance of drug resistance markers in Senegal and Burkina Faso. She is also involved in artemisinin resistance mechanism research, though the genetic editing of kelch13 mutations and phenotypic validation in p. falciparum.
Madeline is a graduate student co-mentored by Dyann Wirth and Jeffrey Dvorin. Her work focuses on the discovery of compounds targeting the unique cellular division machinery of Plasmodium falciparum. Through localization studies, Madeline is also characterizing the function of PfCoronin, a protein implicated in reduced artemisinin susceptibility.
Amy has a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and is involved in genomic research and infectious disease. Her current focus is using molecular tools for malaria drug resistance surveillance in Senegal.
Paul is lab manager with the Wirth lab, and works in chemical biology, testing novel drugs for antimalarial activity and drug resistance in P. falciparum.
Anna Hu is a graduate of Wellesley College, where she majored in Biochemistry and minored in English. She is a research assistant and providing support on multiple projects, including the AcAS project.
Amanda Leads the Chemical Biology Project in the Wirth Laboratory. She leverages chemical biology, in vitro evolution, and whole genome sequencing to discover and interrogate chemically validated targets that can be used to guide drug design, identify drug targets in the malaria parasite, and to understand mechanisms of drug resistance.
Malhar (he/him) is a grad student co-mentored between the labs of Professors Dyann Wirth and Flaminia Catteruccia. He is interested in the transmission biology of drug resistant malaria parasite P. falciparum through the mosquito and liver stages of its life-cycle, as well as studying the fundamental biology of the sporozoite and early liver-stages of the parasite. Malhar enjoys sketching, cooking, and looking at birds and mushrooms.
Morgan is a graduate student in the Wirth lab, currently pursuing her PhD in the Biological Sciences in Public Health (BPH) program. She is interested in 1) understanding the risk of Pfkelch13 and Pfcoronin variants conferring artemisinin (ART) resistance in a Senegalese genetic background and 2) further elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying observed ART resistance.
Tolla Ndiaye is a PhD and postdoc researcher at the Fidock Lab, Columbia University working on Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance.
Dr. Yaye Dié Ndiaye is an accomplished molecular biologist and currently leading the molecular Biology unit at the International Center for Research on Genomics and Health Surveillance (CIGASS) at the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar (UCAD). Her renowned expertise encompasses a diverse array of scientific disciplines, including molecular biology, genomics, and ex vivo studies. Dr. Ndiaye’s research topic focuses on exploring the phenotypic consequences of existing and novel Pfkelch13…
Connor Payne is working on (i) Assay & small molecule inhibitor development for aminoacyl tRNA synthetase enzymes, and (ii) development and translation of CoraFluor TR-FRET assay platforms to the characterization of P. falciparum biology.
Alli is interested in identifying and characterizing Plasmodium targets during mosquito stage development that are particularly vulnerable to transmission blocking strategies.
Kairon (he/they) is a Research and Project Coordinator for the Wirth Lab. He supports data generation, wet lab coordination, and administrative management of the Malaria Genomic Surveillance and Benchmarking Project as well as other projects in the Wirth Lab.
PharmD, Dr. Djiby, has gained experience in conducting field activities related to malaria, including patient recruitment, on-site sample handling, and the monitoring of specific cases. He is well-versed in a range of molecular biology and genomic techniques. Presently, Djiby is actively involved in the molecular monitoring of Pfhrp2/3 gene deletions and the surveillance of drug resistance in malaria.
Rob is a Research Associate with more than 12 years of research experience in malaria. His core research interests focus on understanding the biology underlying novel antimalarial drug targets and mechanisms of drug resistance using a range of cell physiology, biochemistry and molecular genetics techniques. His current research focuses on the Plasmodium falciparum acetyl CoA synthetase (PfAcAS), a novel drug target implicated in protein acetylation and the epigenetic regulation of…
The current gold standard malaria treatments are artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs), but unfortunately, artemisinins are threatened by growing resistance. Imran employs cutting-edge cell and molecular biology techniques to understand the underlying mechanisms of Pfcoronin– and Pfkelch13-mediated artemisinin resistance. In collaboration with several other lab members and partners, Imran is also involved in assessing the potential impacts of specific Pfkelch13 and Pfcoronin polymorphisms in malaria parasites from Senegal, where ACTs are…
Sarah Volkman is a Principal Research Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with research interests in malaria biology, drug resistance, and population genetics. She leads efforts in collaboration with Professor Daouda Ndiaye at the University Cheikh Anta Diop and the International Center for Research and Training in Applied Genomics and Health Surveillance (CIGASS) in Senegal to apply population genetic strategies to identify genetic loci that contribute…
Wes is a research scientist in the Wirth lab whose research focuses on the intersection of parasite population genetics and epidemiology. He uses a variety of computational and analytical techniques to determine how genetics can be used to infer different aspects of malaria transmission and guide data-informed recommendations for malaria control efforts.