# Genomic Studies of the Impact of External Factors on Parasite Development and Disease Outcome

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2020 · $999,314

## Abstract

Despite significant progress in recent decades, parasitic diseases remain among the principal causes of
mortality and morbidity worldwide. Malaria parasites and helminths alone are responsible for more than half a
billion clinical infections every year, with half of the world’s population at risk. Here, we propose experiments
aimed at using state-of-the-art genomic technologies to address the impact of external factors on parasite
development and disease outcome, with an emphasis on the influence of co-infection and host sex. While co-
infections with multiple parasites are common, the consequences of poly-parasitism on disease transmission
and outcomes remain poorly understood. We will use single-cell gene expression analyses to examine how
drug treatment, as well as co-infections with multiple Plasmodium parasites, influence parasite transmission
from hosts to mosquitoes, using a non-human primate model. Using a combination of genomics and
transcriptomics methods, we will characterize the effect of ongoing Schistosoma haematobium infection on the
host immune response to malaria infection in children, investigate if the immunomodulation exerted by
schistosomiasis is long-lasting, and determine whether it impacts the genotype of the infecting malaria
parasites. Finally, we will use an animal model to investigate the impact of host sex and site of infection on the
development of filarial nematodes, and its putative consequences on differential drug efficacy in host males
and females. These multi-disciplinary studies represent an initial step in the quantitative characterization of the
role of co-infection on the outcome of parasitic infections, and in the investigation of host sex biases in parasitic
infection studies. These two topics are critically understudied and yet impact millions of people worldwide. The
implications of these findings could be wide-ranging, and include novel approaches to study parasitic infection
and co-infections in human and animal models, as well as public health insights into immunization and
treatment approaches in high-priority parasitic diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9901445
- **Project number:** 5U19AI110820-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** Joana Carneiro da Silva
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $999,314
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9901445

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9901445, Genomic Studies of the Impact of External Factors on Parasite Development and Disease Outcome (5U19AI110820-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9901445. Licensed CC0.

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