Dr. Shahid M. Khan

Biography

Shahid Khan is an Assistant Professor in the Leiden Malaria Research Group, Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands. Shahid graduated with a degree in Parasitology from the University of Glasgow, after which he worked for one year as a Research Assistant in the Institute of Medical Medicine, University of Oxford (in the group of Chris Newbold). For his PhD he moved to the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK), where his studies were focused on genetic and physical chromosomal mapping of another medically important Apicomplexan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. For post-doctoral research he moved to the National Institute for Medical Research (London, UK) retuning to research on malaria, where he examined the expansion and expression of multi-gene families involved in parasite invasion of red blood cells. After this he moved to Leiden, Netherlands and to the group of Chris Janse and Andy Waters, and in collaboration with the group Matthias Mann (then Odense, Denmark), performed in depth and large scale proteome analyses on different stages of the malaria parasite and coupled this with the targeted deletion of parasite genes to uncover novel aspects of the parasite’s biology.

Research Interests

Shahid now runs a group at Leiden University Medical Center that looks at molecular interactions between host and parasite proteins. A major area of interest of the lab is to generate live-but-(genetically) attenuated parasites that can be used to immunize against malaria. In order to identify potential vaccine candidates the group has deleted (or attempted to delete) around a 100 Plasmodium genes and have identified mutants that not only become arrested during liver-stage development but also serve as effective priming antigen. The group is also very actively working on methods to enhance vaccine potency and establishing methods to ensure that these genetically modified parasites are safe for use in humans, as well as attempting to characterize mechanisms of protective immunity engendered by these attenuated parasites.

Papers

Barker RH Jr, Urgaonkar S, Mazitschek R, Celatka C, Skerlj R, Cortese JF, Tyndall E, Liu H, Cromwell M, Sidhu AB, Guerrero-Bravo JE, Crespo-Llado KN, Serrano AE, Lin JW, Janse CJ, Khan SM, Duraisingh M, Coleman BI, Angulo-Barturen I, Jiménez-Díaz MB, Magán N, Gomez V, Ferrer S, Santos Martínez M, Wittlin S, Papastogiannidis P, O'Shea T, Klinger JD, Bree M, Lee E, Levine M, Wiegand RC, Munoz B, Wirth DF, Clardy J, Bathurst I, Sybertz E.
Aminoindoles: a Novel Scaffold with Potent Activity against Plasmodium falciparum.
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 2011 Mar 21.

Fonager J, Franke-Fayard BM, Adams JH, Ramesar J, Klop O, Khan SM, Janse CJ, Waters AP
Development of the piggyBac transposable system for Plasmodium berghei and its application for random mutagenesis in malaria parasites.
BMC Genomics. 2011 Mar 20;12(1):155

van Schaijk BC, Vos MW, Janse CJ, Sauerwein RW, Khan SM
Removal of heterologous sequences from Plasmodium falciparum mutants using FLPe-recombinase.
PLoS One 2010 Nov 30;5(11):e15121.

Franke-Fayard B, Fonager J, Braks A, Khan SM, Janse CJ
Sequestration and tissue accumulation of human malaria parasites: can we learn anything from rodent models of malaria?
PLoS Pathogens 2010 Sep 30;6(9). pii: e1001032. Review.

Booker ML, Bastos CM, Kramer ML, Barker RH Jr, Skerlj R, Bir Sidhu A, Deng X, Celatka C, Cortese JF, Guerrero Bravo JE, Krespo Llado KN, Serrano AE, Angulo-Barturen I, Jimenez-Diaz MB, Viera S, Garuti H, Wittlin S, Papastogiannidis P, Lin JW, Janse CJ, Khan SM, Duraisingh M, Coleman B, Goldsmith EJ, Phillips MA, Munoz B, Wirth DF, Klinger JD, Wiegand R, Sybertz E.
Novel inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum dihydroorotate dehydrogenase with anti-malarial activity in the mouse model.
Journal of Biological Chemistry 2010 Aug 11.

Janse CJ, Kroeze H, van Wigcheren A, Mededovic S, Fonager J, Franke-Fayard B, Waters AP, Khan SM
A genotype and phenotype database of genetically modified malaria-parasites.
Trends in Parasitology 2010 Jul 19.

van Dijk MR, van Schaijk BC, Khan SM, van Dooren MW, Ramesar J, Kaczanowski S, van Gemert GJ, Kroeze H, Stunnenberg HG, Eling WM, Sauerwein RW, Waters AP, Janse CJ.
Three members of the 6-cys protein family of Plasmodium play a role in gamete fertility.
PLoS Pathogens 2010 Apr 8;6(4):e1000853.

