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Ana Rodriguez | |
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Alma mater | Universidad Autonoma de Madrid |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Parasitology Immunology |
Institutions | New York University School of Medicine |
Academic advisors | Norma Andrews Sebastian Amigorena |
Website | https://med.nyu.edu/research/rodriguez-lab/ |
Ana Rodriguez is a parasitologist and Professor in the Department of Microbiology at New York University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanosoma cruzi and she is known for her work on Plasmodium liver infection, Plasmodium immunity, and T. cruzi drug development. [1]
Ana Rodriguez received her Ph.D. in immunology from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in 1993. [1] She then went on to do postdoctoral fellowships with Norma Andrews at Yale University School of Medicine from 1993 to 1997, and Sebastian Amigorena at the Institut Curie from 1997 to 1999. [1]
In 1999, Rodriguez was hired as an instructor at the New York University School of Medicine. She was promoted to assistant professor in 2000 and associate professor in 2010. [1] She is currently the director of the Parasitology Division of the Department of Microbiology, as well as the director of the University's Insectary Core Facility. [1]
Plasmodium falciparum is a unicellular protozoan parasite of humans, and the deadliest species of Plasmodium that causes malaria in humans. The parasite is transmitted through the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito and causes the disease's most dangerous form, falciparum malaria. It is responsible for around 50% of all malaria cases. P. falciparum is therefore regarded as the deadliest parasite in humans. It is also associated with the development of blood cancer and is classified as a Group 2A (probable) carcinogen.
Plasmodium vivax is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen. This parasite is the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria. Although it is less virulent than Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the five human malaria parasites, P. vivax malaria infections can lead to severe disease and death, often due to splenomegaly. P. vivax is carried by the female Anopheles mosquito; the males do not bite.
Plasmodium knowlesi is a parasite that causes malaria in humans and other primates. It is found throughout Southeast Asia, and is the most common cause of human malaria in Malaysia. Like other Plasmodium species, P. knowlesi has a life cycle that requires infection of both a mosquito and a warm-blooded host. While the natural warm-blooded hosts of P. knowlesi are likely various Old World monkeys, humans can be infected by P. knowlesi if they are fed upon by infected mosquitoes. P. knowlesi is a eukaryote in the phylum Apicomplexa, genus Plasmodium, and subgenus Plasmodium. It is most closely related to the human parasite Plasmodium vivax as well as other Plasmodium species that infect non-human primates.
Malaria vaccines are vaccines that prevent malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease which annually affects an estimated 247 million people worldwide and causes 619,000 deaths. The first approved vaccine for malaria is RTS,S, known by the brand name Mosquirix. As of April 2023, the vaccine has been given to 1.5 million children living in areas with moderate-to-high malaria transmission. It requires at least three doses in infants by age 2, and a fourth dose extends the protection for another 1–2 years. The vaccine reduces hospital admissions from severe malaria by around 30%.
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