UGUniversity of Georgia · Biology
Malaria Protein Trafficking Lab
Vasant Muralidharan · Athens, Georgia
Research Focus
Dr. Vasant Muralidharan's lab at the University of Georgia focuses on understanding how a malaria-causing parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, modifies its proteins to survive and thrive inside human red blood cells. His research investigates the unique ways this parasite traffics proteins without using common eukaryotic mechanisms, aiming to uncover potential targets for new antimalarial therapies. This work is crucial given the rising drug resistance among malaria parasites.
protein glycosylationPlasmodium falciparummalariaprotein traffickingglycoproteomicsantimalarial therapiescellular assaysgenetic tools
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the role of protein glycosylation in Plasmodium falciparum.
AIM 02Identify essential glycosyltransferases for protein trafficking.
AIM 03Study the unconventional secretory pathway of the parasite.
AIM 04Determine the immune response implications of parasite glycosylation.
AIM 05Develop new targets for antimalarial therapies.
Skills the Lab Values
gene knockdown techniquesglycoproteomic analysiscell culturein vitro assaysprotein secretion studiescomplementation assaysmolecular biology techniquesflow cytometrymicroscopy
Output against the department
Publications63bottom 17% of dept.859th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.0kbottom 13% of dept.896th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.