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Dr. Soldati earned her Ph.D. in the field of molecular biology from the University of Zürich in 1990. From 1991 until 1995, she conducted postdoctoral research in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology of the Stanford University School of Medicine in the United States. In 1994, she received a research award from the Swiss Society of Microbiology for her work in the development of transfection in Toxoplasma gondii. In 2001, she received the Rodolfi Medal from the German Society for Parasitology. Dr. Soldati conducts research as an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Geneva. This is her second HHMI award.
RESEARCH ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
Dominique Soldati wants to identify and characterize the proteases that enable a family of parasitic protozoa called Apicomplexa to attach themselves to and actively invade host cells. Proteases are exzymes that break down proteins into peptides and amino acids. The parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which causes toxoplasmosis, is being used to do functional, biochemical, and structural analyses of candidate proteases. Validation of the proteases as potential drug targets is being conducted in Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria parasite.
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Photo: David Rolls
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