# Dissecting the thermosensory biology of soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes

> **NIH NIH DP2** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $455,140

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes infect over a billion people around the world and can cause devastating
and sometimes fatal illness. Despite this massive health burden, the biology of parasitic nematodes remains
almost entirely unexplored. For example, we lack basic knowledge about the physiological specializations and
sensory behaviors that enable these gastrointestinal parasites to locate and infect hosts - processes that could
be targets for novel therapeutic interventions. Furthermore, virtually nothing is known about how parasitism of
mammals arose, multiple times independently, from the evolutionarily conserved genomes, neural circuits, and
physiology of nematodes.
I have developed the potentially fatal human parasite Strongyloides stercoralis as a powerful new model to
investigate the sensory adaptations of species with direct relevance to global health. In this proposal, we aim
to understand how temperature cues shape the specialized behavioral and physiological responses of
soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes. This proposal is a unique approach that centers the underlying biology
the human parasites themselves and lies at the intersection between parasitology, neuroscience, genetics, and
molecular biology. Our central hypothesis is that parasitism of mammals requires dramatic shifts in
thermal behavior and physiology that arise from an evolutionarily common cluster of molecular and
cellular adaptations. First, we leverage high-resolution quantitative behavioral assays to define the role of
temperature in driving the parasite-specific behaviors and physiological responses of S. stercoralis across their
complex life cycle, experiments we hope will establish a new platform for the development of novel therapies
that block the remarkable ability of parasitic worms to locate human hosts and survive the extreme thermal
environments of their bodies. Next, we will map the neural circuits underlying thermosensation in S. stercoralis,
using newly optimized tools for studying neuronal function in parasitic worms. These experiments will reveal the
cellular links between thermal behaviors and molecular substrates and resolve how worm neural circuits evolved
to support human parasitism. Finally, we will leverage our expertise in the comparative and functional parasite
genomics to identify the genetic and molecular substrates of parasite-specific thermosensory responses in
Strongyloides and other parasitic nematode species; a first, critical step towards designing novel and broadly
effective anti-parasitic drugs capable of disrupting infections. The results of these studies will reveal key
mechanisms underlying the unique thermal adaptability of mammalian parasitic nematodes, providing
an essential foundation to enable the development of novel interventional strategies. Although focused
on soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes, if successful this work should provide insights into other helminths, such
as schistosomes, which also ac...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10947143
- **Project number:** 1DP2AI184544-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Astra Shamgar Bryant
- **Activity code:** DP2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $455,140
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-15 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10947143

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10947143, Dissecting the thermosensory biology of soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes (1DP2AI184544-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10947143. Licensed CC0.

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