The research in my laboratory revolves around the human protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. This organism can cause severe disease in individuals with a defective immune system or during pregnancy. In addition, it is also used as a model system for study of the closely related malaria parasite, Plasmodium. Both organisms are obligate intracellular parasites of animals and have evolved numerous unique regulatory and structural elements to penetrate and survive inside animal cells. We are concentrating our efforts on two general areas of Toxoplasma gondii cell biology: essential signaling pathways in the parasite and the structure, assembly, and function of its membrane skeleton