Iwanaga S, Khan SM, Kaneko I, Christodoulou Z, Newbold C, Yuda M, Janse CJ, Waters AP
Functional identification of the Plasmodium centromere and generation of a Plasmodium artificial chromosome.
Cell Host Microbe 2010 Mar 18;7(3):245-55.

Ploemen IH, Prudêncio M, Douradinha BG, Ramesar J, Fonager J, van Gemert GJ, Luty AJ, Hermsen CC, Sauerwein RW, Baptista FG, Mota MM, Waters AP, Que I, Lowik CW, Khan SM, Janse CJ, Franke-Fayard BM
Visualisation and quantitative analysis of the rodent malaria liver stage by real time imaging.
PLoS ONE 2009 Nov 18;4(11):e7881

Tufet-Bayona M, Janse CJ, Khan SM, Waters AP, Sinden RE, Franke-Fayard B
Localisation and timing of expression of putative Plasmodium berghei rhoptry proteins in merozoites and sporozoites
Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 2009 166(1):22-31

Lasonder E, Janse CJ, van Gemert GJ, Mair GR, Vermunt AM, Douradinha BG, van Noort V, Huynen MA, Luty AJ, Kroeze H, Khan SM, Sauerwein RW, Waters AP, Mann M, Stunnenberg HG
Proteomic profiling of Plasmodium sporozoite maturation identifies new proteins essential for parasite development and infectivity
PLoS Pathogens 2008 Oct;4(10):e1000195

van Schaijk BC, Janse CJ, van Gemert GJ, van Dijk MR, Gego A, Franetich JF, van de Vegte-Bolmer M, Yalaoui S, Silvie O, Hoffman SL, Waters AP, Mazier D, Sauerwein RW, Khan SM
Gene disruption of Plasmodium falciparum p52 results in attenuation of malaria liver stage development in cultured primary human hepatocytes
PLoS ONE 2008; 3(10):e3549

Deitsch K, Duraisingh M, Dzikowski R, Gunasekera A, Khan S, Le Roch K, Llinas M, Mair G, McGovern V, Roos D, Shock J, Sims J, Wiegand R, Winzeler E, Wirth D.
Mechanisms of gene regulation in Plasmodium
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2007 Aug;77(2):201-8

Mair GR, Braks JA, Garver LS, Wiegant JC, Hall N, Dirks RW, Khan SM, Dimopoulos G, Janse CJ, Waters AP.
Regulation of sexual development of Plasmodium by translational repression.
Science 2006 Aug; 313(5787):667-9.

Khan SM, Franke-Fayard B, Mair GR, Lasonder E, Janse CJ, Mann M & Waters AP.
Proteome analysis of separated male and female gametocytes reveals novel sex specific Plasmodium biology
Cell 2005 June; 121 675-87

Khan SM, Waters AP.
Malaria parasite transmission stages: an update.
Trends in Parasitology 2004 Dec; 20(12):575-80.

Kaviratne M, Khan SM, Jarra W, Preiser PR.
Small variant STEVOR antigen is uniquely located within Maurer's clefts in Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells.
Eukaryotic Cell. 2002 Dec; 1(6):926-35.

Preiser PR, Khan S, Costa FT, Jarra W, Belnoue E, Ogun S, Holder AA, Voza T, Landau I, Snounou G, Renia L.
Stage-specific transcription of distinct repertoires of a multigene family during Plasmodium life cycle.
Science. 2002 Jan 11; 295(5553):342-5.

Di Ruberto C, Dempster A, Khan S, Jarra W.
Analysis of infected blood cell images using morphological operators
Image and Vision Computing, vol 20 no 2, Feb 2002 pp133-146

Khan SM, Jarra W, Preiser PR.
The 235 kDa rhoptry protein of Plasmodium (yoelii) yoelii: function at the junction.
Molecular and  Biochemical Parasitology. 2001 Sep 28; 117(1):1-10.

Khan SM, Jarra W, Bayele H, Preiser PR.
Distribution and characterisation of the 235 kDa rhoptry multigene family within the genomes of virulent and avirulent lines of Plasmodium yoelii.
Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 2001 May; 114(2):197-208.

Preiser P, Kaviratne M, Khan S, Bannister L, Jarra W.
The apical organelles of malaria merozoites: host cell selection, invasion, host immunity and immune evasion.
Microbes and Infection 2000 Oct; 2(12):1461-77

Craig AG, Pinches R, Khan S, Roberts DJ, Turner GD, Newbold CI, Berendt AR. Failure to block adhesion of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes to ICAM-1 with soluble ICAM-1.
Infection and Immunity 1997 Nov; 65(11):4580-5.