ZaP Worms

Anti-helmintics VI (Sept 23-26, 2024.): registration now open 

Zapworms: A monthly international scientific seminar series about parasitic worms.
Half hour presentation followed by 15 minutes question and answer.

When: Second Thursday of every month starting
12 noon Eastern Time (USA)

Where: Zoom: https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/91611310733 Passcode: 030292

July 11, 2024: Erich Schwarz, Cornell University
Title: Genomics of hookworm virulence factors

August off for summer break

September off for Anti-helmintics VI

Past talks

June 13, 2024: Cedric Neveu, INRAE
Title: Functional investigation of anthelmintic modes of action and resistance using in ovo & in wormo approaches

May 9, 2024: Vanessa Ezenwa, Yale University
Title: Helminths and immune aging: an organismal perspective 

April 11, 2024: Sean Forrester, Ontario Technical University
Title:  Inhibitory cholinergic and GABA cys-loop receptors in parasitic nematodes: implications for new anthelmintics

March 21, 2024: Lindy Holden-Dye, University of Southampton
(note: third Thursday of the month, 12 noon Eastern USA = 4 pm UK = 5 pm Central Europe in mid-March)-Title: The pros and cons of C. elegans for anthelmintic discovery

February 8, 2024: Lewis Stevens, Sanger Center

-Title: What sequencing the genomes of individual worms can tell us about parasite biology

January 11, 2024: James Collins, UT Southwestern Medical Center

-Title: Sex drugs and parasites: Control of female schistosome sexual development by a male-derived non-ribosomal peptide pheromone

December 14, 2023: Peter Roy, University of Toronto

-Title: Exploiting the nematode C. elegans to identify lead nematicides

November 9, 2023: Cornelius (Ron) Hokke, Leiden University Medical Center 

-Title: Life stage-specific glycosylation of schistosome-derived extracellular vesicles (EV) and secretory glycoproteins directs interactions with host immune cells.

October 12, 2023: Stephen Doyle, Wellcome Sanger Institute

-Title: Improving helminth genomic resources in the post-genome era

September 14, 2023: Makedonka Mitreva, Washington University School of Medicine

-Title: Genomic surveillance of parasitic worms

August 9, 2023: Off for summer break

July 13, 2023: Henry McSorley, University of Dundee

-Title: IL-33 modulation by a helminth parasite

June 8, 2023: John Hawdon, George Washington University

-Title: Potential of the bitter melon, Momordica charantia, as a source of anthelmintics

May 11, 2023: Peter Geldhof, Ghent Universitry

-Title: Plant-based production of anti-nematode vaccines

April 13, 2023: Anne Lespine, INRAE, Paris

-Title: Are P-glycoproteins friends or foes in anthelmintic therapy?

March 9, 2023: Erik Andersen, Northwestern University

-Title: The genetics and genomics of anthelmintic resistance: novel mechanisms and emerging models

February 9, 2023: Alan Robertson, Iowa State University

-Title: Anion selective ion channels in adult filaria as drug targets

January 12, 2023: William Gause, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

-Title: Role of macrophages and neutrophils in helminth infections

December 8, 2022: Collette Britton, University of Glasgow

-Title: Host-helminth interactions: tuft cell sensing of gastrointestinal nematodes

November 10, 2022: Elissa Hallem, University of California, Los Angeles

-Title: Host seeking and host invasion in skin-penetrating nematodes

October 13, 2022: Robin Beech, McGill University

-Title: Where do ion-channel targets come from and why do they change?

September 8, 2022: P'ng Loke, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

-Title: Heterogeneity of immune responses to helminth infections

July 14, 2022: Tiffany Bouchery, Swiss Tropical and Public Health institute in Basel

-Title: The role of the structural compartment after hookworm infection in setting an immunological tone to the lungs

June 9, 2022: Dick Davis, University of Colorado School of Medicine
-Title: Programmed DNA Elimination in Nematodes

May 12, 2022: Off for Anthelmintics/Vaccines V

April 14, 2022: Andy Fraser, University of Toronto
-Title: New targets, new drugs: Targeting rhodoquinone-dependent metabolism to find new anthelmintics

March 10, 2022: Conor Caffrey, University of California San Diego Medical School
-Title: The schistosome parasite: a sucker for stress

February 10, 2022: Amy Buck, The University of Edinburgh
-Title: RNA communication in helminth-host interactions

January 13, 2022: De'Broski Herbert, University of Pennsylvania
-Title: Using parasitic helminths to understand mucosal immunology

December 9, 2021: Kathryn Else, The University of Manchester
-Title: Screening for anthelmintic drugs: new molecules, new mechanisms?

November 11, 2021: Sabine Specht, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative
-Title: DNDi -alternative treatment options for filariasis

October 14, 2021: James “Sparky” Lok, University of Pennsylvania
-Title: Dauer-like steroid-NHR signaling as a regulator of infection and autoinfection in Strongyloides stercoralis

September 9, 2021: Alex Loukas, James Cook University
-Title: The hookworm pharmacopeia for inflammatory diseases

August 12, 2021: Mostafa Zamanian, University of Wisconsin-Madison
-Title: Advanced transcriptomics illuminates old and new anthelmintic targets

July 8, 2021: Roz Laing, University of Glasgow
–Title: Genomic and transcriptomic analysis of ivermectin resistance in Haemonchus contortus

June 10, 2021: Jennifer Keiser, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and Paul Davis, University of Nebraska
— Title: Advancing drug discovery for schistosomiasis.

May 13, 2021: John Gilleard, University of Calgary
— Title: Metabarcoding and amplicon sequencing in helminthology: approaches and applications

April 8, 2021: Angela Mousley, Queen’s University Belfast

March 11, 2021: Jonathan Marchant, Medical College of Wisconsin and
Winka Le Clec’h, Anderson Lab, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
–Title: Activation of parasitic flatworm TRP channels by praziquantel

February 11, 2021: Georg von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Freie Universität Berlin
–Title: Pgp-function and ML-resistance in parasitic nematodes

January 14, 2021: Rick Maizels, University of Glasgow
–Title:  Helminth-derived modulators of host immunity

For more information:

Raffi Aroian, Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA

Richard Martin, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA