Research Expertise and Interest

molecular parasitology, mosquito vector biology in malaria infection, host-parasite interactions, host circadian rhythms, immunology, metabolism

Research Description

Filipa Rijo-Ferreira is an Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at Berkeley Public Health and in the Molecular and Cell Biology Department. Her work addresses how daily rhythms of hosts, vectors and parasites define the outcome of parasitic diseases such as malaria and sleeping sickness. The Rijo-Ferreira Lab combines molecular parasitology, mosquito development and mammalian physiology and neuroscience to ask questions about the role of circadian rhythms in the evolution and efficiency of parasitic infections. Circadian rhythms provide an advantage to organisms from bacteria to humans, thus a deeper understanding of the daily biology of parasites will enable design of effective interventions.