Parasite Lab

So we have this database for wildlife disease surveillance, and we made a data standard, and an R and Python package to help you clean your data, and two years in we just still cannot get first adopters, so here’s my new bit: I will personally Venmo you $20 of my personal money to share a dataset

I'm really honored to announce that I've been selected as the Marilyn Anderson Fellow at the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science. This 4-year fellowship converts to a continuing position in teaching & research (Australian equivalent to American tenure).

www.latrobe.edu.au/news/announc...

Millicent Opoku stands at a lectern. Projected on the screen behind her is a photo of a blackfly.

Neha Sirwani stands at a lectern. Projected on the screen next to her is a slide with the text "Exploring the genomes of African black fly Simulium spp." with a picture of a blackfly.

Fun times at the Australian Society for Parasitology Annual Congress showcasing the amazing (and gross) biodiversity of parasites!

Successful talks on genomics of blackflies that transmit River blindness by @nehassirwani.bsky.social @sindew.bsky.social @millicentopoku.bsky.social

@anusha-kode.bsky.social @nehassirwani.bsky.social @sindew.bsky.social

Here's the Hedtke Lab for 2025!

Shannon Hedtke
Warwick Grant
Sindew Feleke
Millicent Opoku
Anusha Kode
Neha Sirwani

Progression of lymphatic filariasis antigenaemia and microfilaraemia over 4.5 years in antigen-positive individuals, Samoa 2019-2023 The first round of triple-drug mass drug administration (MDA) for lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Samoa was in 2018. This study aims to i) examine progre…

Mayfield, Sartorius, et al. 2025

When you find someone that has LF larvae in their blood ("microfilariaemia") then their household members are more likely to test positive for disease exposure.

Targeting households may enhance efficacy of annual treatments.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

We've got some papers already in 2025...

Watch this space as we will have some really cool stuff come out this year!

Three people stand on the La Trobe University grounds: Millicent Opoku (PhD student from Ghana), Sindew Feleke (PhD student from Ethiopia), and Shannon Hedtke (lab head, from US)

With Alt text!!

Congrats to Sindew Feleke @sindew.bsky.social on his pre-submission PhD seminar!
Sindew comes to La Trobe via the Ethiopian Public Health Ministry. His work on river blindness and the blackflies that transmit it will be a real asset towards elimation.

(Pictured w/Millicent Opoku)

Left: Virgin Gnathostoma - "eggs won't even embryonate without touching water", "has to infect different host animal throughout life0cycle", "first host it infects is a tiny zooplankton crustacean", "has to infect at least two different host animal before it's ready to infect the final host", "ends up getting lost if it gets eaten by an animal different from the usual definitive host". Right: Chad Trichinella - "use the same host animal as both the definitive AND the intermediate host", "act as an intracellular parasite even though it is a multicellular animal", "can continue life cyycle in any carnivorous or omnivorous mammal", "reprogram skeletal muscle cells into nurse cells for its own purpose", "redirect blood vessel growth to nurse cell to turn it into a home and a sanctuary".

I made this NemaMeme to explain parasitic nematode life cycles.
#Invertebrate #Parasitology 🧪

Newly published in Genetics:
academic.oup.com/genetics/adv...
We ask what gene flow & introgression do to gene coexpression networks. The answer is: a lot.

Recurrence of microfilaraemia after triple-drug therapy for lymphatic filariasis in Samoa: Recrudescence or reinfection? Contrasting evidence is emerging on the long-term effectiveness of triple-drug therapy for elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in the Pacific reg…

Mayfield et al. 2025

Lymphatic filariasis causes chronic physical disability and social ostracization.

The disease persists despite drug distribution. Ongoing infections are a likely cause: we report 2 doses of 3 drugs isn't sufficient for some in Samoa.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Recurrence of microfilaraemia after triple-drug therapy for lymphatic filariasis in Samoa: Recrudescence or reinfection? Contrasting evidence is emerging on the long-term effectiveness of triple-drug therapy for elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in the Pacific reg…

Mayfield et al. 2025

Lymphatic filariasis causes chronic physical disability and social ostracization.

The disease persists despite drug distribution. Ongoing infections are a likely cause: we report 2 doses of 3 drugs isn't sufficient for some in Samoa.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

We’re hiring again! Our new Leader Systematic Botany role at Botanic Gardens of Sydney is an exciting opportunity to join a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive team of 15 scientists working on systematics, phylogenomics, and macroevolution of the Australian flora.
iworkfor.nsw.gov.au/job/leader-s...

