Malaria afflicts nearly half a billion people throughout the world each year. Manuel Llinás, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, would like to see this disease completely eliminated. With this aim in mind, his lab has identified the key regulators of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum transcriptome, using whole-genome approaches. This work successfully identified the first DNA binding proteins - transcription factors - for this organism. His findings have not only spurred a renewed interest in transcriptional regulation in this parasite, but also other related apicomplexan parasites that impact agriculture. Llinás continues to look for ways to disrupt these regulators pharmacologically.

BYI-Funded Research: Identifying Key Regulators of the Plasmodium Falciparum Transcriptome Using Whole-Genome

Post-Beckman Funding: National Institutes of Health

Publications: Journal of Molecular Biology, Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, PLoS Pathogens, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences