With an investigator in the Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center, and with a professor from Loyola University Chicago visiting the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, we have developed a phenomenological model of population dynamics of the transmissible form of the malaria parasite, the gametocytes. We showed that for the same ability to attack and remove targets, host immune responses against the immature, non-transmissible gametocytes would affect transmission more than immune responses directly against the mature, transmissible forms. A peer-reviewed paper about this work has been published With a consortium of investigators from (1) Program in Physical Biology, NICHD, (2) Molecular Medicine Branch, NIDDK, and (3) Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, we are studying the affects of human hemoglobin abnormalities on the reproductive fitness of malaria parasites. We have demonstrated experimentally that malaria parasites reproduce at a lower rate in erythrocytes from patients with Thalassemia anemia. A paper is currently under referee review. With a consortium of investigators from (1) Laboratory of Neurotoxicology, National Institute of Mental Health, (2) Program in Physical Biology, (NICHD), (3) Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, (4) Computational Bioscience and Engineering Laboratory, Division of Computational Bioscience, Center for Information Technology, (5) Biomedical Engineering and Physical Science Shared Resource, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, we modeled the thermal and fluid transport that occur in the operation of activated expression microdissection. This is a method of extracting large number of cells in which a normally expressed protein is stained with a light-absorbing dye. At exposure to light, the heated stain melts a polymer film that binds to tissue, allowing for pickup of cellular components. The engineering development is nearing the point where the method can be utilized in pathology laboratories, and the NIH Office of Technology Transfer is in negotiations with potential commercial developers. With an investigator in Laboratory of Gene Regulating and Development, NICHD, we are working on statistical and topological analysis of retinal neurons growth in Drosophila. Distinct patterns of dendritic branching are associated with expression of certain genes in such neurons, but we have found that dendritic branching is not a simple Poisson process. A paper describing this work is currently under referee review. With a consortium of investigators from (1) Laboratory of Cell Biology, NCI, and (2) Computational Bioscience and Engineering Laboratory, Division of Computational Bioscience, CIT, and (3) Biomedical Engineering and Physical Science Shared Resource, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, we did engineering design of a bioreactor for growing cells in a 3D matrix with capillary-like components for delivery of oxygen. A peer-reviewed paper describing this apparatus has been published, and a patent application submitted. With a researcher in the Program in Cellular Regulation and Metabolism, NICHD, we are studying the frequency at which retrotransposons insert themselves into eukaryote chromosomes. A library of specially engineered nucleotide sequences are attached to the retrotransposons, allowing for a statistical analysis of genome patterns around hot spots, positions on chromosomes where insertion occur at a high rate.
