Skip to content
Le Roch Lab
Red blood cells with Plasmodium parasites at multiple developmental stages — 3D rendering

Our Research

Dissecting the molecular machinery of the malaria parasite.

Our research

The goal of this research

The goal of my research is to identify key factors that regulate the life cycle of apicomplexan parasites. Apicomplexa are a phylum of diverse obligate intracellular parasites, including Plasmodium (the causative agent of malaria), Toxoplasma gondii (an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients), and Babesia (which causes hemolytic disease in humans and cattle). Some of these parasites remain among the deadliest infectious agents in the world. Understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling their development, replication, and transmission is essential for creating novel therapeutic strategies to disrupt their continuous infectious cycles.

Research areas

Where our work concentrates

Each programme feeds the search for new therapeutic strategies. Collaborating labs are named on the area pages, where there is room to say what they contribute.

Hi-C contact map above aligned chromatin coverage, histone occupancy and gene-annotation tracks

Chromatin & Gene Regulation

Deciphering the role of epigenetics and chromatin structure in gene regulation and virulence.

Learn more
RNA-binding proteins bound to polyadenylated transcripts around a cell nucleus, illustrating post-transcriptional regulation

RNA Binding Proteins & RNA Biology

Deciphering the role of lncRNAs and RNA-binding proteins in gene regulation.

Learn more
Circular schematic of a systems-biology drug discovery pipeline, from compound screening and dose-response curves through culture, omics and animal models

Drug Discovery & Natural Products

Drug screening and systems biology pipelines that identify novel lead compounds and their modes of action.

Learn more
Viruses, bacteria and parasites outside a host cell whose nucleus shows acetylation and methylation marks on chromatin

Host-Pathogen Interactions

How intracellular parasites manipulate host chromatin to evade immune responses and persist in the host.

Learn more
Triangular correlation matrix of thirty-six viruses with three highlighted co-occurrence regions

Metagenomics of Vector-Borne Diseases

Using metagenomics and computational pipelines to detect arbovirus activity in field-collected mosquitoes and ticks.

Learn more
Machine learning schematic taking DNA sequence, chromatin accessibility, histone modifications, transcriptomics, transcription factors and 3D genome architecture as inputs, and predicting gene expression, regulatory elements, transcription-factor binding and target genes

Computational Biology

Large genomic data sets and machine learning models that explain gene regulation in malaria parasites.

Learn more

Organisms & platforms

What we work on, and what we work with

Organisms

  • Plasmodium
  • Toxoplasma gondii
  • Babesia

Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria · Toxoplasma gondii, an opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe disease in immunocompromised individuals · Babesia, which causes hemolytic disease in humans and cattle.

Sequencing platforms

  • Oxford Nanopore
  • Illumina
  • PacBio

Genome editing

  • CRISPR

Assays & analysis

  • RNA-seq
  • ChIP-seq
  • CUT&Tag
  • eCLIP-seq
  • ChIRP-seq
  • Hi-C
  • BS-seq
  • MeDIP-seq
  • Proteomics
  • MudPIT mass spectrometry
  • Metabolomics
  • High-content confocal

Collaborate with the lab

Bring us a question, a cohort, or a dataset

We work with field sites, clinical teams and computational groups on parasite genomics — from sample collection through to an assembled answer. If your work touches Plasmodium, we'd like to hear about it.

Start a conversationRecent work