Research

Soil-transmitted parasitic worms infect over a billion people and cause devastating morbidity, primarily in the world’s most socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Our research focuses on the thermal physiology of Strongyloides stercoralis, a potentially fatal skin-penetrating worm that infects at least 610 million people globally, nearly three times as many people as malaria. The soil-dwelling infective larvae of S. stercoralis and other parasitic nematodes actively locate potential hosts using host body heat, then transition into parasitic adults capable of surviving within the thermal environment of the mammalian host body. A major focus of our lab is understanding the molecular and neural adaptations that shape the unique thermal biology of parasitic worms, with the ultimate goal of enabling new prophylactic and therapeutic approaches to treating a major threat to global health and economic stability.

Specific research questions in the lab include: 

We aim to answer these questions by applying quantitative behavioral analyses, functional genomics, and neural imaging techniques in S. stercoralis, the closely related rat parasite Strongyloides ratti, and the free-living nematodes C. elegans. 

For more background regarding thermosensation in parasitic nematodes, please see Dr. Bryant's recent publications. For information on the tools we use and develop for performing mechanistic research on parasitic nematode, please see the Tools page.