We've been getting really interesting responses to our research survey on attitudes to parasite conservation & have extended the deadline to 14th March to boost sample size & increase representation. 🌍🧪🪱🦠.

Survey form: forms.office.com/e/KBPhk6fgz3
Info sheet:
tinyurl.com/yxdbb7hs

Phylogenomic Insights into the Evolution and Origin of Nematoda The phylum Nematoda represents one of the most cosmopolitan and abundant metazoan groups on Earth. In this study, we reconstructed the phylogenomic tree for phylum Nematoda. A total of 60 genomes, bel...

Thanks! In the meantime, you can see the preprint that's 98% identical to the eventual final copy:

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Awesome; thanks!

This is... really bad. Elsevier is a giant, with many top journals, and researchers *must publish* or fail to get jobs, grants, etc.

Publishing is a massively profitable industry, because academics do most of the work. Yet publishers are shamefully cutting costs while increasing burdens on us!

It's really cool work!

I just think of what could be done with all that money...

Nematodes and phylogenetics to ring in the new year!

It looks like this paper is not open access 😞

Dr Zhang summarizes the results in the thread below:

Chronic parasite infections are found in wealthy nations like the US and Australia, contributing to inequity. These parasite infections are treatable and preventable! Sanitation infrastructure should be built for all.

Map of Samoa showing the two islands. Pie graphs show where communities tested positive or negative using Ag (antigen) tests and using Mf tests (when the larval form, microfilariae, are detected on microscope slides). 8 locations are negative for both, 14 are positive for both, 14 are positive for only antigen, and none are only microfilaria positive.

Mayfield et al. 2024

Lymphatic filariasis is a parasite disease that is challenging the islands of the South Pacific. This is a baseline for future studies, combining evidence from different methods for testing disease after people received triple-drug therapy.
doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed9120311

Levels of Amyloid Beta (Aβ) Expression in the Caenorhabditis elegans Neurons Influence the Onset and Severity of Neuronally Mediated Phenotypes A characteristic feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the formation of neuronal extracellular senile plaques composed of aggregates of fibrillar amyloid β (Aβ) peptides, with the Aβ1-42 peptide bein...

doi.org/10.3390/cell...

Epidemiology of Lymphatic Filariasis Antigen and Microfilaria in Samoa, 2019: 7–9 Months Post Triple-Drug Mass Administration The elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem remains an ongoing challenge in the Pacific region. This study reports on antigen (Ag) and microfilaria (Mf) prevalence in Samoa...

One last paper from our team in 2024!
Mayfield et al. present evidence that providing only one round of triple-drug treatment to people in communities in Samoa was not enough to interrupt disease transmission.
url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/rM_eCE8kD9...

Christmas Beetle Population Project

#Australians on bluesky...callout for #citizenscience participants willing to #count #christmasbeetles #science @sydneyuni.bsky.social www.sydney.edu.au/science/our-...

Post-Doc position in the KZLab! Immune responses to pathogen infections in frogs We are looking for an NSF-funded post-doc in our lab in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. The work will examine immune mechanisms that potentially underlie…

Hey All, plz repost, and share with grads, post-docs and disease folks! We are hiring a post-doc to work on mechanisms of immune responses of frog hosts to Bd infections. Deadline is February 1, 2025. Details for the position can be found at the link below. 🐸🐸🐸

zamudiolab.org/2024/12/17/p...

Bat bug ectoparasites cluster on the leading edge of the wing of a Parastrellus hesperus bat being held by a researcher.

Do you work in wildlife health management in conservation? We are seeking participants for an academic research study of practitioner/researcher attitudes to parasite conservation. Participation is open to all roles and experience levels. DM me for more info. Please repost. 🧪🌍🪱🪰🦟 #biodiversity

Selfie photo of five people dressed casually and smiling

We need an "official" lab photo, but until then:

Shannon Hedtke
Emily Hendrickson (now in the PhD program at USD)
Sindew Feleke @sindew.bsky.social
Anusha Kode
Millicent Opoku

Not pictured: Neha Sirwani @nehassirwani.bsky.social
Warwick Grant

I am recruiting PhD students for 2025.

La Trobe academics secure $11 million in NHMRC funding La Trobe University researchers have secured more than $11 million in new Federal funding to support seven ground-breaking projects.

Funding for this project from the Australian NHMRC was just announced.

bit.ly/3VDUfec