Postgraduate research students

Infection with parasitic filarial nematodes causes chronic and debilitating disease in humans, and in dogs infected with the heartworm Dirofilaria immitis.

Anthelmintic drugs are widely used to treat infections, however administration of these has led to drug resistance, currently a growing concern for D. immitis. Alternative approaches involving the development of new drugs or vaccines to control or prevent infection are required.

Our current knowledge of nematode molecular genetics is largely based on extensive studies of the free living species Caenorhabditis elegans and thus more research studies are required to elucidate the mechanisms and pathways involved during larval development of these filarial parasites. Comparative analysis of transcriptome studies across the various developmental stages could provide a detailed overview of the specific genes and proteins that play a significant role to differentiate distinct lifecycle stages of these parasites.

My PhD project aims to build on RNA sequencing data to identify specific genes and proteins upregulated as filarial parasites develop from the larval to adult stage. To assess if the selected genes are potential targets, we will test the effects of knockout/knock down using gene knockout technology (RNAi) and inhibitor compounds. The outcomes will help inform design of new therapeutics to block infection and subsequent disease.

• Professor Collette Britton
• Professor Eileen Devaney

This project is funded by a University of Glasgow Industrial Partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim

Awards

Travel award to attend Molecular Helminthology Meeting 2023 in Madison, US. 

2024

Oral Presentation

24th Drug Design & Development Seminar (DDDS) 2024 of the German Society for Parasitology (DGP): “Combining Efforts towards Human and Animal Parasitic Diseases”

March 13th – 15th, 2024, University of Würzburg, Germany

'Transcriptomic analysis unveils potential novel control targets for filarial nematode infections'         Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2024.04.006

2023

Oral presentation

BAVP ECR Meeting  4th  - 5th May 2023 , Online meeting

'A transcriptomic approach to identify potential control targets for filarial nematode infections'           Link: https://www.bavp.org.uk/bavp-ecr-meeting-2023 

Poster presentation 1

ECR Symposium 2023  30th October 2023, University of Dundee

'Transcriptomic analysis identifies potential novel targets for filarial control'                     Link: https://shorturl.at/5bcZu         

Poster presentation 2

Molecular Helminthology Meeting 2023   26th- 29th June 2023 , Madison, Wisconsin, US

'Transcriptomic analysis identifies potential novel targets for filarial control'                     Link: https://morgridge.org/research/regenerative-biology/molecular-helminthology-meeting/    

2022

Poster presentation

22nd Drug Design & Development Seminar (DDDS) of the German Society for Parasitology (DGP). TransAlp Conference on Human and Animal Parasitic Diseases.

July 12th - 15th, 2022, Munich, Germany.         

'A transcriptomic approach to identify potential control targets for filarial nematode infections '.   Link: https://dndi.org/events/2022/22nd-drug-design-development-seminar/  

Education

• 2019-2020: MSc in Biotechnology, Bioinformatics and Bio-Business - University of Aberdeen
• 2013- 2018: BSc in Biology - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki