Academic Profile : Faculty
Prof Zbynek Bozdech
Professor, School of Biological Sciences
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Zbynek Bozdech holds currently a position as Assistant Professor at the School of Biological Sciences at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore leading a research team investigating molecular aspects of malaria parasite life cycle. In 1990, he has received his masters’ degree in Biochemistry from Charles University in Prague. From here he moved to McGill University in Montréal Canada to start his PhD studies involving protein trafficking in Plasmodium infected erythrocytes. In 1998 he moved to UCSF, where he worked in the laboratory of Joseph L. DeRisi exploring the transcriptome of Plasmodium falciparum using the fast emerging microarray technology. This work has lead to assembly of one of the first P. falciparum microarray and explorations of the global transcription pattern of the P. falciparum intraerythrocytic developmental cycle. In 2004, he moved to the newly forming School of Biological Sciences at NTU, to start his own research group. Presently Dr Bozdech is exploring several molecular aspects of translation and posttranslational regulation associated with the progression of the P. falciparum life cycle. In addition, using several technologies of high throughout genomics and proteomics his group is exploring molecular mechanisms associated with virulence and drug resistance in field strains of P. falciparum and P. vivax.
My research focuses on regulatory mechanisms that are associated with the progression of the complex life cycle of human malaria parasites, Plasmodium species. The research activities can be divided into three major objectives
(i) Characterizations of transcriptional regulation in Plasmodium. In these studies we conduct genome-wide transcriptional profiling of field isolates and chemical genomics analyses of the laboratory strains. The main goal of these studies is to identify transcriptional regulation that controls parasites virulence as well as responses to drug therapies.
(ii) Quantitative proteomics of the Plasmodium intraerythrocytic developmental cycle. The main objective these studies is to characterize protein abundance profiles as well as the pattern of posttranslational modification associated with the progression of the Plasmodium erythrocytic development. These studies are conducted in the proteome-wide manner using the two dimensional gel electrophoresis approaches. The main objective is to identify regulatory elements of Plasmodium translational machinery as new therapeutic targets for human malaria.
(iii) Epigenetic regulation of transcriptional control in Plasmodium parasites. Using a chemical genetic approach we characterize a role of Histone Deacetylases (HDAC) in the transcriptional regulation of the Plasmodium life cycle. Using these approaches we attempt to analyze the histone code in Plasmodium and its role in parasite growth and development. Simultaneously we evaluate a potential of HDAC inhibitors as new malaria chemotherapeutics.
(i) Characterizations of transcriptional regulation in Plasmodium. In these studies we conduct genome-wide transcriptional profiling of field isolates and chemical genomics analyses of the laboratory strains. The main goal of these studies is to identify transcriptional regulation that controls parasites virulence as well as responses to drug therapies.
(ii) Quantitative proteomics of the Plasmodium intraerythrocytic developmental cycle. The main objective these studies is to characterize protein abundance profiles as well as the pattern of posttranslational modification associated with the progression of the Plasmodium erythrocytic development. These studies are conducted in the proteome-wide manner using the two dimensional gel electrophoresis approaches. The main objective is to identify regulatory elements of Plasmodium translational machinery as new therapeutic targets for human malaria.
(iii) Epigenetic regulation of transcriptional control in Plasmodium parasites. Using a chemical genetic approach we characterize a role of Histone Deacetylases (HDAC) in the transcriptional regulation of the Plasmodium life cycle. Using these approaches we attempt to analyze the histone code in Plasmodium and its role in parasite growth and development. Simultaneously we evaluate a potential of HDAC inhibitors as new malaria chemotherapeutics.
- Cellular and molecular explorations of blood stage dormancy of malaria parasites and its role in drug resistance
- Discovering New Target Space for the Development of Drugs Against Malaria Parasites
- Discovering New Target Space for the Development of Drugs Against Malaria Parasites (Zbynek Bozdech)
- Mechanisms of Zoonosis of Infectious Diseases: The Malaria Model
- Mechanisms of Zoonosis of Infectious Diseases: The Malaria Model (NUS PI: Benoit Malleret, Kevin Tan Shyong Wei and Juan Pablo Bifani)
- Novel Antimalarial Cyclic Peptides and Enzymes from an Unusual Biosynthetic Pathway
- Structural and biochemical characterization of artemisinin target in malaria parasite
- Thermal protein profiling for discovery of metabolite and metal-binding proteins in malaria parasites
- Tracking the evolution of malaria drug resistance in the Greater Mekong Subregion