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SUMMARY:Notes on the evolutionary ecology of Plasmodium parasites from Mad
 agascar - Dr Benjamin Rice\, Princeton University
DTSTART:20241216T150000Z
DTEND:20241216T160000Z
UID:TALK225532@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:127123
DESCRIPTION:Madagascar has a suite of unusual features in its biogeography
  and climatology that I will argue provide a\, perhaps unique\, opportunit
 y to study the ecology and evolution of malaria parasites. In terms of bio
 geography\, the island’s long isolation from other landmasses and extrem
 e ecological heterogeneity has resulted in a remarkable diversity of verte
 brate hosts. I will first present data suggesting that\, although receivin
 g less attention than the vertebrates\, Madagascar is likely home to a sim
 ilarly impressive abundance of insect vector and haemosporidian parasite s
 pecies. I will then review efforts to understand how parasite species evol
 ve in diverse host communities\, focusing on the role of parasite gene fam
 ilies in enabling evasion of host immune responses. Finally\, turning to _
 Plasmodium_ parasites of humans\, I will discuss our ongoing work on the i
 mpact of extreme weather events on disease transmission dynamics\, an area
  of growing interest in studies of climate-health. Among countries with a 
 high malaria burden\, Madagascar is uniquely vulnerable to events such as 
 tropical cyclones and data from our recent study in southeast Madagascar s
 hows these events are likely to have severe consequences for efforts to re
 duce malaria burden.\n\nPlease contact Sara Chelaghma (sc2247@cam.ac.uk) f
 or further enquiries about this seminar
LOCATION:Marjory Stephenson Seminar Room\, Hopkins Building\, Dept of Bioc
 hemistry.
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