Cheryl Lobo, PhD

The Laboratory of Blood-Borne Parasites studies the mechanisms of invasion, intracellular development, multiplication and egress in three intra-erythrocytic parasites- Plasmodium falciparum, Babesia divergens and Babesia microti, using in vitro culture systems and rodent models of disease. Our interest focuses on host RBC receptors and parasite ligands and changes mediated by the parasite to the RBC, with the eventual goal of developing viable interventions to detect and halt transmission of these pathogens via blood transfusions.