Niles Laboratory

Research emphasizes developing and using novel molecular tools to address outstanding questions in infectious diseases. Specific focus is on malaria and the causative pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum. We take advantage of model systems to efficiently validate and optimize the design of new tools intended to address unmet needs in our target pathogen. In this process, we simultaneously produce solutions that are applicable across a range of model and pathogenic organisms, and broadly useful in both basic and applied biology efforts.

Niles Laboratory is a highly multi-disciplinary in their approach, and integrate expertise in diverse areas including: biomolecular engineering; chemical biology; synthetic biology; analytical chemistry; biochemistry; and molecular and cell biology.

Malaria continues to have a devastating impact on global human health, and greater than 40% of the world’s population is at risk. Annually, there are an estimated 216 million cases and 655,000 deaths due to malaria, predominantly in developing countries. Disease is caused by any of five protozoan parasites. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax account for the majority of malaria cases. No vaccines are currently approved to prevent malaria, and treatment relies predominantly on the use of antimalarial drugs. However, resistance to the very limited set of efficacious drugs is rising rapidly. Therefore, identifying new therapeutic targets is a high priority.

The goal is to establish, through technological innovations, new avenues to discovering fundamental parasite biology that can be translated into much-needed diagnostic, preventative and therapeutic solutions. Ongoing research projects in the lab address:

(*) Tool development for regulating gene expression;
(*) Heme metabolism in malarial parasites; and
()* Host-pathogen interactions in Plasmodium falciparum.