Opportunity Details

Details about the opportunity you selected and the mentor are shown below. It is your responsibility to contact the mentor to discuss collaborating with them this summer. If your mentor invites you to submit an application, you can access that from the front page of this site. Upon completion of the application, it will be sent to the mentor for approval before being passed on to the Summer Scholar Selection Committee, which will make the decisions.

Faculty Information
	Roberta O'Connor
	roconnor@tufts-nemc.org
	Assistant Professor
	P: (617) 636-2684
	F: (617) 636-5292
Address:
	750 washington St
	Boston, MA 02111

Opportunity:

Identification of Host Cell Receptors for Cryptosporidium Invasion

Summary:

Cryptosporidium parvum is a ubiquitous enteric coccidian that is the causative agent of water-born outbreaks of diarrheal disease around the world. Currently there are no effective treatments or vaccines for cryptosporidiosis. Our overall goal is the characterization of the host and parasite components that are essencial for invasion of parasites into host cells. This project involves expression of Cyryptosporidium parvum glycoprotein adhesins in Toxoplasma gondii, a related apicomplexan parasite, to produce functional recombinant adhesins. These recombinant glycoproteins will then be used to capture and identify the host cell receptor(s). Characterization of the molecular components involved in attachment and invasion will aid in the development of vaccines and theraputics to treat this disease.

Contact Via:

E-mail
Phone

What is the timeframe for this research opportunity?

10 weeks over the summer-timing is flexible

Prerequisities for students?

A basic science background, and a willingness to learn

Responsibilities for students?

Student would be responsible for her own project, which would involve cloning plasmids in E. coli, transfection of eukaryotic parasites, and isolation of proteins.

Area(s) of Research:

Infectious Diseases

Molecular Biology