Dr Teresa Tiffert

My current research interests are focused on the blood stages of falciparum malaria. Our discovery that the invasion efficiency of falciparum parasites was markedly reduced by red cell dehydration (Blood,105:4853-4860, 2005) proved relevant to the understanding of the mechanisms by which inherited haemolytic anaemias with gene pools sustained in malaria-endemic regions, protect individuals against severe malaria.  In many of these anaemias, the presence of dehydrated, dense subpopulations of red cells in the circulation prevents the development of high parasitaemias, a pre-condition for disease severity. Our search for possible mechanisms of density-protection focused attention on an elusive pre-invasion stage of parasite-red cell interaction, during which falciparum merozoites align apically, ready to penetrate and infect red cells (Trends Parasitol. 23:481-48, 2007). This is the least understood stage of the invasion process. Elucidation of its mechanism may pave the way to novel malaria therapies. Investigation of the pre-invasion stage poses formidable technical challenges which we are currently trying to overcome in a multidisciplinary collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, the Cavendish Laboratory and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (Biophys. J. 107:846-853, 2014).

Dr Virgilio Lew, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge

Dr Pietro Cicuta, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge

Dr Julian Rayner, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge