There are multiple species of African trypanosome that can each infect multiple mammalian hosts. Together they are the causative agents of both human and animal African trypanosomiasis, with bovine trypanosomiasis acting as a major constraint to cattle farming across sub-Saharan Africa.
I am interested in the molecular and cell biology of the interaction between African trypanosomes and their external environment in the mammalian host. Current work in the lab aims to experimentally characterise molecular diversity of the cell surfaces amongst different African trypanosome species and how that affects host-parasite interactions.
