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-661G

Office

lourido@wi.mit.edu

Email

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Location

Lab Website
Emily Shortt

Assistant

617-258-5059

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. Perforation of the host cell plasma membrane during Toxoplasma invasion requires rhoptry exocytosis. Male, F, Kegawa, Y, Blank, PS, Jiménez-Munguía, I, Sidik, SM, Valleau, D, Lourido, S, Lebrun, M, Zimmerberg, J, Ward, GE et al.. 2025. EMBO Rep , .
    doi: 10.1038/s44319-025-00564-9PMID:40973827
  2. Two distinct SWI/SNF complexes direct chromatin-linked transcriptional programs in Toxoplasma. Schwarz, D, Tapia, B, Lourido, S. 2025. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2025.07.16.665172PMID:40791499
  3. 5' untranslated regions tune Toxoplasma translation. Peters, ML, Shukla, A, Gotthold, ZA, McCormick, DM, Xiang, K, Bartel, DP, Lourido, S. 2025. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2025.07.14.664749PMID:40791393
  4. Alternative start codon selection shapes mitochondrial function during evolution, homeostasis, and disease. Ly, J, Tao, YF, Di Bernardo, M, Khalizeva, E, Giuliano, CJ, Lourido, S, Fleming, MD, Cheeseman, IM. 2025. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2025.03.27.645657PMID:40196624
  5. Metabolic adaptability and nutrient scavenging in Toxoplasma gondii: insights from ingestion pathway-deficient mutants. Rimple, PA, Olafsson, EB, Markus, BM, Wang, F, Augusto, L, Lourido, S, Carruthers, VB. 2025. mSphere 10, e0101124.
    doi: 10.1128/msphere.01011-24PMID:40172222
  6. Immune targeting and host-protective effects of the latent stage of Toxoplasma gondii. Eberhard, JN, Shallberg, LA, Winn, A, Chandrasekaran, S, Giuliano, CJ, Merritt, EF, Willis, E, Konradt, C, Christian, DA, Aldridge, DL et al.. 2025. Nat Microbiol 10, 992-1005.
    doi: 10.1038/s41564-025-01967-zPMID:40148566
  7. Finding the brakes on the Toxoplasma life cycle. Herneisen, AL, Lourido, S. 2025. Trends Parasitol 41, 264-266.
    doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2025.02.010PMID:40055102
  8. Metabolic Adaptability and Nutrient Scavenging in Toxoplasma gondii: Insights from Ingestion Pathway-Deficient Mutants. Rimple, PA, Olafsson, EB, Markus, BM, Wang, F, Augusto, L, Lourido, S, Carruthers, VB. 2024. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2024.11.27.625683PMID:39651188
  9. Perforation of the host cell plasma membrane during Toxoplasma gondii invasion requires rhoptry exocytosis. Male, F, Kegawa, Y, Blank, PS, Jiménez-Munguía, I, Sidik, SM, Valleau, D, Lourido, S, Lebrun, M, Zimmerberg, J, Ward, GE et al.. 2024. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2024.10.12.618018PMID:39605356
  10. TgATG9 is required for autophagosome biogenesis and maintenance of chronic infection in Toxoplasma gondii. Thaprawat, P, Zhang, Z, Rentchler, EC, Wang, F, Chalasani, S, Giuliano, CJ, Lourido, S, Di Cristina, M, Klionsky, DJ, Carruthers, VB et al.. 2024. Autophagy Rep 3, .
    doi: 10.1080/27694127.2024.2418256PMID:39600488
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Photo credit: Gretchen Ertl/Whitehead Institute