Cambridge Institute for Medical Research

Professor Jennie Blackwell

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Human genetic and vaccine studies in leishmaniasis

The specific interests of our laboratory based in CIMR are genetic susceptibility to leishmaniasis and the development of novel vaccines for leishmaniasis.  Our research involves projects in Brazil, Crete, India, and Sudan.  The major focus of our work is:

• In collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) and colleagues in India, Brazil and USA, we are undertaking a genome-wide association study of 1000 clinical cases of visceral leishmaniasis and 1000 unrelated controls from Bihar State in India, and 2,880 individuals in families from north-eastern Brazil that contain 626 offspring with clinical visceral leishmaniasis and 1260 offspring in whom delayed type hypersensitivity has been measure as a quantitative trait. 

• In collaboration with colleagues in Sudan we are fine mapping genes on chromosomes 1p22 (LOD LOD=5.6; p=1.7x10-7) and 6q27 (LOD score 3.8, p=1.7x10-5) that were identified on the basis of genome-wide linkage scans for clinical visceral leishmaniasis in Sudan. 

• In collaboration with Professor Mary Wilson at Iowa State University, and Professor Diane McMahon-Pratt at Yale University, we are evaluating 20 novel protective antigens to determine cross-species efficacy for different Leishmania spp., using physiological doses of challenge infection in murine models of disease.

• In collaboration with Dr Orin Courtenay at Warwick University, we are carrying out phase I/II/III trials of a DNA/MVA prime-boost vaccine based on a specific protective Leishmania antigen in field trials of dogs infected naturally with Leishmania infantum.

Funding

• The Wellcome Trust
• NIH RO1

Group Members