Sebastian Lourido

Sebastian Lourido

Associate Professor of Biology; Core Member, Whitehead Institute

Sebastian Lourido exposes parasite vulnerabilities and harnesses them to treat infectious disease.

617-324-4920

Phone

WI-561D

Office

lourido@wi.mit.edu

Email

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Location

Lab Website
Gabrielle McCauley

Assistant

617-258-5251

Assistant Phone

Education

  • PhD, 2012, Washington University in St. Louis
  • BS, 2004, Cellular and Molecular Biology and Studio Art, Tulane University

Research Summary

Our lab is interested in the molecular events that enable apicomplexan parasites to remain widespread and deadly infectious agents. We study many important human pathogens, including Toxoplasma gondii, to model features conserved throughout the phylum. We seek to expand our understanding of eukaryotic diversity and identify specific features that can be targeted to treat parasite infections.

Awards

  • Odyssey Award, Smith Family Foundation, 2021

Recent Publications

  1. CRISPR-based functional profiling of the Toxoplasma gondii genome during acute murine infection. Giuliano, CJ, Wei, KJ, Harling, FM, Waldman, BS, Farringer, MA, Boydston, EA, Lan, TCT, Thomas, RW, Herneisen, AL, Sanderlin, AG et al.. 2024. Nat Microbiol , .
    doi: 10.1038/s41564-024-01754-2PMID:38977907
  2. Author Correction: CRISPR-Cas9-based genome-wide screening of Toxoplasma gondii. Sidik, SM, Huet, D, Lourido, S. 2024. Nat Protoc , .
    doi: 10.1038/s41596-024-01018-7PMID:38834920
  3. Translation initiation factor eIF1.2 promotes Toxoplasma stage conversion by regulating levels of key differentiation factors. Wang, F, Holmes, MJ, Hong, HJ, Thaprawat, P, Kannan, G, Huynh, MH, Schultz, TL, Licon, MH, Lourido, S, Dong, W et al.. 2024. Nat Commun 15, 4385.
    doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-48685-4PMID:38782906
  4. Discovery of antibiotics that selectively kill metabolically dormant bacteria. Zheng, EJ, Valeri, JA, Andrews, IW, Krishnan, A, Bandyopadhyay, P, Anahtar, MN, Herneisen, A, Schulte, F, Linnehan, B, Wong, F et al.. 2024. Cell Chem Biol 31, 712-728.e9.
    doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.10.026PMID:38029756
  5. SPARK regulates AGC kinases central to the Toxoplasma gondii asexual cycle. Herneisen, AL, Peters, ML, Smith, TA, Shortt, E, Lourido, S. 2024. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2023.10.30.564746PMID:37961644
  6. Translation initiation factor eIF1.2 promotes Toxoplasma stage conversion by regulating levels of key differentiation factors. Wang, F, Holmes, MJ, Hong, HJ, Thaprawat, P, Kannan, G, Huynh, MH, Schultz, TL, Licon, MH, Lourido, S, Dong, W et al.. 2024. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2023.11.03.565545PMID:37961607
  7. Analysis of CDPK1 targets identifies a trafficking adaptor complex that regulates microneme exocytosis in Toxoplasma. Chan, AW, Broncel, M, Yifrach, E, Haseley, NR, Chakladar, S, Andree, E, Herneisen, AL, Shortt, E, Treeck, M, Lourido, S et al.. 2023. Elife 12, .
    doi: 10.7554/eLife.85654PMID:37933960
  8. A conserved complex of microneme proteins mediates rhoptry discharge in Toxoplasma. Valleau, D, Sidik, SM, Godoy, LC, Acevedo-Sánchez, Y, Pasaje, CFA, Huynh, MH, Carruthers, VB, Niles, JC, Lourido, S. 2023. EMBO J 42, e113155.
    doi: 10.15252/embj.2022113155PMID:37886905
  9. The multifaceted roles of Myb domain-containing proteins in apicomplexan parasites. Schwarz, D, Lourido, S. 2023. Curr Opin Microbiol 76, 102395.
    doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2023.102395PMID:37866202
  10. CDPK2A and CDPK1 form a signaling module upstream of Toxoplasma motility. Shortt, E, Hackett, CG, Stadler, RV, Kent, RS, Herneisen, AL, Ward, GE, Lourido, S. 2023. mBio 14, e0135823.
    doi: 10.1128/mbio.01358-23PMID:37610220
More Publications

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Photo credit: Gretchen Ertl/Whitehead Institute