Student Scholars & Faculty Mentors
Projects funded by our internal grants program. Search the table to find students or faculty mentors that share in your interests, and could help you achieve your goals in research, creative activity, or service.
Differential gene expression between Strongyloides stercoralis post-parasitic and post-free-living first stage larvae
Name: Dalessandro,
Advisor: Jonathan Stolzfus
Department: BIOL
Award: Student Research Grant
Abstract: Strongyloides stercoralis is a parasitic nematode responsible for infecting millions of humans and dogs and causes the disease strongyloidiasis. While typically asymptomatic, the potential for strongyloidiasis to become fatal presents a threat to both veterinary and human health. S. stercoralis undergoes a unique life cycle that consists of both free-living and parasitic generations. The genes that regulate two stages that have different routes of development (the post-parasitic first stage larvae and the post-free-living first stage larvae) are unknown. I plan to identify the genes that are differentially expressed between the two stages as well as their biological function, which I hypothesize includes key transcription factors and their effector genes. If these genes are better understood, targeted chemotherapeutic agents could potentially be devised to prevent transmission in humans and dogs.