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Seminars

Immune Control of Trypanosoma cruzi

2013/03/06
13:30 h
Esteve Auditorium, CEK
Rosselló, 149-153
Barcelona

One of the big advantages of working with Trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of Chagas disease, is that this protozoan naturally infects many mammals other than humans. As a result, models such as mice give very good information relevant to the human infection. This talk will focus how understanding what happens in mice infected with T. cruzi can inform us about the course of infection, and its treatment, in humans.

Speaker's profile

Rick Tarleton is Distinguished Research Professor of Cellular Biology, Director of UGA's Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases.

He is internationally recognized for his ground-breaking research on Chagas disease and its cause, the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Since its establishment at UGA in 1984, the Tarleton laboratory has been a constant source of discovery and innovation. Tarleton's early research demonstrated that the heart and intestinal destruction associated with Chagas was not the result of immune sytem dysfunction, as was commonly thought, but was caused by persistent parasitic infection. He has developed a highly productive collaboration with investigators in Argentina, and their studies validated the use of mouse models for the study of Chagas disease. Tarleton has also partnered with numerous groups to ensure his research by this neglected disease of poverty. His lab is currently developing a promising transmission-blocking vaccine for animals, which are the primary source of parasites that go on to infect humans.

Rick Tarleton

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