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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 479 7082
Email
b.russell@otago.ac.nz
Position
Professor
Department
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Research summary
Parasitology

Research

Vivax Malaria (or Relapsing Malaria) is the most widely distributed, difficult to diagnose and treat cause of human malaria.

Our laboratory focuses in of the biology of the parasite Plasmodium vivax (the cause of vivax malaria) and how we can kill it using therapeutics or vaccinations.

To do this we have developed key ex vivo tools and methods to examine P. vivax drug susceptibility and reticulocyte invasion. These methods are optimised for use in malaria endemic regions. We also utilise a continuous culture of P. cynomolgi (an excellent model of P. vivax) to study the molecular mechanisms underlying P. vivax pathobiology.

In addition to vivax malaria we also contend research into the biology and epidemiology of protozoal parasites of importance to human health in New Zealand.

Publications

Tay, M. Z., Tang, W., Lee, W.-C., Ong, A. S. M., Novera, W., Malleret, B., … Russell, B., … Rénia, L. (2024). Functional and immunological mapping of domains of the reticulocyte binding protein, Plasmodium vivax PvRBP2a [Brief report]. Journal of Infectious Diseases, jiae111. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiae111 Journal - Research Other

Russell, B. (2023, October). Jungle fever. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. [Inaugural Professorial Lecture]. Other Research Output

Muhsin-Sharafaldine, M.-R., Abdel Rahman, L., Suwanarusk, R., Grant, J., Parslow, G., French, N., … Russell, B., Morgan, X. C., & Ussher, J. E. (2023). Dientamoeba fragilis associated with microbiome diversity changes in acute gastroenteritis patients. Parasitology International, 97, 102788. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2023.102788 Journal - Research Article

Basilico, N., Parapini, S., D'Alessandro, S., Misiano, P., Romeo, S., Dondio, G., … Russell, B. M., Suwanarusk, R., … Taramelli, D. (2023). Favorable preclinical pharmacological profile of a novel antimalarial pyrrolizidinylmethyl derivative of 4-amino-7-chloroquinoline with potent in vitro and in vivo activities. Biomolecules, 13, 836. doi: 10.3390/biom13050836 Journal - Research Article

Ward, K. E., Christensen, P., Racklyeft, A., Dhingra, S. K., Chua, A. C. Y., Remmert, C., Suwanarusk, R., Matheson, J., … Russell, B., & Bifani, P. (2023). Integrative genetic manipulation of Plasmodium cynomolgi reveals multidrug resistance-1 Y976F associated with increased in vitro susceptibility to mefloquine. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 227(10), 1121-1126. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiac469 Journal - Research Article

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