Dr Anna V. Protasio

Postdoctoral Fellow

 
 

Alumni

This person is a member of Sanger Institute Alumni.

I started as a Ph.D. student in Matt’s group (actually the group’s first!) in Oct 2007 and have been here since then. My post-doctoral position started in July 2012.

Work interests are Parasites! Parasites! Parasites! The more cells the better and the more complex their life cycles the more enjoyable! I am mainly interested in understanding mechanisms of establishment of parasitism. I also have an interest in RNA biology, with emphasis in non-coding RNAs.

During my Ph.D. and post-doctoral positions, I have worked extensively with the parasite Schistosoma mansoni. Schistosomes are parasitic platyhelminths that infect a wide range of vertebrate animals including humans. At Sanger and among other achievements, I facilitated establishing the life cycle of this parasite, which includes two hosts and two free living stages.

 

My publications

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Fluorescent Whole mount <em>In Situ</em> Hybridisation (WISH) of an adult male schistosome (<em>S. mansoni</em>) with a probe against CathepsinB, a gene expressed in the worm's gut.

Fluorescent Whole mount In Situ Hybridisation (WISH) of an adult male schistosome (S. mansoni) with a probe against CathepsinB, a gene expressed in the worm's gut.

Schistosome's life cycle is complex. It involves a snail and a vertebrate (e.g. human) host. At the Berriman group, we have established the <em>Schistosoma mansoni</em> life cycle, which is prooving a valuable resource for ours and other groups in our Institute.

Schistosome's life cycle is complex. It involves a snail and a vertebrate (e.g. human) host. At the Berriman group, we have established the Schistosoma mansoni life cycle, which is prooving a valuable resource for ours and other groups in our Institute.

Some genes in Schistosomes have tiny 3-9 bases exons - these are called microexons. In one particular microexon gene, and depending on how the parasites are cultured, different splice variants arise. (Protasio et al. 2013)

Some genes in Schistosomes have tiny 3-9 bases exons - these are called microexons. In one particular microexon gene, and depending on how the parasites are cultured, different splice variants arise. (Protasio et al. 2013)