Professor Julian Rayner

Zoom: https://uofglasgow.zoom.us/j/85287507487?pwd=8brQQ9B3Zdf7uup0SJUfbaSz5t4Ed6.1 

Passcode: 377827

 

Title: Systematic approaches to understand host-parasite interactions and identify new malaria intervention targets

Synopsis: We use genetic and cell biological tools to understand the interactions between Plasmodium parasites and human red blood cells in order to identify and prioritise new drug and vaccine targets for malaria. Experimental genetic tools are one of the cornerstones of our approach and working closely with colleagues we develop and apply high throughput tools to the study of Plasmodium parasites, co-leading the first ever genome-scale genetic screens in Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium berghei. We are interested in looking beyond screening hits to mechanisms, and have performed detailed biochemical and cellular studies to identify new vaccine targets and understand the molecular mechanisms behind naturally occurring malaria-protective human genetic variants. Training and development are central to our approach, including close collaboration with partners in malaria endemic countries. The seminar will cover both our recent systematic attempts to identify new Plasmodium vivax vaccine targets, and the development of various tools to generate deeper understanding of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte invasion, including attempts to use microfluidics to quantitate invasion as it occurs in vivo  - under flow.

Bio: After undergraduate education in New Zealand and a PhD at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, Julian began working on malaria as a post-doctoral fellow in 1998 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. In 2002 he became an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, before returning to Cambridge in 2008 as a Group Leader in the Malaria Programme at the Wellcome Sanger Institute where he worked for the next ten years to establish and  Strongly committed to training and engagement with research, from 2013-2024 Julian founded and led Wellcome Connecting Science, which delivers training, learning and engagement events to more than 10,000 scientists, healthcare professionals, students, teachers and members of the public every year, working with audiences both in the UK and globally. In 2019 Julian moved to the University of Cambridge, where he is Professor Cell Biology and Director of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, an interdisciplinary institute with a focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms of rare and neglected diseases.

First published: 4 September 2025

<< Seminars