Parasitology Commons^™

Early Intervention In Helminth Infections: Investigating Albendazole’S Effects On C. Elegans Egg Hatch Rate And Health, Giselle Domingo Diaz

Student Scholar Symposium

Over 1.5 billion of the poorest people are infected with soil-transmitted helminths (STH) such as whipworm, hookworm, and Ascaris which have devastating effects on human growth, nutrition, and cognition, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. The World Health Organization only approves four anthelmintic drugs to treat STH for mass drug administration (MDA), with Albendazole being the drug of choice. Due to these drugs only having two mechanisms of action, resistance to these drugs has been reported over the years. We aim to better understand STH susceptibility to drugs at multiple points in their life stage. Previously, the effects of Albendazole and …

A Mathematical Model Of Acanthocephalan Parasite Infection In Gull-Billed Terns, Charlotte Moser

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Dog Heartworm (Dirofilaria Immitis) Infection In Invasive Aedes Aegypti And Aedes Albopictus Mosquitoes In Southern California, Irene Hui Ying Lee, Donghwi Kim, Romina Lee

Pacific Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference (PURCC)

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Practical Identifiability Of A Malaria Model To Assess Conversion To Transmissible Stages, Anthony Raymond Krueger, Damie Pak, Megan Greischar, Lauren Childs

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

What Is The Prevalence Of Dirofilaria Immitis (Dog Heartworm) In Invasive Aedes Mosquitoes?, Leen Yousef, Johan Espinoza Corrales, Daniela H. Dolar, Taylor K. Trieu, Aisha Popalzai, Agamchat Dhami

Pacific Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference (PURCC)

No abstract provided.

215— Schistosomiasis Infections In School Aged Children In Ghana, Katerina Pisciotta, Maia Mazzaferro

GREAT Day Posters

Schistosomiasis is a Neglected Tropical Disease caused by a parasitic blood fluke. There are currently over 240 million people affected globally. Humans become infected after coming into contact with water containing the infectious stage of the parasite. Our data consists of egg counts for Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni collected from school-aged children in Tomefa, Ghana, a marginalized informal community, between 2014 and 2019. Our research explores whether or not reinfections and continuous infections were occurring over the six-year period. Although the government conducts periodic mass drug administration, reinfections are likely given the social and environmental conditions in the community. …

Exploring Anti-Schistosoma Analog Sa01, Sarah Alsuleiman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Schistosomiasis is a waterborne parasitic worm infection able to infect in the larval stage through direct skin penetration. This disease affects approximately 270 million people worldwide and is widespread in tropical as well as subtropical regions with higher distribution in areas lacking sufficient sanitation and safe drinking water. Although some possible alternatives are emerging, currently, the most effective drug treatment is praziquantel (PZQ). However, PZQ is only effective against the adult stage of the worm, allowing juvenile worms to progress in the infection. Furthermore, Schistosoma is developing resistance to this drug as reduced efficacy has been noted. As a result, …

Using Empirical And Theoretical Approaches To Control Outbreaks Of An Emerging Disease (Swimmer’S Itch) In The Midwest Of The U.S.A., Gregory J. Sandland, James Peirce

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Towards A Mechanism Of Action Of An Antischistosomal Drug: Measuring Granulocytic Activity, Samantha Sack

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by a family of schistosome parasites which leads to vital organ damage. Praziquantel (PZ) is the only available treatment, but it is effective only against the adult worm. Partner labs have tested an antischistosomal drug which has been shown to have a higher efficacy against both juvenile and mature parasites in mice and monkeys compared to PZ. This effectiveness does not transfer to in vitro experiments; it kills the parasite outside of its host only at extremely high concentrations. This indicates that its efficacy is host-dependent, but the mechanism by which it functions …

The Role Of Intermittent Preventive Treatment For Malaria In Saving Lives And Promoting Drug Resistance, Carrie Manore

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Development Of An Interleukin-4-Inducing Principle From Schistosoma Mansoni Eggs (Ipse)-Specific Pcr Assay As A Quantitative Predictor Of Schistosomiasis-Associated Morbidity, Dannah Farah, Evaristis Mbanefo, Michael H. Hsieh

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease affecting between 200-500 million people worldwide. The two species causing most human cases of schistosomiasis are Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium. The gold standard for diagnosis is parasitological detection of parasite eggs in stool using the Kato-Katz method. Counting eggs shed in stool is labor-intensive and inaccurate. Interleukin-4- inducing principle from Schistosoma mansoni eggs (IPSE) is the most abundant secreted protein from schistosome eggs. We hypothesized that the mRNA transcripts of the IPSE protein may be found in the liver tissue and stool of experimentally infected animals, and that these transcripts can be specifically …

The Evaluation Of Carbon Dioxide-Independent Media For Toxoplasma Gondii Growth, Matthew C. Martens

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Toxoplasma gondii is a human pathogen that plays a role as the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, a disease that produces many deleterious effects for immunocompromised individuals and infants. Current research involving this intracellular parasite requires the use and continues maintenance of costly cell incubators attached to bulky carbon dioxide canisters. To reduce laboratory costs and space requirements, we, therefore, propose a novel procedure by which human foreskin fibroblasts, as well as Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites, may be grown in a commercially available carbon dioxide-independent media. Growth assays utilizing resazurin dye or relative fluorescence from parasites modified with a red fluorescent protein …

The Effects Of The Fungus Beauvaria Sp. On The Cave Cricket, Hadenoecus Subterraneus, Christina N. Walker, Derrick J. Jent, Claire A. Fuller

Scholars Week

The cave cricket, Hadenoecus subterraneus, is a keystone species in cave ecosystems within Mammoth Cave National Park (MCNP). Within MCNP, many cricket cadavers have been found

with a thick, white fungus growing on them; this fungus has previously been identified to be Beauveria bassiana. However, new molecular data suggests that this may actually be the species B. amorpha. Cricket cadavers with Beauveria sp. were collected from MCNP and cultured on potato dextrose agar. Cultures will be sent to the USDA for a genetic analysis and identification of the fungus. The purpose of this study is to examine if the relationship …

Doxycycline Resistance In Plasmodium Falciparum Linked To Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms In The Plasmodium Falciparum Apicoplast Small Subunit Ribosomal Rna (Pfssrrna) Gene, Amanda Wasko

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Plasmodium falciparum, a protozoan parasite known as malaria, widely impacts human health; thus antimalarial drug investigations are critical. Doxycycline is a commonly used antimalarial prophylactic, but its mechanism of action is unclear. In prokaryotes, doxycycline works as an antibacterial by disrupting protein translation via the small subunit ribosome. Interestingly, P. falciparum has a small subunit ribosome of prokaryotic origins in the apicoplast, a plastid-like organelle. Therefore, we hypothesized that doxycycline works in P. falciparum by inhibiting protein synthesis via the small subunit ribosomal RNA and that mutations in the gene encoding the P. falciparum apicoplast small subunit ribosomal RNA …