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Dan Aridgides, B. S., Biological Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, is an intracellular protozoan parasite that infects millions in South America and is a growing problem among immunocompromised patients. T. cruzi interacts with the tyrosine kinase receptor TrkA in multiple ways during the course of infection in order to invade cells as well as to mitigate damage that it causes to parasitized tissues and thus preserve its niche in the body. I am investigating these interactions in order to better understand both pathogenic and neuroprotective effects of the parasite. |
