Research

The research of the Department is focussed on host-parasite interactions of major parasite diseases such as malaria, schistosomiasis and filariasis as well as clinically relevant intestinal parasites with the aim to contribute to the development of new drugs, vaccines and improvement of diagnostic methods.

Principal investigators
Prof. Dr. A.M. Deelder, Prof. Dr. M. Yazdanbakhsh, Dr. Chris J. Janse,
Dr. C.H. Hokke, Dr. L. van Lieshout

The Department consists of 5 sections:

Leiden Malaria Research Group (Dr. Chris J. Janse)

The research is focused on the identification of new drug targets and vaccine candidates and the analysis of molecular mechanisms of parasite development and host-parasite interactions that are associated with disease.

Cellular Immunology of Helminth infections (Prof. Dr. M. Yazdanbakhsh)

Studies on parasite-mediated immune modulation with emphasis on schistosomiasis and filariasis.

Glycobiology and Glyco-immunology of Parasitic infections (Dr. C.H. Hokke)

Studies are focused on parasite- (and  host-) glycoconjugates: their identification, their potential as drug targets or vaccine candidates, and their role in host-parasite interactions, with special emphasis on schistosomiasis..

Epidemiology and Diagnostics of Parasitic infections (Dr. L. van Lieshout)

The research is focused on development and application of novel diagnostic approaches for (mostly intestinal) protozoa and helminths with the aim to understand clinical presentation and transmission patterns in endemic settings.

In a fifth section research on mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technologies is performed; together with the MS activities within the IHB. This section functions as the LUMC Technology Platform “Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry”.

Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Unit (Prof. Dr. A.M. Deelder)

Research on the integration of state-of-the art approaches for mass spectrometric and NMR-analysis of biomolecules and biomarkers (proteomics, metabolomics) in biomedical and clinical research projects (including biomarkers in Schistosoma infection).