Jane M. Carlton

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Jane M. Carlton is a biologist at New York University whose research centers on the genomics of two groups of single-celled parasites: those which cause malaria (the genus Plasmodium ), and trichomonads, which include the common sexually transmitted parasite Trichomonas vaginalis .

Contents

Education

Carlton received her Ph.D. in genetics at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, [1] and has worked at several scientific institutions in the U.S., including the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Institutes of Health and the Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR).

Research

Carlton is among a group of scientists recording and categorizing changes in all of the malaria parasite's genes at once, with a view toward detecting drug resistance in its earliest stages while it can still be controlled, finding new vulnerabilities in the parasite's genome that can be exploited to fight malaria. [2] As Faculty Director of Genomic Sequencing at NYU's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Carlton is examining the genomes of dozens of malaria isolates at a time. Recently her group sequenced several genomes from both a human malaria species (Plasmodium vivax) [3] and a closely related monkey malaria parasite ( Plasmodium cynomolgi ), [4] producing a more detailed picture of malaria evolution and uncovering a surprising amount of genetic variation in the latter.

Carlton collaborates with scientists at National Institute of Malaria Research in India to develop new research paths and control strategies for the disease there. As Program Director of a seven-year NIH International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research based jointly in New Delhi and NYU, she heads the first pan-Indian genomic survey of malaria parasite strains, along with an in-depth epidemiological study of how the malaria is transmitted and manifests itself in different ecologies and societies in India. [5]

Trichomonads are single-celled parasites that infect humans and other mammals as well as birds. One such parasite is Trichomonas vaginalis , which causes the most widespread non-viral human STD). Carlton led the group that sequenced the genome of Trichomonas vaginalis in 2007 – the first sequencing of any trichomonad genome – and uncovered families of genes that may be responsible for the membrane irritation and damage associated with trichomoniasis. [6] [7] The sequencing project also revealed that the parasite's genome is surprisingly large and composed mostly of highly repetitive ‘mobile’ DNA elements.

Awards and honors

Carlton has published more than 139 research articles and reviews. [8]

She was the recipient of the Stoll-Stunkard Memorial Lectureship Award from the American Society of Parasitologists in 2010. [9] [10]

She was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012. [11]

Related Research Articles

Trichomoniasis

Trichomoniasis (trich) is an infectious disease caused by the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis. About 70% of women and men do not have symptoms when infected. When symptoms do occur they typically begin 5 to 28 days after exposure. Symptoms can include itching in the genital area, a bad smelling thin vaginal discharge, burning with urination, and pain with sex. Having trichomoniasis increases the risk of getting HIV/AIDS. It may also cause complications during pregnancy.

<i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> Species of parasite that cause sexually transmitted infections

Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic, flagellated protozoan parasite and the causative agent of trichomoniasis. It is the most common pathogenic protozoan infection of humans in industrialized countries. Infection rates in men and women are similar but women are usually symptomatic, while infections in men are usually asymptomatic. Transmission usually occurs via direct, skin-to-skin contact with an infected individual, most often through vaginal intercourse. The WHO has estimated that 160 million cases of infection are acquired annually worldwide. The estimates for North America alone are between 5 and 8 million new infections each year, with an estimated rate of asymptomatic cases as high as 50%. Usually treatment consists of metronidazole and tinidazole.

<i>Trichomonas</i> Genus of flagellated protists

Trichomonas is a genus of anaerobic excavate parasites of vertebrates. It was first discovered by Alfred François Donné in 1836 when he found these parasites in the pus of a patient suffering from vaginitis, an inflammation of the vagina. Donné named the genus from its morphological characteristics. The prefix tricho- originates from the Ancient Greek word θρίξ (thrix) meaning hair, describing Trichomonas’s flagella. The suffix -monas, describes its similarity to unicellular organisms from the genus Monas.

<i>Plasmodium ovale</i>

Plasmodium ovale is a species of parasitic protozoa that causes tertian malaria in humans. It is one of several species of Plasmodium parasites that infect humans including Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax which are responsible for most malarial infection. It is rare compared to these two parasites, and substantially less dangerous than P. falciparum.

<i>Plasmodium malariae</i>

Plasmodium malariae is a parasitic protozoan that causes malaria in humans. It is one of several species of Plasmodium parasites that infect other organisms as pathogens, also including Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, responsible for most malarial infection. Found worldwide, it causes a so-called "benign malaria", not nearly as dangerous as that produced by P. falciparum or P. vivax. The signs include fevers that recur at approximately three-day intervals – a quartan fever or quartan malaria – longer than the two-day (tertian) intervals of the other malarial parasites.

<i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i>

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.

<i>Plasmodium berghei</i>

Plasmodium berghei is a species in the genus Plasmodium subgenus Vinckeia.

Plasmodium silvaticum is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Plasmodium.

Plasmodium inui is a species of parasite, one of the species of simian Plasmodium that cause malaria in Old World monkeys.

