Co-investigators Dyann Wirth , Daniel Neafsey
Project Website http://www.broad.mit.edu/infect/
The Broad's Infectious Disease Program brings together a scientific community focused on using genomic tools to understand the mechanisms behind infectious diseases and apply this knowledge to transform the prevention and treatment of these diseases. The primary emphasis is on malaria and tuberculosis, diseases that affect hundreds of millions of people every year.
Scientists in the Infectious Disease Program share ideas and launch collaborative projects to tackle key challenges. The program includes collaboration across several Broad programs and platforms as well as many other labs in the Harvard/MIT community and elsewhere.
Major areas of focus include:
Malaria -- Malaria research employs comparative genome analysis, population genetics of pathogen populations and chemical screening. Major activities include: a haplotype map of malaria variation suitable for mapping traits such as drug resistance and for tracing global spread, and chemical screens to block important aspects of the malaria life cycle such as invasion of red blood cells.
Tuberculosis -- Tuberculosis research employs comparative genome analysis, population genetics of pathogen populations and chemical screening. Major activities include: identification of essential genes for pathogen survival, and analysis of drug resistance genes in field-collected strains.