Elodie Ghedin is a Canadian American parasitologist and virologist as well as a professor at the New York University Center for Genomics and Systems Biology. Her work focuses on the molecular biology and genomics of the parasites that cause diseases such as elephantiasis, and river blindness, and on the evolution of the influenza virus. She was named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow, a 2012 Kavli Frontier of Science Fellow, and a 2017 American Academy of Microbiology Fellow. She also was Awarded the Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award in 2010.

Eukaryotic Pathogen Database

The Eukaryotic Pathgen Database, or EuPathDB, is a database of bioinformatic and experimental data related to a variety of eukaryotic pathogens. It was established in 2006 under a National Institutes of Health program to create Bioinformatics Resource Centers to facilitate research on pathogens that may pose biodefense threats. EuPathDB stores data related to its organisms of interest and provides tools for searching through and analyzing the data. It currently consists of 14 component databases, each dedicated to a certain research topic. EuPathDB includes:

Anopheles sinensis is a species of mosquito that transmits malaria as well as lymphatic filariasis. It is regarded as the most important vector of these human parasitic diseases in Southeast Asia. It is the primary vector of vivax malaria in many regions. In China it also transmits the filalarial parasite, and arthropod roundworm. In Japan it is also a vector of a roundworm Setaria digitata in sheep and goats.

Plasmodium cynomolgi is an apicomplexan parasite that infects mosquitoes and Asian Old World monkeys. This species has been used as a model for human Plasmodium vivax because Plasmodium cynomolgi shares the same life cycle and some important biological features with P. vivax.

William Erle "Bill" Collins was an American parasitologist.

Patricia Jean Johnson is a Professor of Microbiology at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She works on the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis, which is responsible for the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections in the United States, Trichomoniasis. She was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2019.

Mary R. Galinski is a professor of medicine at the Emory Vaccine Center, Hubert Department of Global Health of the Rollins School of Public Health, and the Department of Medicine of the Emory University School of Medicine.

References

  1. ↑ "Jane Carlton | World Science Festival". World Science Festival. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  2. ↑ "Malaria Vaccine to be Reality soon". Only My Health. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  3. ↑ Neafsey DE, Galinsky K, Jiang RH, Young L, Sykes SM, Saif S, Gujja S, Goldberg JM, Young S, Zeng Q, Chapman SB, Dash AP, Anvikar AR, Sutton PL, Birren BW, Escalante AA, Barnwell JW, Carlton JM. The malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax exhibits greater genetic diversity than Plasmodium falciparum. Nat Genetics. 2012 Sep;44(9):1046-50.
  4. ↑ Tachibana S, Sullivan SA, Kawai S, Nakamura S, Kim HR, Goto N, Arisue N, Palacpac NM, Honma H, Yagi M, Tougan T, Katakai Y, Kaneko O, Mita T, Kita K, Yasutomi Y, Sutton PL, Shakhbatyan R, Horii T, Yasunaga T, Barnwell JW, Escalante AA, Carlton JM, Tanabe K. Plasmodium cynomolgi genome sequences provide insight into Plasmodium vivax and the monkey malaria clade. Nat Genetics. 2012 Aug 5;44(9):1051-5.
  5. ↑ "NIH Funds Seven International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research | News Release". National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  6. ↑ "Scientists Sequence Genome of Parasite Responsible for Common Sexually Transmitted Infection | News Release". National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
  7. ↑ Carlton JM, Hirt RP, Silva JC, Delcher AL, Schatz M, Zhao Q, Wortman JR,Bidwell SL, Alsmark UC, Besteiro S, Sicheritz-Ponten T, Noel CJ, Dacks JB, Foster PG, Simillion C, Van de Peer Y, Miranda-Saavedra D, Barton GJ, Westrop GD, Müller S, Dessi D, Fiori PL, Ren Q, Paulsen I, Zhang H, Bastida-Corcuera FD, Simoes-Barbosa A, Brown MT, Hayes RD, Mukherjee M, Okumura CY, Schneider R, Smith AJ, Vanacova S, Villalvazo M, Haas BJ, Pertea M, Feldblyum TV, Utterback TR, Shu CL, Osoegawa K, de Jong PJ, Hrdy I, Horvathova L, Zubacova Z, Dolezal P, Malik SB, Logsdon JM Jr, Henze K, Gupta A, Wang CC, Dunne RL, Upcroft JA, Upcroft P, White O, Salzberg SL, Tang P, Chiu CH, Lee YS, Embley TM, Coombs GH, Mottram JC, Tachezy J, Fraser-Liggett CM, Johnson PJ. Draft genome sequence of the sexually transmitted pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis. Science. 2007 Jan 12; 315(5809):207-12.
  8. ↑ "Jane M. Carlton". med.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  9. ↑ "The American Society of Parasitologists". Journal of Parasitology. 96 (6): 1048–1057. 2010-12-01. doi:10.1645/GE-2597.1. ISSN   0022-3395.
  10. ↑ "Stoll-Stunkard Memorial Lectureship". www.amsocparasit.org. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
  11. ↑ "AAAS Members Elected as Fellows". AAAS - The World's Largest General Scientific Society. 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
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